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To be honest, I’ve never been a super big Nissan fan. Sure, I love the GTRs and the Silvias, but that doesn’t count. Everybody and their mother love those cars. The Nissan 350s, the Maximas, that’s what Nissan’s normal lineup consists of, and I can’t say I’m dying to get into the seat of any of those cars. Still, when I’d seen the latest Top Gear with good old Jeremy Clarkson matching a Nissan 370Z against a BMW Z4, I was a bit underwhelmed. I mean really, who ever thought a BMW “Zed” 4 would ever outrun a Nissan 370 “Zed”; it’s just not possible.
Sure the horsepower sounds the same, and the shape of the cars look around the same ballpark, but here’s why a BMW will lose every time. It’s heavy. It’s made for people who like to drive 90mph on the 405N, and feel like they’re driving 40mph. The BMW Z4 is a luxury car on Halloween with a sports car costume and it isn’t fooling a soul (some people like that sort of thing, so in that case, it’s consensual). Sometimes I think that’s why people speed on the freeway like it isn’t a big deal: suspensions that don’t have feedback.
I think if people could actually drive with what 90mph is supposed to feel like without all that soft dampening from the shocks and sound deadening material, they’d feel a little more weary about driving at speed and making illegal maneuvers. Imagine having to drive a stripped out Z4 with nothing but a cage and a race seat; I can only imagine.
