Nissan is Killing a Legend:
The Nissan 370Z is a true sports car that flies a little under the radar. It competes with the likes of the Ford Mustang, Chevy Camaro, and the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. It doesn’t really though. These cars have a back seat, albeit a small one, while the Nissan only seats two people. They are also a bit larger and have a trunk. The 370Z is a hatchback. Additionally, the Hyundai Genesis coupe was discontinued after 2016 which leaves one less member in the current pool of competition. The Nissan doesn’t compete with the MX-5 Miata, because that car is much smaller, and the difference in performance is exceptional. The Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 are similar, as performance is down, these guys also have a back seat. What car competes with the 370Z?
The answer may surprise you. It competes most closely with itself both in present and in past form. Nissan has historically produced some of the best sports cars including those in the “Z car” family. The family was brought together by the idea of a marriage between the Nissan sports car and the American car market in the late 1960’s. The Datsun 240Z was the first in the long line of “Z cars”, and it made quite a splash. Since then, Nissan has introduced many iterations within the family, most of which have been exceptional. We are now living among the sixth generation of the “Z car”, and as the 370Z ages, many are wondering what is next for the car that bears a name that carries so much excellence and tradition. It is with this excellence that the current car competes within the confines of itself.
The 370Z has been in existence since 2009, which is an eternity in car years considering that many well-known names such as Camry, Accord, and even Mustang rarely go more than five years without a redesign, let alone a refresh. That being said, the previous generation 350Z was very much the same car and the current 370Z. It had been on the market from 2002 until 2009 when the 370Z was introduced to the world. Though the styling was improved to reflect Nissan’s design language, the basic elements that made up the 350Z were carried over to the current 370Z. This is not an entirely bad thing. Though performance was boosted slightly from the previous generation, some weight gain was in order as the car matured into what it continues to be today.
Here exists the dilemma. It seems as though Nissan has forgotten their elderly but still great grandfather of a car among the current crop of fresh competition. Is this really the case? It seems quite obvious. It very well may be that the “Z car” has been abandoned for those things which the general public calls “good cars” or even “sporty cars”. Packed with modern technology, advanced safety features, and comfort second only to your living room couch, the other cars in the Nissan lineup are selling as well as ever. But wait… It may also be that Nissan recognizes the value of simplicity. They may be holding on to the six-speed manual transmission, leaving the extra sensors behind, and selling one of the purest and simplest cars available on the market today, because they recognize the value of what has always made the ”Z Car” special.
Upon examination of the automobile industry today and Nissan as a company, the latter of the two aforementioned possibilities is almost certainly, and very sadly, not the case. Despite what we know, we are free to think what we like. If we squint hard enough and dream big enough, we can make out the figure of one of the best cars that money can buy, built on the premise that an honest-to-goodness, just-for-the-fun-of-it, great sports car still exists simply for humanity to enjoy. Sometimes, it’s good to dream.
–SWF
