yankeesiter Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I don't know whether anyone saw this thread on Pistonheads but I thought it makes quite and interesting read esp. this particular one: FisiP1 128 posts 3 months [report] [news] Yesterday (15:38) For me its: Tacky feel and look to the interior compared to German rivals, and in my opinion even compared to a lot of modern American cars. reasonably powerful in stock format, but high insurance(for me at 22, more than double my Porsche and GT500, combined). Questionable image in my eyes, too close to the 'gone in 60 seconds' image which simply isn't me. Too distinct from the GT-R to sense any sort of brand connection between them. Strong secondhand residuals not representative of what you are getting compared to too many other cars(TT, Cayman, Boxster, M3, etc etc). 350Z seems dated 'mod fodder' at this stage, concerns of its brother going the same way rapidly. My mates seem to think they both(370, 350) have a very feminine image. If you like them and enjoy them more power to you, but just not for me. Full thread is: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topi ... mid=247600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I disagree with the feminine bit, but the other points there are pretty fair. Ironically none of them concern the drive though, which is by far and away the most thrilling part of the car/s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sasha@lazytrips Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I always get amused by these kinds of comparisons being made. The bulk of the argument amounts to: 1. It's a Nissan/Datsun/Jap piece of rubbish - typical badge snobbery. I personally don't get it as I would happily buy a Lada if the spec, reliability, etc were to my taste. 2. Awful fuel consumption with some owners claiming that the car will never top 20mpg with one claiming that when he owned one, he averaged at 12 - typical rubbish spouted by people who have never been near the car. Unless you race from traffic light to traffic light and enjoy the sound of 6k revs while parked in neutral in a traffic jam, most will average at 25-27mpg give or take depending on your routine. If you primarily cruise up and down motorways, this may end up at 28-29 and for those who never go above 40 around town, this may drop to around 22. True that it is possible to get into the early teens, but you would have to drive in pretty spectacular fashion to get there. 3. Other cars are better, therefore why would anyone get a 350z? All cars that are typically used as a comparison are either inferior in terms of performance (e.g. half the ponies) or in the majority of cases in a completely different price bracket. Taking the second-hand car market out of the question (as this talks about new sales), the typical comparisons are: BMW M3 (from £54k), BMW Z4 s35 M (from £43k), Audi TTS (from £37k) or the Cayman (from £40k) *** So all in all, the real reasons for the low sales are: 1. Badge snobbery as above 2. Lack of marketing and awareness - Out of people who are not a car or racing game enthusiast, I can count on one hand the number of people I have met over time who actually knew what my car was. 3. Perception of it being a gaz-guzzling, tax-eating performance car - while this is partially true, it is really no different to the majority of cars out there. In addition, when you consider depreciation, petrol costs, tyres, servicing, MOT, repairs, the minor difference in tax is next to nothing in comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeroy Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Ekona's right, a Pistonhead's user's comments which don't mention dynamics are worthless to most people in the market for a 350Z. Personally, the rarity of the 350Z and the fact that hardly anyone knows how good it actually is, is one of the biggest attractions for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waltzinblack Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Haters gonna hate. The 350 and 370 are both cheaper, better looking, at least as fast, more masculine (big, wide, big engine), as well equipped and more reliable than their rivals of the same age and mileage. The interior isn't as good, but it's not exactly bad. And it could be FAR worse, like other Jap performance cars.. Evo 8 *cough cough* The reason they don't sell as well is lack of publicity, dealers don't know so much about the cars, and the badge and fuel economy. Silly reasons really, that shouldn't turn away a proper petrolhead. As for the Gone in 60 seconds comment... does he mean Fast and Furious?? I think the confused and uninformed haters on that thread need to get out of their boring diesel Saloons that they most likely own and go and have a test drive of a Z! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoff-r Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Hahaha feminine. I mean each to their own, he clearly views them a certain way and he's entitled to that but they're not feminine and I'm not sure he's ever driven one. Edit: just read through a few posts on that thread. I understand I'm going to be bias as I own a 370 and have owned a 350 but for a motoring forum and a bunch of 'piston heads' they winge about economy so much. They all seem to slate the looks of the 350 and 370, oops should have bought a Porsche for the weekend and a Focus for the week and I might fit in. The whole PH lot wind me up, maybe I just don't take criticism well but I love the look of the 370 for the money and it drives well as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choptop Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Think the Pistonheader just likes German Cars. Maybe he had a Japanese Girlfriend who did the dirty on him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSet Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 The reason they don't sell as well is lack of publicity. The 350Z didn't sell because Nissan vastly underestimated the demand for them from 2003-2007. As anyone who was looking for one will tell you they were extremely difficult to get hold of, the dealers had huge waiting lists and expected a big deposit too. Second hand ones hardly dropped in value and went very quickly....some people just gave up and went for something else. The 350Z popularity is also reflected by the number of Jap imports, which were fetching 17-18k (for a 53 plate) back in 2006. The 370Z is a different story, wrong car at the wrong time, the factory was already tooled up and ready to go when the fuel crises hit us, had it not been ready till 2010 I'm sure the 370Z wouldn't have seen the light of day. Just very unlucky timing Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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