A new Nissan Z is coming (finally) and more auto news

"LJ909" (lj909)
10/25/2019 at 11:10 • Filed to: Nissan 370Z, Nissan 400Z, Nissan, Nissan Frontier, Toyota GR Supra, Toyota, Range Rover, Corvette C8, EV, Autonomous Cars

Next gen Nissan Z coming; could be called 400Z : !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! spoke with Nissan’s VP of global and Japan product planning Ivan Espinoza and he said that the company hasn’t forgotten about the Z. A new car is coming and apparently the final design is close to being done but hasn’t been locked in. They also point to the dropping of the roadster for the 2020 model year as a change with the next gen car only being a coupe, pointing to a shrinking (sadly) drop top market. While they did say that the engine would increase in size, they were tight lipped on specifics of power and exact size, as well as if the car would get a hybrid version.

The Toyota Supra placed last in Motor Trends Best Drivers Car Competition : Yea you read that right. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! the new GR Supra placed dead last. They had this to say about it: We can only review the vehicle we drive. And this early fifth-gen Supra still needs some development work. Rear-end oscillations, nervous steering, and overactive stability control. On a velvet-smooth road, the Supra has great power and predictability, but the rigors of Highway 198 sussed out this car’s flaws. Still needs work. They then !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! breaking down whats going on with the car.It pretty much didn’t perform well on a stretch of well known driving roads here in California, with them saying that the chassis and suspension need more calibration. The vehicle that placed before it? The Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye. Could this last place finish be attributed to an early dev car? Or does Toyota and BMW need to go back to the drawing board?

Speaking of Nissan, a new Frontier is coming as well : !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! also spoke with executives about the new Frontier that’s coming. Stating that its a priority for them, the new truck is expected to make its debut sometime next year. The truck will have have better powertrains, though they wouldn’t elaborate on which ones. The truck will also ride on the same platform but updated so it can be competitive.

GM’s Electric and Autonomous future is going to alienate and possibly eliminate some of its workers : !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! did a good piece on 2 GM workers who both joined the company at the same time over 15 years ago. One is a factory worker at GM’s Oshawa Ontario Plant; the other is an Engineer at GM’s nearby tech center doing work on EV’s. Simply put: the article paints a picture that GM’s visions for an electric autonomous future are going to leave thousands of factory workers in the dust.

Motor1 calls bullshit on Motor Trends dyno test of the new C8 : !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! backed up by science, that pretty much says Motor Trends dyno numbers of the C8 putting out a real world 656 hp and 606 lb-ft of torque as bull. They say that who ever did the dyno made a mistake, and that MT was lazy enough to believe the mistake. It delves into and provides data proving that the engine cant possibly make over 650 horses.

Car & Driver’s long term Range Rover Velar was crap : !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! updated its long term 40 thousand mile RR Velar and they pretty much had the typical problems with it we’ve come to expect with JLR vehicles. It had so many problems that log book entries for the vehicle stopped because no one wanted to deal with it anymore. Some of its problems included a leaking fuel line on the 2.0 turbo 4, a broken control unit wire that caused it not to start in one of the editors drive ways, and a myriad number of electrical glitches and gremlins, many of which happened so often they didn’t bother to tell the dealer about them. When will JLR vehicles stop having these annoying issues?

DISCUSSION (26)

Chariotoflove > LJ909
10/25/2019 at 11:47

“ When will JLR vehicles stop having these annoying issues?”

Isn’t that like asking when British cuisine will get good?

Sorry Svend, it was too easy.

LJ909 > Chariotoflove
10/25/2019 at 11:51

Thats exactly the same though. I though them having new ownership would mean they would get their shit together. But they seem to have only gotten their shit together skin deep.

boredalways > LJ909
10/25/2019 at 11:53

“As for the design of the new car—which could be called the 400Z, indicating a possible increase to 4.0 liters of displacement for its V-6—executives remain coy.”

Last time I checked, a 3.0tt VR engine exist in the Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400. That's just lazy writing by M/T.

Arrivederci > LJ909
10/25/2019 at 11:54

The Supra being dead last in Best Drivers Car is very surprising. Most reviews I’ve read about how it handles have generally been praise-laden. I think the car they received must’ve had something wrong with it.

LJ909 > boredalways
10/25/2019 at 12:00

They have been doing a lot of things lazy lately .

LJ909 > Arrivederci
10/25/2019 at 12:02

Right. Something isn’ t adding up. Especially with all the platitudes this car has received . Either they are trying to create headlines with false outrage; they received an early build car that didn’ t have all the kinks ironed out or the driver they had didn’ t know what they were doing.

