Not taken as a flame, friend... but I still am sure there are more G35s than 350Zs. I thought by putting my statement the way I did, you would understand that I had seen preliminary numbers on the G35 and that my experience locally backed up those numbers. Not that I was basing my statement solely on my observations. (On a related note, every Infiniti dealership seems to have a wide selection of G35s on their lots down this way while Nissan dealerships rarely have more than 3 350Zs.)

Basically, what I had seen stated that there were almost 12K G35s on the road before the end of 2002 (a time when there were only 5K 350Zs delivered by). That, with the fact that the G35 is Infiniti's entry level sedan make it unlikely... no, impossible... to believe they will only produce 10K a year. I have no doubt that they will be produced in at least the numbers of the 350Z.

As for racing 350Zs and S2000s... if one of us ever makes the transcontinental drive, we'll have to see if we can make it happen! Still, given equal drivers, all the magazine comparisons I've read (where the driver is the same person) have given the edge to the 350Z in performance and overall drivability. I think this says a lot about both cars. IMO, it says Nissan has built a better performance car, but it also says that the S2000 is a very, very capable and sound design... especially since it is a, what, 4-5 year old design?

Now what was that fanatic6711 was saying about this being a 350Z convertible discussion???

 

See below. These are the final sales figures for sports cars in 2002. There were more MY2003 350Z's sold in FOUR months than the S2000 sold ALL year. Also, if you check www.nissannews.com, you will see that the current run rate for North America from September to Feb of this year is just over 3k 350z's per month. Run that out 12 months(August) and you have over 36k units moved, and that doesn't even take into consideration the convertibles.

http://www.honda-acura.net/forums/sh...d/t-43060.html
Sports Cars
Porsche Boxster - 9,875
Porsche 911 - 11,443
Acura NSX - 233 (28.0%)
Honda S2000 - 9,684 (0.0% - Up 2 cars...lol)
BMW Z3 + Z4 - 10,490
Mazda Miata - 14,392 (-12.7%)
Toyota MR2 - 4,705 (-24.8%)
Ford Mustang - 138,356 (-18.2%)
Dodge Viper - 1,511 (9%)
Nissan 350Z - 13,253
Mercedes-Benz SL Class - 13,717 (225.3%)
Mercedes-Benz SLK Class - 7,784 (-30.9%)
Chevrolet Corvette - 32,555 (-3.3%)

 

Oh...and I guess I was a little off on one thing. The current run rate for G35 Coupes will put it at around 17k for the year.

 

Unfortunately, that is why I hate magazines. They are extremely influenced by politics and kickbacks. When the S2000 came out, the magazines were getting numbers more like 5.3 to 5.7 for 0-60. Now that the ALL NEW Z has come out, not only are they throwing a hard top on the car which adds about 150 lbs, they suddenly dont know how to drive. I can assure you one thing. They cars are so equally matched that it will come down to driver. I can also gaurantee something else, the convertible Z will easily get beat by the S with reasonably equal drivers as the convertible will be quite a bit heavier than the Coupe. As for a coupe to coupe comparison, we will have to wait until the S2200 coupe comes out in 04-05.

 

You sound coc*y in making this comment so I will say:

Given the fact that all the parts (engine, tranny, suspension) are derived from already existing Nissan cars, the Z's design is pushin a decade!


Al least the exterior dezine is from this century.....



BTW, I really do like the Z.......

 

Fanatic6711, a gallery has been created for the Roadster, to which several more pictures are to be added.

Simply click on the Home button beneath the My350Z banner.

 

Well, first, I never said it was a new design... just that they made a better performance car. So, if it were a 10 year old design, then Nissan really one-upped Honda because Honda's design is newer, right?

However, the FM design is new. Some parts (drive train come to mind) may be derived from other Nissan cars, but the overall design, most importantly the chassis, are new as of the G35.

Okay.. I call total BS on this statement. I just spent about 30 minutes searching all over the web for S2000 test data. I found numerous car reviews by magazines, car websites, consumer guides, even Honda fan sites for the 2000, 2002, and 2003 model S2000s. The fastest 0-60 any posted was 5.8 seconds. If you can show me one that says different, I'll happily acknowledge it. But for now...
the best 350Z review put it to 60 in 5.4 seconds. By my research and armchair racing, that makes the Z 0.4 seconds quicker... of course, racing in not all straight line from a stand still. I do agree with your statement that these cars are closely matched enough that it will depend on the driver, though

And as for your G35 production fantasies, I found this in an article posted on G35Driver.com and taken directly from Nissan corporate reports...

