Had a long time with the 350Z at Stevens Creek Nissan this morning. When I got there at about 10 a.m., the Z was sitting outside underneath a canopy. It appeared to be the same Daytona Blue base model we saw at Blackhawk last Sunday. With no other customers around (amazing!), I was able to spend a lot of time checking out the seating positions, the interior controls, under the hood, and the hatch area. Then my salesman came out to greet me, handed me the keys and asked if I would like to fire it up. Does a chicken have lips? I let it warm up briefly, checking out the instruments now that we had power (orange-yellow lighting), and then blipped it up to 4500 rpm a few times. It revs very freely, as if everything spinning is pretty light. Was disappointed in the exhaust note, but this is a pre-production unit, so we’ll see. Gearbox feel is just great—short throws, precise feel--even better than my previous BMW coupe, and much better than any of the Porsches I’ve owned in past years (there are some advantages to being past 50…). Really liked the seats and seat material. Headroom for my 6’5” frame was fine, with over an inch of room to spare. Ditto legroom and shoulder room. Other pleasant surprises were the a) the std. audio system, which I listened to for some time. Sounded better than most std. systems, and was able to pick up some known weak FM stations well. Also, the space under the hatchback was a bit better than I had been lead to believe. Still not roomy by any means, but I think anyone could squeeze in a folding carry-on plus a couple of soft luggage pieces—enough for a multi-day trip for two. The view out through the hatchback was also better than I expected, although for a shorter driver, the rear strut brace might get in the way. Hey---I want my Z ASAP!