The Future of the Nissan 370Z Seems Cloudy and We're Scared
Nissan may be hitting home runs with Millennials, but the brand’s enthusiast fanbase may not be feeling the love, as the automaker trotted out another iteration of the stale 370Z at this year’s New York Auto Show.
While the new 2018 Nissan 370Z Heritage Edition does arrive with an upgraded clutch and flashy graphics, the core car is very similar to what’s been on the market since 2009. And when speaking to Christian Meunier, senior vice president at Nissan Sales, Marketing and Operations, things seem a bit bleak.
“The 370Z is not a priority for us,” he said during a roundtable discussion at the New York Auto Show. “I hope we can make a successor.” It’s unclear if he means a worthy successor or a successor at all.
There has been a lot of confusion and misdirection about the future of the Z sports car in the past few years. Last fall, it was suggested that the Z could evolve into a crossover, and a concept vehicle called the Gripz debuted at the Frankfurt Auto Show. That vehicle was described as an evolution of the two-door sports car and interpretation of that segment’s future. Nissan performance enthusiasts were not too pleased with this news.
Meunier also explained that the GT-R is much more significant in the automaker’s lineup than the Z. “The GT-R is a halo car, so we need to continue to develop that vehicle,” he said.
The future of the fun and affordable Nissan 370Z is cloudy and enthusiasts should be concerned.
Sami has an unquenchable thirst for car knowledge and has been at AutoGuide for the past six years. He has a degree in journalism and media studies from the University of Guelph-Humber in Toronto and has won multiple journalism awards from the Automotive Journalist Association of Canada. Sami is also on the jury for the World Car Awards.
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What a bunch of upper brass idiots...let's develop a $100k halo car, but ignore/drop the everyday/everyman sports car in the mid-tier price bracket...what they need to do is develop an entry-level 240SX successor (sub $30k); make a new 'Z' to be a sales success (using GT-R tech) to win on the streets and track, and finally develop/enhance the GT-R for the well-to-do crowd..."if I were CEO for a day"...a Z-cuv will tank and Nissan wonders why some of their products have a hard time selling in reasonable numbers...