Infiniti Reports Best May in History [Jun. 03, 02]
By: Infiniti News

- Sales up 33.7 Percent Versus May 2001 -

GARDENA, Calif. (June 3, 2002) – Led by the hot-selling G35 luxury sport sedan, Infiniti, the luxury division of Nissan North America, Inc., today reported its best May in history with sales of 7,633 units, a 33.7 percent increase versus last year.

A key contributor to this record May was the new 2003 G35 luxury sport sedan, which reported sales of 3,298 units.

Hmm... 3298 units... in one month... not even a high-volume month... and that was only G35 sedans, the coupe wasn't even out yet. More importantly, these are sales figures, not production figures.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure G35s outnumber, and will continue to outnumber, 350Zs.

 

I have the magazines. I will find them and reference them to you. Give me a little time on that though because my library is quite large.


Dude, you need to re-read your own quote. That quote was for luxury Sports SEDAN. I have only been talking about the G35 Coupes, NOT the sedan. Look at www.nissannews.com. THESE ARE SALES FIGURES AS WELL, AND ONLY FROM NORTH AMERICA. I pasted it below, but essentially what it says is that as of the close of December 2002, there was a Year To Date total of 5,185 G35 Coupe Units moved. That is from September '02 (the earliest release date for the G35 Coupe) until the close of December. That is an average of just over 1k a month. November was the single highest month for Coupes so far at just over 2700. Since then there has been a steady decline down to just over 2400 in February. I will admit I was wrong about the estimate for total G35 Coupes, but I was right over the fact that there are more Z's being sold AND there ARE going to be OVER 35k Z's sold by this August.

INFINITI DIVISION SALES
G35 Sport Coupe 2,122(December Total) 5,185(YTD Total)

 

February 2000 Motor Trend:
0-60 in 5.2 sec; 13.9sec/100mph 1/4; 70.1 mph in the slalom

If you cant find a February 2000, find a December 2002 and check page 156 under the Road Test Results. Right there in black and white.

And these numbers were with the MY00. The MY02+ got a 10HP boost (My '03 feels a teeny bit stronger than my '01 did)

Go find one and read it for yourself.

 

Humanatek...

I'll try to check out those articles. I felt like I was going blind searching for data last night. The best I could find for the S2000 production models was 5.8 seconds. I'll try to dig up one of my old MTs. Funny thing I noted was most sites, overall, posted better times for the '00 models than the '02 & '03 models. Perhaps proof of your "magazines being paid off" conspiracy theory creeping into the world wide web!

I also see our problem on the G35 debate. I never was talking only of G35 coupes. Unless you see the from the side, the coupe and sedan look the same. Regardless, seems you were looking at apples and I at oranges. After all is said & done I think it stacks up like this

All G35s > 350Zs > G35 Coupes > S2000s
40,000s > 30,000s > 10,000s > 8000s

BTW, I could not get the nissannews.com link to work. Has been giving me errors and I tried from different computers. So I'm just accepting your quote on the G35 Coupes.

Now, we get back to oogling the convertible before someone starts a new thread???

 

http://www.car-stats.com/

Car-Stats.com Report for 2000_Honda_S2000

Obtained from MT_February, 2000
0-60: 5.2
Transmission:_ Manual
1/4 Mile: 13.8
1/4 Speed: 100

As if it really matters...

 

After looking at the Pre-Production Roadster pictures time and time again, I think I have realized what bothers me so much about it:

The back part of the soft top seems to fall about 5 inches short of where it should. I realize that the backup light is in the way, but if the top were to pushed to the very end (back) of the the slope it sits on, it would create a much smoother look. In fact, it looks as if it was designed that way only somebody forgot about the light...so they just moved the top forward a few inches to accomidate.

Since I have already put my $1000 down on one of these, it is my hope that these pre-production cars are just that.

 

Why do you say this?

 

What rpm clutch drop is that 5.2? Is it like the astronomical 8K of the RX8? Yikes...

 

No. A drop like that will roast the tires for about .5-1 second. It was most likely a drop around 5.5k - 6k.

 

Top....

 

Back to the topic at hand....

Anybody seen any (reliable) curb weight numbers for the 350 roadster?

 

I think Nissan will keep pretty tight lipped about that as it is sure to be a good bit heavier than the coupe. It will be a similar situation to how Nissan hasn't released any "official" photo's of the ragtop with the top up nor from anywhere near the rear of the car. Marketing groups are very keen on highlighting the strengths of a car while completely avoiding the weaknesses of a car.

 

I am guessing there will be very few "official" photos of the Roadster with the top up. And the ones they do release will certainly be from the front.
I wonder how they are going to present it at the NY Auto Show...

 

I wonder if there is any chance we have not seen an "official" top up photo of the roadster because the cars running around are pre-production cars and have a top design that was quick to put on, but not how the final product will look.


I know... wishful thinking... but we can always dream...