Are the Nissan 370Z's days numbered?
11-09-17, 09:00 AM
#16
Lead Lap
Interesting that you mentioned that, Andrew. The 90s-version, of course, was dropped from the American market for the same reason that its competition....the Toyota Supra, Mazda RX-7, Mitsubishi 3000 GT, and Dodge Stealth were.....poor sales. They (and insurance policies for them) had simply gotten too expensive for the segment of the American market they were generally aimed at. At the time, I suggested to the reps of these companies, at the auto shows, that they lower the price and simply de-content the vehicles, if necessary, which might help with sales. They didn't, though...and ended up just pulling them out of the U.S. instead. Eventually, though, somebody just might have been listening, because, about six or seven years later, the less-expensive, non-turbo 350Z and RX-8 were introduced. The RX-8 probably would have been more successful if not for the oil-use quirks of the rotary engine and its very low torque at low RPMs.
11-09-17, 09:33 PM
#17
^ I've never been a fan of the newer 350z or 370z, didn't care for the styling, they were too heavy, the chassis/handling was kind of meh(keep in mind its on the same chassis as the Infiniti FX SUV), and the quality sucked. I knew somebody who had bought a 350z, first year, right when they came out. Manual transmission had been recalled 2 or 3 times, he was on his 3rd transmission under warranty(kept grinding going into gear). All the plastic parts inside were crap, stuff started to break inside less than a year in. IMO the Infiniti G35 was a way better car, better styling, way nicer interior, lots more room, had back seats. I never felt like the 350z or 370z was much of a tightly focused driver's car, might as well buy the nicer Infiniti with more room and refinement.
I will hop on the 1990's 300ZX bandwagon, much better car IMO. It looks like nothing else on the road, very low, sleek, still modern IMO, its a timeless design. It was also built a lot better, had its own dedicated chassis, and was very high tech for the time with the twin turbos and such.
I will hop on the 1990's 300ZX bandwagon, much better car IMO. It looks like nothing else on the road, very low, sleek, still modern IMO, its a timeless design. It was also built a lot better, had its own dedicated chassis, and was very high tech for the time with the twin turbos and such.
Last edited by Aron9000; 11-09-17 at 09:36 PM.
11-09-17, 09:36 PM
#18
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
^ I've never been a fan of the newer 350z or 370z, didn't care for the styling, they were too heavy, the chassis/handling was kind of meh(keep in mind its on the same chassis as the Infiniti FX SUV), and the quality sucked. I knew somebody who had bought a 350z, first year, right when they came out. Manual transmission had been recalled 2 or 3 times, he was on his 3rd transmission under warranty(kept grinding going into gear). All the plastic parts inside were crap, stuff started to break inside less than a year in.
11-09-17, 09:40 PM
#19
They also had a poor design in the early 350Z's suspension that wore the tires prematurely and caused excessive road noise.....even by sports-car standards. Nissan replaced a huge number of original tires under warranty....and made major changes to the suspension-settings and geometry.
11-10-17, 05:30 AM
#20
Lexus Fanatic
Now I don't know all the ins/outs of this car, as the only one I drove was the stick when the 350Z first returned. Maybe it should be retired because you can only repackage things year after year, for so long. I was not wow'd at that time, and my coworker has one and called it a POS (he is not the original owner). From what I have heard it's not the typical Nissan reliability. Also, not desirable like the old 300ZX TT....Nissan is another one of those cos. imho which had tremendous promise, I've owned a Maxima for almost 20 yrs, and it starts the first try, every time. Never died in 19+ years, except when the starter motor went. Then you have coworkers who have Rogues toasted in 3 1/2 yrs. as they can't afford the repair, and not covered by warranty when it has a 5/60 powertrain and the CVT burned up. Go figure...
11-10-17, 05:40 AM
#21
Super Moderator
^ I've never been a fan of the newer 350z or 370z, didn't care for the styling, they were too heavy, the chassis/handling was kind of meh(keep in mind its on the same chassis as the Infiniti FX SUV), and the quality sucked. I knew somebody who had bought a 350z, first year, right when they came out. Manual transmission had been recalled 2 or 3 times, he was on his 3rd transmission under warranty(kept grinding going into gear). All the plastic parts inside were crap, stuff started to break inside less than a year in. IMO the Infiniti G35 was a way better car, better styling, way nicer interior, lots more room, had back seats. I never felt like the 350z or 370z was much of a tightly focused driver's car, might as well buy the nicer Infiniti with more room and refinement.
11-10-17, 07:26 AM
#23
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Some of the heat problems were not necessarily the engine itself, but the fact that some Nissan products, at that time, tended to cram them into too small a space underhood. without adequate air-circulation around the block. Most of the engine heat, of course, is dealt with by engine oil and coolant, but, of course, having air circulate underhood also plays some role. I mentioned that in at least one or two of the Nissan reviews I did back then.
Last edited by mmarshall; 11-12-17 at 06:11 PM.
11-12-17, 11:50 AM
#24
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
the 370 is ancient, noncompetitive and irrelevant. nissan needs a replacement although the business case is very weak today.
11-13-17, 02:33 PM
#25
I actually think the 350z is a nice car with decent power and handling. The interior was a bit cheap but it was a $30k car.
I prefer the 350z look over 370z, but the other way for interior.
I prefer the 350z look over 370z, but the other way for interior.
