You're kidding right?

Do you remember that Nissan almost failed TWICE? They had to axe all the CEO's and completely restructure the company to save it from going completely under two times! That is two times more than Honda. Nissan a better company, don't make me laugh.

I admit they are on a great recovery route but I doubt that they are getting that much better yet.

I was just in Japan recently visiting family and my observations confirm this fact, Nissan is not doing too well.

You must be reading the old news, Nissan USED to be top dog in Japan, not anymore. Toyota and Honda have taken over that spot in recent times.

Nissan does have a few great motors but they are getting outdated and behind, technologically speaking, in comparison to Honda and Toyota. Nissan is the Japanese equivalent of the US domestic automakers, in that power is made by size, not by technology. Because of this, Nissan's motors are generally less efficient and less reliable than Honda's motors are. That may all be changing with the latest restructuring but it will take some time before changes are made throughout the product line.

Although the Skyline and the Silvia have good motors, they are also becoming dated, inefficient and are not the most reliable motors in the import world.

On that note, I'll keep my S2k regardless of what comes down the pipeline..

 

The SR20DET has a strong bottom end and crank because turbo engines require this kind of strengthening.

IMO building a strong engine and slapping on a turbo is easier than producing a 9000rpm 120/hp ltr daily driven beast.

 

I would be interested to know how many people bought the S2000 for the HP figure and how many bought it because of the handling, feel and look of the car.

I would have thought that the majority would not be HP lead in their decision.

Any thoughts?

 

TVR have just brought the Tamora which is priced in line with the Boxster S and Z3M but with a whopping 350hp and bag load of torque, needless to say it wipes the floor with them in terms on performance. Big problem with TVR's is reliability, I wanted a Cerbera 4.5 (390hp) but I called the showroom and asked him to be straight with me about reliability, he started the conversation 'well youve got to remember this is not an everyday gar, its a race tuned engine ....' at that point I'd already made my mind up, he was totally honest, I needed a reliable everyday car and this was not it.

On the plus side, if you ever get chance to sit in one then do it, they are not only gorgeuos on the outside but the interior is pure luxury and unlike anything you've ever seen, it has gauges in the steering wheel and wilton carpets that feel and inch thick. Oh and it goes like stink 0-60 in 4.5 secs but does not have ABS or airbags, not sure if it even has power steering.

 

While I love Z cars (I've got an old 1976 Datsun 280Z 2+2 with only 53k original miles that I plan to restore someday), I don't agree that Nissan is way better than Honda. Honda makes some amazing engines and their reliability is way up there too!

I guess you don't remember...before the S2000 was released it was suppose to be anywhere from $28,000 to less-than-$30,000. I don't expect the new Z to cost less $33,000 once it's equipped so don't get your hopes up on preliminary pricing!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Rick Hesel
[B]Frankly, I'm one person who is fed up with this obsession with raw horsepower.

 

Well, in the UK Honda has just been voted number 1 car manufacturer (which survey), followed by Lexus and then Mazda. The top 10 are always Japanese but I think Nissan was quite a way down the list.

I think you'll also find that in Japan Toyota is the daddy with Honda being number 2, Nissan are a company in dire straights, hence their recent merger with Renault. I don't know what Nissans reputation is like in the states but in the UK they only exciting car that they have is the Skyline for which 50 Jap Specs are imported per year and then configured for the UK by 1 specific dealer. Their UK cars are mainly for the blue rinse brigade, utterly boring but as with all Jap manufactures reliable.

I look forward to the Z coming to the UK, it should give Nissan a boost that it definatley needs.

In engine terms I wouldn't mention Nissan in the same breath as Honda, Honda are leaders in engine technology, they won't simply strap a turbocharger on something to make it go faster which all the other Jap manufacturers seem to do. Honda introduced 16V and created VTEC in the early nineties and only in the last few years have Toyota followed that lead with their VVTI engines.

The Skyline GTR is an awesome piece of machinery but I would say its 4WS and torque control systems are more impressive than its engine. In the UK the GTR is double the price of an S2000 so your paying for all that technology and the current GTR34 is not the prettiest car on the road, I've seen pictures of the future GTR and thankfully Nissan has restyled it to look much nicer.

 

> costs way more, auto only, won't likely handle as well
> BMW M Roadster - ditto ex. avail. w/ manual

It handles differently, but not necessarily worse. Numerous test have shown the original M Roadster to match track times with the Stook. Also, according to my contacts, the M Roadster doesn't have as high a rate of accidents due to loss of traction on non-dry roads.. I am confident had I kept my Stook I would have hit a curb now here in the often wet road of Houston..

> Nissan - 1st year markups will prob. price it well above S2K prices

This coming from a Stook owner? I'm sure most of us could talk about markups - they are still happening today with the Stook, what 2 years later!! Plus, with the new Z's targetted base price significantly under 30K they shouldn't exceed 2003 Stook prices.

> Styling is "adventurous" to put it nicely, and no 9K redline.

At least Nissan has the cajones to be adventurous. I love the look of the Stook, but it definitely looks like a conservative Honda. As for its appearance, have you seen the final product? The Stook looked pretty hideous before its final release.

Ok, so am I the only one who hates the 9K redline? I mean, if I could have put a 240hp engine that redlined at 7K in the Stook I would have been much happier driving around town.

>I don't think it will be quite 300 hp, either, so acceleration s/b in the same league

We'll see. The hp wars will probably force Nissan to up the horsepower. Look at the 2002 Altima - 240hp and Maxima - 255/260hp - both available with 5 or 6 speed manuals. These engines will be very low in their output potential too. The very cheap Altima might see sub 6 second 0-60 times - the Max too. If the new Z can stay below 3000lbs and get 260hp then all will be fine in the stock acceleration dept. With some non-boosted mods I wouldn't be surprised to see 30-50hp added easily and very cheaply(as in under $1000).

>V6 Miata - there goes the Miata's great chassis balance...

Ever heard of an engineer - not the train kind either. These guys should be able to make it all work- I wrote *should*. If they just drop in a new engine then you are right, but if there is a complete redesign it can be done albeit the car's weight will go up unless they use some *exotic* materials..

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Iceman
[B]The SR20DET has a strong bottom end and crank because turbo engines require this kind of strengthening.

 

The M-roadster bashers among us failed to also note more tendency to roll-over with sticky tires on road tracks. Or didn't the M-owners among us hear about those incidents?