Urambo Tauro > LJ909
10/25/2019 at 12:11

Man I dunno if I’m ready for the Frontier to be updated. We have a newer one in the fleet at work, as well as a late-model Co lorado (I think they’re both ’18s?), and I like the Frontier more, just a s it is . It’s less chunky, has better visibility, and has more of a no- nonsense interior compared to the Colorado. Yeah i t feels dated, but in a good way.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > LJ909
10/25/2019 at 12:12

Nissan is missing a huge opportunity to re-release the 240z. Use a lightened 370z platform, install a 250-280 HP turbo 2.4L 4 cy engine, 6 speed manual or 6 speed auto. 2 seats, 2,800 lbs, cheap interior. Sell for around $25k. I’d buy one.

VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely > LJ909
10/25/2019 at 12:24

This is a great morning read. Thanks.

7 car pileup would be a good name for a rock band > LJ909
10/25/2019 at 12:26

The driver they use is Randy Pobst, I think he knows what he’s doing.

punkgoose17 > LJ909
10/25/2019 at 12:26

I am exited for the new Z. The convertible version looks great, but it just costs too much; I understand why the next version is coupe only.

punkgoose17 > LJ909
10/25/2019 at 12:28

I’ve heard Jaguar is decent now and Land Rover is still horrible. I don’t have supporting evidence for Jaguar quality, plus they are the same company, so idk ???

LJ909 > Urambo Tauro
10/25/2019 at 12:48

That’s why this new truck is a gamble. People love how old school it is. And while a new one would be nice, no one’s necessarily asking for a new one either. It's sales show it.

LJ909 > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/25/2019 at 12:50

I’d buy one too. Or at least have two models of the next gen Z. A bargain basement turbo 4 and an up market V6.

LJ909 > VajazzleMcDildertits - read carefully, respond politely
10/25/2019 at 12:50

No problem.

LJ909 > punkgoose17
10/25/2019 at 12:51

Yea they didn’t sell many. Fully loaded a convertible Z is nearly 50k. And at that price it’s better cars for the money.

LJ909 > punkgoose17
10/25/2019 at 12:52

Jaguar is ok. My girls dad has an XE with the V6 and he hasn’t had any problems I know of. But it does seem like the Land Rover and Range Rover vehicles have way more problems.

Textured Soy Protein > Arrivederci
10/25/2019 at 12:55

The explanation given was the road they tested it on has a lot of of large mid-corner bumps that upset the rear suspension, and they brought the car to a dealer afterwards who checked it out and found nothing wrong with the car.

They pointed out that an M2 Competition had no such issues on the same road.

So, I’m going to take a stab at this based on some of my not-an-expert BMW suspension tuning experience. My guess is Toyota spec’d a bunch of too-soft bushings in the rear suspension.

BMW has been equipping their non-M cars with run-flat tires for well over 10 years now, and they tend to spec bushings that are softer than ideal for aggressive driving, to help smooth out the ride from those hard-ass run-flat tires.

If you look at the rear suspension of an E9x M3 vs. the non-M cars, the M3 upgrades the control arms from stamped to forged pieces with harder bushings, and the subframe bushings are much harder as well. The M3 controls arms & bushings, or aftermarket ones, are common upgrades on the non-M cars. On my E92 335xi, I have the stock rear control arms/bushings, but harder Monroe upper and lower shock mounts, and Whiteline rear subframe bushings.

So, Toyota gets their hands on this BMW platform, and they can tune little things like bushings and such but not the overall architecture. The Supra has, apparently, really good ride quality, and while the adaptive shocks play into this, it’s also very possible that in pursuit of that ride quality, Toyota went for soft bushings.

T he M2 Comp, with likely much harder bushings throughout the rear suspension, had no problems with this road, while the Supra struggled all over the place.

Just saying...

Arrivederci > Textured Soy Protein
10/25/2019 at 13:13

That is both super detailed and makes a ton of sense. Also, looking back on most of the praise, that was from a controlled environment that Toyota specified on a track.

My bird IS the word > LJ909
10/25/2019 at 13:14

4 litre v6? She chonkey.

Nissan, if you want to make this car competitive, it needs to have at least 400 hp. Make a dang turbo already.

punkgoose17 > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/25/2019 at 13:21

That would be great a cheap 240Z and a more expensive 400z.

For the 240Z a Nissan KR engine or an MR engine would both be good options.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > punkgoose17
10/25/2019 at 13:23

The original 240z was incredibly cheap, I don’t want a $40,000 sports car.

punkgoose17 > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/25/2019 at 15:15

The 240Z is $24k and the 400Z is $40k.

LJ909 > My bird IS the word
10/25/2019 at 16:54

Right. If its coming to bat with a big ass V6 and 375 horses, it can go home. But they could pull what everyone else is doing and have it be called 400z but be powered by a 2.7 turbo V6.

NojustNo > LJ909
10/25/2019 at 16:59

“the final design is close to being done but hasn’t been locked in”

So MAYBE for MY 2024 we get a new Z? If they keep the current Z in production that means that chassis will be been around for 20 years

Damn.

My bird IS the word > LJ909
10/25/2019 at 18:02

I never realized the number was from the displacement until last week actually. Imho its not a bad car, but a super bad value considering the mustang gt, 460 hp and back seats for similar money.