A letter to the editor of a car mag we get here in Aus :

I was happily reading through the current issue when I came to the article entitled 'Three-Fifty Sped'.
I was struck dumb when I read the following quote : "Nissan has no qualms saying its competitors include everything from the Monaro, Honda S2000 and Audi TT to the BMW M3 and Porsche Boxter S". Obviously, Nissan has been reading too much of its own marketing crap and rhetoric and has its head buried where the sun doesn't shine! Why not include HSV, Maserati, Ferrari and Jaguar at the same time?
After reading the article, my response would be that then new 350Z should be compared with the Interga Type R, the Hyundai Triburon and the Toyota Celica.
I own a BMW M3 and I know other owners of BMW M3s and M5s, and I guarantee you that a Nissan )of any sort) was definitely not on their shopping list. The 350Z may have a great 'bang for you buck' equation, but I know that it is also well and truly outclassed and outgunned by the BMW M3 and the Porsche Boxster S. The very fact that Nissan continues to make statements comparing it to the the M3 makes me ill. Stop it, you heathens, and get back in your box!

What an elitist *****... I do think the M3 is a better vehicle but someone needs to get off their high horse. I wonder what he would think if he knew the Z has actually beaten the M3 in certain scenarios (Best Motring track video etc).

 

Hm maybe he didn't realize that the Z which is comparable to an M3, however not quite as quick, therefor not quite as expensive. I guess he failed to realize we didn't feel the need to shell out more money on an M3 where the difference in speed dosn't justify the price difference(to me at least). Oh well, just my thoughts...

 

gotta defend his 50000$ car... it sucks to think your car is better but not 20000$ better... thats when they fall back to their "name plate" as if paying for badging somehow makes things all better. not untill the BMW badge starts improving the cars performance.

 

Several BMW owners think that their s%$t don't stink and that their precious Bimmer has no competition.

Speaking from experience behind the wheel of a 2001 M3, I'd take the 350Z any day of the week and spend the extra 20 grand on stuff to REALLY smoke that little M3.

 

dAMN YOU REALLT THINK THE 350Z should be compared with the Interga Type R, the Hyundai Triburon and the Toyota Celica.

HMM THATS A BIT STRANGE

 

Just to add to the price thing - in Australia a new M3 costs about 140k on road where the track Z costs about 70k on road - thats
about 40k US vs 80k US with the current conversion rate

 

Like a turbo chager
with 40 grand you could probably get the 350z to 400hp at thw wheels with money to spare

 

Yeah... at the risk of sounding a bit elitist myself and coming off all hypocritical... a Hyundai Triburon??? I really think he was saying that part as a barely veiled insult. Methinks new 350zs get much more attention than his done up 318 (cat claws out) and thats why he's a bit upset

 

The M3 is a beautiful car, I'd love to own one, and it's substantially faster than a stock Z. However, the Z is cheaper to buy, cheaper to service, and probably will not break down as much in the long run.

-- Mark

 

and nissan hasnt come out and clearly told us in no uncertain terms that our warrenty will be voided if we track our car. they had no choice with the M3 engines blowing up left and right.

 

I heard that the M3 blown engines were mainly occurring on the SMG II-equipped cars. Is this true?

-- Mark

 

I havent really researched the details, I just know there have been some sort of problems with the M3 engines, and that bmw is not honoring the warrenty if they know the car had been tracked.

kinda kills the idea of having a fast car, I guess you have to race on the streets if you plan to race...

 

Ahhh...boys and their toys.

 

Jeez, give the poor little bastard a break. He's still trying to get over the whole issue with $24k WRXs running circles around his little M3, and being more reliable to boot.

 

As far as I know it happened on the MT and SMG trannies. You know what BMW's fix was??? Put 60 weight oil in. How lame is that??

 

so what's the heavier oil supposed to do??

-- Mark

 

make the car slower coz the engine only blows up at high speeds?

 

I'd say the Z is competition for the M3. Without the Z, I probably would have bought an M3. Obviously the Z isn't as good, but the lower price is good.

 

I hope you wrote a letter to that embecile! What an elitist, childish, rediculous person.

 

I cross shopped the M3 and the Z and I ended up buying the Z. The M3 was nice, but the price was just too high and the maintanence was a nightmare. German engineering is great until you have to fix things!
Also, that Porsche Boxster S is definitely in the same league as the Z, at least on the track. I was invited to the Porsche Club Auto-X a bit after I bought my Z and I was running right with the 911's and Boxsters. The Z doesn't have the mystique that a Porsche or a BMW has, but in terms of bang for the buck it blows them away.