370z?
 

Hey folks, pick up the February issue of Car & Driver...they were flat out raving about the car, calling it the best sports car buy in the USA. Performance on a par with the Cayman S...skidpad results .97 G. And still deliver in the mid 20's highway mileage.

www.nissanusa.com to build your own. Very short options list, but be sure to click the sport package for $3K extra. That buys limited slip, bigger brakes, the 19" wheels.

Next time we're in nearby Albany for shopping, think I'll pull into the Nissan dealership, see if my 34" inseam legs can be comfortable in one.

Good performance, without the paranoia that driving a pristine early 911S brought. A cheap car I can ride hard to the pool hall, then go inside without giving the car another thought. The 370-Z is relatively cheap at $35K and easily replaced.

Yes, I miss the performance of the old S. I don't miss the fear of damage or worse everytime I took it out.
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"Now, to put a water-cooled engine in the rear and to have a radiator in the front, that's not very intelligent."
-Ferry Porsche (PANO, Oct. '73) (I, Paul D. have loved this quote since 1973. It will remain as long as I post here.)

I think they look pretty sweet, I like them better than the 350Z. I'll reserve final judgement until I see one in person, but they get great reviews in the car magazines.

I saw the commercial for it and was a little impressed. I will also with hold judgement until I see one in person.

I'm curious. I still think the 350z looks better though.

I'll see if I can take one for a test-drive in the spring. Maybe I won't get blown off like at the BMW dealership.

Well, so far, I've checked out Jeep...horrible on pavement. Then the new Challenger. You guys were right, just too damned big. So, now on to something else to check out. We'll see...

I've always had a thing for the Mazda RX8. It has a screamer of an engine, great steering and transmission, and the quasi-back doors are cool. Plus Mazda is a big motorsports supporter, that's always a plus to me.

Matt -- I was just about to bring up the RX8. The last comparison test done with it and several other conceivably better cars (think more horsepower/ higher price, etc), and the RX8 still came out on top. This is against Porsche, Ferrari, Dodge Viper, to name a few.

That was about the fourth comparison test where the RX8 beat all comers in the sports car genre.

The two "issues" people have with the RX8, though, is gas mileage and lack of torque.

Then again when is a true sports car supposed to get good mileage and have torque when its engine's true nature is to rev to 9,000 RPM?

I like the 370z, Paul, you will have to tell me how it drives. When do they come out?

They're out now. Cindy went to Costco to get a price...big mistake. Just got off the phone with an anxious salesman who wants me to drive to Eugene in order to look at a red one. Damn! I didn't want to talk to a salesman yet...

If there's one at Costco, they will probably offer a better deal than the Nissan dealerships.

Costco offers a buying service to it's members...thus you can avoid the "I gotta talk to the manger" types of sales B.S. They do the negotiation for you...walk in, write the check, drive out.

The RX8 isn't really about MPG or torque. It's like a superbike, you have to really make it sing. Coming from someone with kids, the little back doors are pretty sweet. If they all had that, maybe I could justify a coupe to the boss.:;

I really, really like the new 370Z. Kudos to the stylists who managed to turn a bloated and banal looking model into one of the prettiest sports cars on the market. And I'm hugely grateful they didn't look to the GTR for too many styling cues.

I love RX8s -- but they sure aren't gorgeous like the 370Z.

A test drive in a ragtop 350Z several years ago is what got me on the path to 911 ownership. Loved the car but thought a ragtop was a bit 'nancy' (the funny thing about this attitude which is also pervasive in 911 circles is that many old school folks believe it's NOT a sports car if it has a roof on it) and it was too pricey for me at the time.

Still it drove tight, had lots of torque and the steering was very nice. Scared the **** out of the salesman with that car.

The 370 sounds even better from what i've read.

Only issue i recall is reliability on the track. Some sort of oiling issues or similar in a track environment which there is no way i could avoid with one of those puppies. Maybe the 370 fixes that?

Have always thought Nissans were over priced ****boxes riding the coattails of Toyota and Honda and the design work has been absolutely ghetto for the past 15yrs; BUT the 350 and now 370 appear to be exceptions.

The headlights look wonky from some angles but but overall it sn't too hard on the eyes.
Jim

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Sure resembles the car in my avatar.....