MicVelo

And Nissan disappoints me yet again....

http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/niss...h-anniversary/

What a freakin’ joke. Yet another “appearance package” to celebrate a milestone. I’m gone.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

The Brutal Truth is Nissan product planners have explored all options to keep the Z somewhat relevant in today's automotive news. Yes, it lacks substance and somewhat alienates those of us looking for some sign of real progress towards a future for the Z. On the other hand, all the R&D is complete and making a production line change for paint and decals is relatively cheap and easy. Nissan continues to be a full line automotive manufacturer, with cars/trucks/SUVs in just about every market sector. They're not retiring the Z34 because they want an entry in there. An anniversary edition usually sells a few more Zs and the hope is they'll get MSRP or better. Dealers won't mind, because it'll be something to put on the showroom floor for a few weeks to show off before they get it off the floor plan financing for the month.

This latest news also validates the original Brutal Truth stated in post #1: there's still no valid business case to be made for developing a Z35 in 2019. Get used to it.

On the brighter side: enjoy driving your Z (any version) and celebrate the 50th Anniversary by taking it for a spirited and joyful ride around your neck of the woods.

saywat?

nissans gotta put the new vr engine in something other than the q60. we just gotta wait it out. they obviously cant solely rely on sales from the q60 lol if they want to make money from all that R&d. them units aint budging lol

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

I have severe doubts if waiting is going to help. The VR30DETT is an expensive engine and probably doesn't fit into the economics of the Z. Who wants a $60K Z? Besides, Infiniti sales seem isolated from whatever the parent company is doing. I wouldn't be surprised if the VR series never gets wide distribution. The Brutal Truth is there's simply no R&D budget to design and build a new chassis, or even adapt the FM platform to work with the VR series.

saywat?

the z and the q/g will likely always be fraternal twins. idk how nissan is gonna do the cost but i can see the nismo z coming with the top of the line vr. the current nismo z is almost $50k and it offers no major performance lol

jhc

1) When DC powered cars can easily out-perform a Z06 in straight-line acceleration, why not conclude Nissan is waiting for sales trends before committing to an update?
2) Spoiler alert, Mr. K has passed, and the Z line was HIS project, baby and unicorn. He talked Datsun into this "project" car (with ample success) I'm not sure he left someone to carry his torch. Besides-
3) Nissan is not a "Niche" manufacturer, their bread and butter is econo-boxes, trucks, SUVs and commercial vehicles. They simply "dabble" in the sport-car line to make them look well-rounded.

As David says, "the Brutal Truth, get used to it!". Don't get me wrong- my 06 ZR is a damm good sport car, especially at it's price-point.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Last night the Corvette C8 made an impressive debut. While it's in a different market segment than where any next gen Z might compete, you can bet Nissan engineers, designers and product planners were paying attention. With the likely cost of entry for the entry level C8 being around the $55-60K level, that's got to be a concern. Those that might wish for a VR30TT powered Z34 variant might look at the new mid-engine Vette and say the BRUTAL TRUTH is the Vette is a better deal for just a few bucks more. The LT2 V8 looks to be a horse and Chevy is seeking to sell 40-50K of them to recoup some of their investment. You've gotta wonder if that big a number will dilute some of the customer base for the next Z?

rustyschopshop

Now that is a drastic change with the vette, can't imagine what that mid engine is going to do for their track times. Should be able to maintain much faster track times.

I sure hope nissan can step of their game to keep the Z alive.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

If you mean "step up their game", I agree with you. But the Brutal Truth is that a new Z won't emerge until it makes financial sense to do so. Cars like the C8 are already going to have an impact on sales of Porsches, BMWs and other high-end sportscars, as consumers wait for C8 production to catch up with what is sure to be soaring demand! I can only imagine what is going through the minds of Nissan product planners today!

MicVelo

So the mid-engine Vette finally arrives! Nice. Not that I want one. I sorta need a sorta-backseat for my boogie boards.



Usual remark on this thread: But yeah, while I'd truly love to see a Z35, I do not believe blue, the color I would turn holding my breath waiting for the Z35, befits me.

