Nissan’s New 350Z Keeps Under-$30,000 Pledge

We aren’t going to become a pricing guide for every new car that comes down the turnpike, but after bringing you just-announced MSRPs for the Mini Cooper last week and the Toyota Matrix on Jan. 9, we couldn’t miss one of the year’s most anticipated arrivals.

Nissan long has promised that the resurrected Z sports coupe would start at less than $30,000 and for once that doesn’t mean $29,999.99.

Pricing, when the 350Z hits showrooms in August, will start well below that at $26,629, according to Nissan’s announcement at the Detroit auto show.

That doesn’t include the destination charge, so add an additional $540.

It also doesn’t include any “you want it badly enough, you’ll pay for it” surcharges that dealers might add just because they can.

We haven’t heard yet that Nissan dealers are tacking on a surcharge to milk the first run of Zs for all they can get, but such behavior certainly isn’t unheard of in the auto world.

Consumers, of course, are as much to blame as dealers. After all, if we won’t pay, they can’t overcharge.

After a month or so, the cars and trucks would start to stack up and the supply-demand equation would start to reverse itself.

But we digress.

Nissan says its suggested retail price for the base 350Z includes the 280-horsepower V-6 and a six-speed manual transmission.

The top-of-the-line “track” model (it’s street legal) will peak at $34,079. Two mid-range models, in touring and sports packages, also will be available.

John O’Dell