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Daily Driver: 2016 Nissan 370Z

Daily Driver videos are micro-reviews of vehicles in the Autoblog press fleet, reviewed by the staffers that drive them every day. Today's Daily Driver features the 2016 Nissan 370Z, reviewed by Seyth Miersma. You can watch the video above or read a transcript below. And don't forget to watch more Autoblog videos at /videos. Show full video transcript text Hey, all. This is Seyth, and I'm behind the wheel of a 2016 Nissan 370Z. That's right, the Nissan 370Z is still for sale in the 2016 model year. It would be lying to say that this car is anything but old in the tooth. It's been around since around 2009 and it has been updated since then but not dramatically, so it's still essentially the same car. The version that I'm in is really the essential version of the same car. This is a base, base model. It's right around $30,000. The only options are for floor mats, which are $125, meaning you're getting the Z at its most distilled. For this car that means that it's still using the 3.7-liter naturally aspirated V6 engine. It's making 332 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque, figures which feel about seven years old. It's made it up to a six-speed manual transmission that does not have Nissan's SynchroRev Match technology on it. This is a nice, steady, short throw gearbox. It feels a little bit notchy if you're going really fast. Not the smoothest in the world but it really gets the job done. Even over the last couple days of driving, I've really grown to like it. Now what Nissan delivers with this car is a really pure-feeling sports car experience. It's not that heavy. It's about 33, 3,400 pounds, which makes it a few hundred lighter than a Mustang. It's a little bit heavier than the BRZ, FRS twins, but with more power as well. The steering is hydraulic power assist. It turns in really quickly and really nicely. It handles challenges of direction very well. Generally, this car on a curvy road in third gear is a really, really enjoyable thing. Of course you're not getting a lot in terms of refinement. There are people who definitely argue that the 370Z has never been a refined sports car ever, and a lot of people point to the engine and the exhaust that they don't like. Right now I'm just cruising around at 3,500 RPMs and it's got a low hum that is neither exciting nor quiet. There's a lot of tire roar.

Renault splits into 5 businesses in drive to boost profit

  PARIS — French car maker Renault announced a major overhaul that will see it separate its activities in five businesses, deepen ties with China's Geely and spin off its electric vehicles unit through a stock market listing next year. At a long-awaited investor presentation on Tuesday, Renault said it targeted operating margins of 8% for 2025 and rising to more than 10% in 2030, from 5% expected this year. It also plans to reinstate dividends from 2023 after a three-year hiatus, and generate more than 2 billion euros of cash annually between 2023-25, growing to more than 3 billion euros in the following five years. An early mover in the electric car race, Renault has fallen behind newer, more agile rivals like Tesla. After needing emergency state cash during the COVID pandemic, the group is looking to extend on a turnaround following losses in 2019 and 2020, and increase the valuation of its different parts. But big question marks remain on its strained relationship with long-standing Japanese partner Nissan, as Renault looks for other outside investors for each of its divisions. The main plank of the car maker's strategy is separating its combustion engine business — which will partner with Geely in a 50-50 joint venture, also announced on Tuesday — from its electric vehicle unit, to be listed in the second half of next year. Nissan is expected to take a stake in the EV venture, codenamed "Ampere," alongside other investors, though Renault will keep a majority stake. Talks with Nissan have been dragging on, amid Japanese reservations about sharing technology with others, including a Chinese rival like Geely, sources have told Reuters. Shares in Renault fell 2% by 1254 GMT after earlier dipping more than 4% as it gave little detail on the state of play of the discussions with Nissan on the future of their partnership. Renault CEO Luca De Meo said the group wanted to give the alliance a strong future and a "new chance." But he also said that — as in a marriage — "it is important for us to have our own hobbies and our own life." The companies had initially set a Nov. 15 target to reach a deal, but no announcement is now expected on that date, according to people familiar with the talks. Aside from the Ampere EV unit and the combustion engine division, Renault will have an additional three businesses — the Alpine sports-car brand, financial services and new mobility and recycling activities.

Recharge Wrap-up: Gogoro Smartscooter debuts, Nissan Leaf drivers drive more

The West Coast Electric Highway in Oregon and Washington makes up about nine percent of the country's EV charging stations. Located along I-5, Highway 101 and other highways, Oregon offers 43 DC quick chargers, while Washington has 14. Chargers are located every 20 to 25 miles along the network, with plans to extend the Electric Highway from Canada all the way to Mexico. Between March 2012 and April 2014, drivers used public chargers 17,917 times in Washington and 18,522 times in Oregon, according to the US Energy Information Agency. Read more at Green Car Reports and at The Register-Guard. Nissan says Leaf drivers in Europe clock about 40 percent more miles on average than gasoline and diesel cars. Using the Leaf's CarWings telemetry, Nissan has found that Leaf drivers average 198 miles per week, or about 10,307 miles per year. Drivers using traditional fossil fuels only drive an average of 138 miles per week, or 7,170 miles a year. Nissan has sold more than 31,000 units of the Leaf in Europe, with more than 150,000 sold worldwide. "Our customers frequently tell us that they buy the Nissan Leaf as a second car, but end up using it far more than their other vehicle," says Jean-Pierre Diernaz, Nissan's European EV director, "and the information we receive from CarWings reinforces that message." Read more in the press release below. Gogoro's electric Smartscooter, which uses a battery swap system, debuted at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Smartscooter features a racing suspension, a connected mobile app, a suite of sensors and a host of customization options. What makes the Smartscooter really interesting, though, is its battery swapping network. The 20-pound batteries are traded at small stations - essentially vending machines - in a matter of seconds, so worries about charging times are nonexistent. The battery stations could also be used by utilities for energy storage to help balance grid loads when they're not being used to power electric travel. See the Smartscooter in the video below and read more at Wired. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.