REPORT: Nissan slashing 370Z global sales hopes by two-thirds... or is it?
2009 Nissan 370Z - Click above for high-res gallery
After strapping two separate Autobloggers behind the wheel of the 2009 Nissan 370Z, we feel completely justified in suggesting that the latest Z car is the best yet. It also performs rather well when compared to its closest competitors, and that includes the pricier Porsche Cayman. Regardless, the current gloomy state of the global economy is just as powerful at dictating sales levels as any given vehicle itself, regardless of how good it may be. This being the case, nearly every automaker has adjusted its sales expectations downward from earlier projections.
According to Automotive News, Nissan initially planned to sell 30,000 370Z coupes globally, but it has since reduced its expectations by two-thirds. Of the 10,000 370Zs that AN says Nissan now hopes to sell in 2009, 7,000 would be destined for the United States and the remaining 3,000 units would be sold in Europe. The industry publication did not publish Japanese domestic market (JDM) sales predictions for the car (known locally as the Fairlady Z).
We thought those numbers seemed low, so we called Nissan USA for clarification. According to Darryll Harrison, manager of Nissan's Product Public Relations Group, the Japanese automaker sold 1,452 Zs in the U.S. market (a small percentage of which were older 350Zs) in February and another 1,632 in March in the United States alone. That figure represents about 30% of America's two-door, two-seat sports car market, sales of which generally pick up in the summer months. In other words, Nissan could actually sell well over 10,000 370Zs here in the U.S. in the 2009 calendar year.
Gallery: Review: 2009 Nissan 370Z
[Source: Nissan, Automotive News - sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mehdi Cheddadi 2:44PM (4/14/2009)
A yellow one for me, Kthxbai
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc210/mcheddadi/370zyellow_smallcopy_Warningsign_lo.jpg
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Bobmarley 2:51PM (4/14/2009)
Yellow?
lol...i respect people getting what they like but i never understood yellow cars...im pretty sure it hurts resale value
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tuna 2:56PM (4/14/2009)
Just because you don't get it doesn't mean others shouldn't.
Jake B 3:14PM (4/14/2009)
I will take one resprayed with Lemans Sunset Orange, KTHXBAI!!!!
Xcountryflyer 3:15PM (4/14/2009)
I hear you. I notice it tends to be a first year color only and then it goes away. I think the diehard first year fanbois tend to get yellow. I would never get it.
FallenCow 3:03PM (4/15/2009)
I feel you bobmarley... yellow FTW!
jv2k 2:57PM (4/14/2009)
That fish face. I hate it so much, yet I like everything else about the car. Why nissan... why did you have to do this?
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Jeff Johnson 3:19PM (4/14/2009)
Your money your decision...
I have a yellow 08 Z06 - and the looks and attention I get where I live are amazing, I love it. A car like this or anything fancy/exotic should go the opposite of trying to "blend"
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Rev 4:21PM (4/14/2009)
A Z06 is fancy/exotic?
Fast and American looking, yes, but the build quality is no better than my Subaru and the interior sure ain't "fancy/exotic" by any means.
You want to draw attention to yourself in a Corvette, knock yourself out but don't let the fuzzy dice hit your hairpiece on the way to the driver's seat...
David 5:45PM (4/14/2009)
Rev- compared to a Subaru, a Z06 is definitely exotic. It may not be a Ferrari, but it's in a whole different class than any Subaru now or ever. Pigs will fly out my ass the day Subaru makes a car that can hang with a Z06.
Not that there's anything wrong with a Subaru, of course. I very much enjoy my STi. But it's no Z06...
MM 3:20PM (4/14/2009)
I know this car is virtually a shortened Infiniti G37, but those number can hardly justify the costs to produce the hanging sheet metal for the car let alone the marketing Dollars, Yens, or Euros spent.
The Z will probably die again and be reborn in a better economic climate.
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Louis 3:46PM (4/14/2009)
Well, seeing that they aren't super prevalent yet, and most dealers are only stocking the Touring + Sport package, they might not sell as many as they originally planned.
I know it is common to only send the loaded models over first, but these are different times.
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Xcountryflyer 4:33PM (4/14/2009)
Agree. It sounds like car buyers are being more frugal with options for the time being. I think we'll see a better mix of low to high optioned vehicles. Not everyone wants the nav system with the 100 speaker 2000 watt stereo.
Stéphane Dumas 4:16PM (4/14/2009)
I wonder if the Z might suffer from internal competition? On one side there the G37 while on the other side, there the Skyline GT-R.
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DJ 5:16PM (4/14/2009)
Trouble is... it just doesn't look as tasty as the model it replaced.
Derivative rather than leading edge.
Shame.
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RedBeauty84ZX 5:33PM (4/14/2009)
Love this car...for $30K~ I don't know another car that compares. Brings back some of the original 240Z styling cues in my opinion...
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G Curnew 7:00PM (4/14/2009)
The notion that the 370z compares favorably to a Cayman (base or S) is based on a numbers only evaluation...having driven both in the past few weeks, the 370 feels cheap, imprecise and unsatisfying; the Cayman feels expensive, completely dialed in and world's apart from the Nissan experience. I had actually hoped to like the 370z...on paper it looks every bit the equal of the Cayman S at half the price. IMO it's actually about half the car for half the price.
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Jrejre 8:00PM (4/14/2009)
It's definitely a good deal but compared to the outgoing model it's $4000 more expensive which probably doesn't fly at the moment. You can get an 03-08 used for under 20k and every 370z I've seen on the lots has been loaded with options too pushing them into the near 40k range.
Nissan needs to get another car to slot in under the Z, it's grown out of its original concept as an affordable everyman sportscar.
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husq510 8:13PM (4/14/2009)
typical jap eyesore......nissan hasn't conjured anything inspirational since the 280z/300z design era.
flop.
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tekd 2:24AM (4/15/2009)
I think Nissan's projections might be fairly accurate though, since sales of this kinda car pick up in the Spring, so you see strong sales around this time of the year, but the popularity is sure to wane when it starts to get cold instead of get warm and the model won't be as new or novel anymore.
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