So today Jane and I went out to the local Nissan dealer and looked at Nissan 370 Z’s, and test drove a 370 Z convertible. Let’s follow the procedure I set forth last time, and see how it stacks up.

1. Can we afford it? Just barely. It’s more than I really want to spend, but we could possibly stretch a point.
2. Appearance? It’s both distinctive and attractive. It comes in black, white, and silver, apparently, none of which really do anything for me.
3. Interior? Not bad. I liked it much better than the Mustang interior, and it was a little roomier than the Mustang—I didn’t feel squeezed between the door and the center console. The seat itself was a little too narrow, though: I felt a little pinched by it.
4. Performance? That I liked better than the Mustang as well. It accelerates nicely, and it’s got a “manual” transmission with paddle shifters. I’d not seen this before, but it was kinda cool. There’s no clutch pedal, and you can let the car handle the shifting itself if you like. On the other hand, you can put it in manual mode, and then you’re completely in control of when the car shifts. It handled nicely, too, and I enjoyed driving it.

   I drove it with the top down, which was nice; I suspect the visibility would be pretty bad with the top up. As we drove I could feel the wind on the top of my head a bit, which was nice, but I didn’t feel windblown, which was also nice. The ride was kinda bumpy.

   The gas mileage is similar to the Mustang’s, which is to say, not as good as I’d like.

5. Conclusion? I like it, though I suspect I can do better. The only real showstopper is the seat.

All of that said, I wouldn’t buy one from the dealership I went to, or at least not from the salesman I talked to. First of all, I had trouble understanding what he said; he’s Armenian (not surprising around here), and he had a thick accent and mumbled. Second, when I finished my test drive I told him twice that I’d like Jane to try it…and he parked the car and put it away anyway. I could have made a big deal out of it, but I chose not to. And third, I told him I wanted to look at a 370 Z convertible, and I test drove the one he showed me to. After we got back I discovered that it was a (admittedly new) 2010 model. I can understand that they want to get the 2010 Z’s off of the lot; and maybe there’s no real difference between the 2010 and 2011 Z’s. Maybe they had no 2011 Z convertibles in stock (though that seems unlikely). But it seems like he should have told me that it was a 2010 before I started to look at it.

Of course, maybe he did, and I didn’t understand him.

Bottom line, I don’t expect to get a Z, but I liked it better than the Mustang. So the current ranking is as follows:

1. Nissan 370Z Convertible
2. Ford Mustang with Premium Package

Jane and I have decided that sometime in the next six months or year, we’re going to get a new car. I’m currently driving a 2004 PT Cruiser, which has been a great car, still runs well, seats four, is built like a tank, and is remarkably crash safe…and in about a year, my eldest is going to be old enough to learn to drive. So we aren’t looking to replace my car, exactly. Instead, we’re looking for something fun. Here’s what we’re looking for.

• First, it needs to have more power. I love my Cruiser, but it’s a little sluggish getting on the freeway and going up hills. It’s especially sluggish getting on the freeway whilst going up a hill at the same time, which is something I do daily.
• Second, it needs to have a fun, distinctive look, as the Cruiser does.
• Both the driver and front passenger seats need to be comfortable to sit in.
• It should be fun to drive.
• The gas mileage should be no worse than my Cruiser’s. (This is not hard.)
• I have to like it better than I do my Cruiser.
• If it seats four, that’s nice, but it’s not required. Two will do. (That is, me and Jane.)

A sports car is a possibility. A convertible is a possibility. But I’m also open to something else entirely, provided that the criteria are met.

Since there’s no rush to buy, we’re going to take our time and have fun with it. So what we’re going to do each weekend is go out and look at a car. One (1) car. Or, at least, one dealer. If they’ve got multiple offerings that might do, we’ll look at all of them.

Here’s our procedure:

1. Look up the make on-line first, and see what models might be of interest. There’s no point in looking at something we can’t afford, or going to a dealer if they have no cars I’d even consider.
2. How does it look? Is it immediately recognizeable, or does it look like everything else on the road?
3. Go to the dealership and sit in the car. Does it pass the laugh test? Can I sit in it comfortably? Is the instrument panel interesting and fun, or is it ugly and pedestrian. If I can’t stand the interior, there’s no point in driving it.
4. Go for a test drive. How does it handle? Do I like driving it? Is it still comfortable? When I accelerate, is it effortless? Or does it seem to be working too hard?
5. Is it adequate? Is it great? Do I love it?

Today we went to one of the local Ford dealerships, and test-drove a Mustang (V6, premium package, but not a convertible). Here’s my assessment.

• Looks: OK, but a bit understated for a Mustang. Half the time when I see a Mustang on the road these days it turns out to be a Dodge Challenger.
• Interior: Not bad, but a little cramped side-to-side. Not too much headroom. Not as comfortable as my cruiser. The instrument panel is nothing special.
• Performance: better than my Cruiser (heck, it’s a V6 vs. an underpowered V4), but not what I expected. I want to press the accelerator from a standing stop and have it accelerate quickly and effortless. The Mustang accelerates just fine, but makes a big deal about it. (Possibly that’s just part of the whole pony-car thing.)
• Score: Adequate; not great. I don’t love it.

I will say, though, that they had a GT that was exactly the perfect shade of blue. I don’t want a GT–the V8 is a little too thirsty for my taste–but if I loved the Mustang I’d have found that GT very tempting. More than I want to spend, but very tempting.