11-13-17, 02:36 PM
#26
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Don't forget...the 350Z was introduced in the fall of 2002. That was a lot of money back then....though, I'll admit, not as much as the more expensive 300ZX Turbo that preceded it in the early-mid 1990s.
11-13-17, 04:05 PM
#27
Well I'm probably biased but the 300zx was the last Z car that was great. Like some have already mentioned, when it came out, the 300zx was amazing and was compared to the Corvette and even Ferraris. It was an amazing tech jump which was also a bad thing because it did have a bunch of problems but anyways... when the Z33 or 350z came out, it was a huge disappointment to me and a lot of the Z fans. It got popular and was the "cool" car for a while but it wasn't great and then just went downhill a few years after. The 370z is not doing well because it lacks next to the competition, people rather go for a Camaro or a Mustang and in all honesty, the new Zs don't look all that good. If they came out with something good looking and powerful like the Q60 Red Sport but with a price tag around the same as the 370z, it would sell a heck of a lot better.
They need to bring back some of their old designers or something, this looked good
They need to bring back some of their old designers or something, this looked good
11-13-17, 05:51 PM
#28
The caveat here, despite the 370Z being long in the tooth and not exactly the greatest overall for its asking price, is that it's the only real affordable sporty offering with a manual transmission in Nissan's lineup before the $100k GTR... which itself has a great dual clutch gearbox but it's a different kind of performance car. And the Z has only two seats.
So at Nissan, if you just want a reasonable 300hp+, manual transmission, rear-drive performance car you can live with, you have to accept two seats and a very tiny trunk. Great if the Z were just one car in the performance lineup to choose from but not so great if you have to jump to $100k+ if you want a performance Nissan with rear seats, a trunk and rear driven wheels (we all know the GTR has part time AWD with RWD bias).
I'm not saying a Nissan Z was ever supposed to be a totally practical everyday car at all but it's sad today when it's only one of two models in the Nissan lineup is worth a damn until you get into the trucks it is pretty sad for the brand overall.
It also makes me glad it is still on sale for now.
This is a brand that has largely transformed into an appliance vehicle maker. Nissan since the early 2000's has with the exception of keeping this FM-based Z alive and reintroducing an extremely upmarket version of the GT-R totally eschewed and given up on any real semblance of performance throughout their lineup. They consistently don't listen to customers who ask for better and more interesting products and they occasionally tease the public with sport model offerings that they never build.
That the 370Z with an available 6-speed manual transmission, limited slip diff and Brembo brakes still exists for sale at all (for now) in this current Nissan culture is amazing. It may not match its real world competition, it may be overpriced for what it is and it may be near the end of its model cycle but even it its current form at least some voices and engineers at Nissan fought to keep the Z as a real sports car alive.
Based on Nissan's track record with fun performance minded cars since Renault and Ghosn took them over I really hope they pull back from making 95% appliance vehicles and decide, at long last, that they can build a few fun and competitive performance models and some actual performance trim levels without mandatory CVT's... and well below a $100k+ GTR as the starting point or the customer.
Nissan establishing their "Heritage Parts Program" for the Japanese market beginning with new '89-'94 Skyline R32 GT-R parts was a good step in the right direction. Here's hoping all the older Z cars get included in that program eventually so that at least their historical best cars continue to have factory support.
I love the Z32-TT and I wish we could see another iconic Nissan Z like that but even if Nissan cared enough to develop a more back to 1969 Z that is light weight I would go for that too.
So at Nissan, if you just want a reasonable 300hp+, manual transmission, rear-drive performance car you can live with, you have to accept two seats and a very tiny trunk. Great if the Z were just one car in the performance lineup to choose from but not so great if you have to jump to $100k+ if you want a performance Nissan with rear seats, a trunk and rear driven wheels (we all know the GTR has part time AWD with RWD bias).
I'm not saying a Nissan Z was ever supposed to be a totally practical everyday car at all but it's sad today when it's only one of two models in the Nissan lineup is worth a damn until you get into the trucks it is pretty sad for the brand overall.
It also makes me glad it is still on sale for now.
This is a brand that has largely transformed into an appliance vehicle maker. Nissan since the early 2000's has with the exception of keeping this FM-based Z alive and reintroducing an extremely upmarket version of the GT-R totally eschewed and given up on any real semblance of performance throughout their lineup. They consistently don't listen to customers who ask for better and more interesting products and they occasionally tease the public with sport model offerings that they never build.
That the 370Z with an available 6-speed manual transmission, limited slip diff and Brembo brakes still exists for sale at all (for now) in this current Nissan culture is amazing. It may not match its real world competition, it may be overpriced for what it is and it may be near the end of its model cycle but even it its current form at least some voices and engineers at Nissan fought to keep the Z as a real sports car alive.
Based on Nissan's track record with fun performance minded cars since Renault and Ghosn took them over I really hope they pull back from making 95% appliance vehicles and decide, at long last, that they can build a few fun and competitive performance models and some actual performance trim levels without mandatory CVT's... and well below a $100k+ GTR as the starting point or the customer.
Nissan establishing their "Heritage Parts Program" for the Japanese market beginning with new '89-'94 Skyline R32 GT-R parts was a good step in the right direction. Here's hoping all the older Z cars get included in that program eventually so that at least their historical best cars continue to have factory support.
I love the Z32-TT and I wish we could see another iconic Nissan Z like that but even if Nissan cared enough to develop a more back to 1969 Z that is light weight I would go for that too.
Last edited by KahnBB6; 11-13-17 at 05:58 PM.
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