260DET

Nissan's sports car problems go way back, starting when they went V6 and continued when they changed suspension designs for each new model. The Supra showed how it should have been done, straight 6 and double wishbones, both could have been tweaked at minimum expense for each new Z model plus a turbo charged real NISMO special good enough to at least rival the hottest competition. Nissan are a strange company, history shows that they are all over the place with their performance cars which does not help in establishing a real lineage at all.

MicVelo

,
Yeah, no...... if we're going to get into opinions here....

Supra went away 17 years ago and now the name "lives on" - if you could call it "living" - on a rebadged BMW, ehhhhh. At least when Nissan pulled the plug on the Z that first time, it went away for just a couple of years and came back in a pure "Z form", hearkening back to their original Z-car design concept. The argument that I believe may be fair is that the Z33 and Z34 FM platform cars becoming a little staid from a generational standpoint with nothing more than evolutionary changes.

People may bag on the Nismo versions for not having "supercar performance" but that was/has never been the intention. The R35 is Nissan's halo, not the Z. I would argue - rather vehemently, as an owner of both generations of Nismo Z - that they did an amazing job with them. They are subtle performers, easily besting their non-NIsmo counterparts with a combination of "minor tweaks, big results" from the rarely ever mentioned chassis/body stiffness to the far superior suspension dynamics. NOT just horsepower.

Placed in the right hands, the Nismo versions do what they were meant to - deliver a superior, high performing vehicle, easily equal to and at times superior to their contemporaries in the GT category and at a much lower buy-in. Anyone can mash the right pedal of a 500bhp GT car and claim they're "better than a Z" because of a lower zip-sixty; but when push comes to shove, I'll take the balance of power and handling that a Nismo Z offers. I have no issue saying this either: I own/drive a couple of those other brainless 500bhp cars and unfortunately, many drivers of those same cars fall into that "I'm superior" BELIEVING category because of that one aspect. Believe me, horsepower, while great and desired, doth not constitute "performance" when in the wrong hands.

260DET

As far as I'm concerned the chassis comes first but stiffness must not come at the expense of excessive in class weight.. From what I've seen of the Z33's chassis it should have had less metal and more spot welds, a lot more spot welds. From a race car point of view I find it strange too that the engine was not located further back, a slight body redesign would have easily allowed that.

MicVelo

It's not a light vehicle but for a road going GT, it works. Spot welds....not terribly needed on a generally driven car but on Nismo, the seam welding works and on a race car, it'd be standard prep where class allows.... As far as comment on engine setback, 53/47 isn't a bad distribution especially under acceleration e.g., corner exits, with a fair amount of weight shift. Look up "Nissan FM chassis" for more details.

bealljk

iTrader: (13)

Through gutting and getting into mine I thought nissan did a pretty good job with how the chassis is mashed together.

Easily with a redesigned secondary-firewall you could slide the engine back 4" to 6" without much trouble. I think the first thing that hits either firewall is the U-turn in the upper plenum.

I think Nissan designed to the masses ... It's not a toyota camry but its not a lotus elise either - somewhere in the middle

rustyschopshop

Not sure if hks knows anything we don't.... was watching one of their promotional videos and U.S. sale manager had mention they are prepared to start making the new Z parts as quickly as possible as soon as its released. Maybe i just read too much into it, just hoping

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Hope is one thing; but you're reading way too much into an aftermarket supplier's taped interview. The next Z only exists in the minds of Nissan engineers, designers and product planners.

MicVelo

And on another related but unsubstantiated note:

https://nissanalliance.com/nissan/20...ACwVlXLoEOnJko

And still nothing definitive on a new Z35.

Especially distressing on the heels of this: https://www.forbes.com/sites/greggar.../#7c9c81d94ecc

rustyschopshop

After seeing the financials, in order to launch the silvia they would have to kill the Z. The silvia concept looks nice but would rather see an improved Z instead. Doubt they will be doing either though anytime soon.

SirSpeedyZ

iTrader: (10)

The financials don't surprise me at all. Nissan doesn't make another interesting (other than the Z and GTR which are now 10 years old). All their SUVs are very generic looking and uninspiring; Altima and maxima are meh. They seem to be trending in the wrong direction IMO.