...kinship.

[Danglybanger]

Stick with this.

I come from a muscle car/hot rod (Corvette specifically) background, since I was a wee lad I've been surrounded, but I wound up dissenting... Well, my dad did own 3-4 Z cars when I was younger too in any case, but when he approached the government's mandatory Corvette issuing age of 40 they were forced out of garage...

In my years of having non-Vettes, it's kind of nice not to be driving around in a marketting mobile (I cringe every time I see Corvettes emblazoned on all sorts of consumer wares, and those annoying, minimalist nick nacks and gizmos with Porsche badges. But then again I sometimes discover perhaps I'm more accustomed to being part of a marque with more er... devoted devotees.

A Corvette driver you know, will always wave to just about every other Vette on the street. Really though, they also tend to recieve/give waves to anyone driving any Chevrolet short of a beige 99 ex-rental Malibu. You wouldn't find so much fanaticism in a Nuremburg rally as you would in that brand.

I visibly tend to check out nicely modded 350Zs as I drive along (and it is visibly, as I haven't subjected the car to the limo tint that many of those 350s have) when I'm in my 280... and seriously, not one of them has ever even peeked over their Oakleys (always) at me to notice that I am a kinsfolk, through the vestments of fellow Z ownership. This despite the obvious, at least halfhearted enthusiasm demonstrated by owning a modded car in the first place. Maybe my tiny rims don't catch enough light to penetrate the Oakleys.

I do wonder when these cars (especially nice ones) will get attention. In the last few months I've seen maybe two other S30 Z cars on the road period while I've been in mine... I got my hopes up when I saw one of the nicest, yellow 240s I'd ever seen pull up next to me, jutted out my hand for a full on wave, Corvette nostalgia in full force... SURE that this person will have to be at least semi pleased to see another S30 that hasn't rusted to the ground...

Nothing.

More recently, I pulled up to a Jack in the Box (and no, I wasn't searching out any jailbait posing in matte Z cars ). I parked next to a beat, faded red, fairly sinister looking S14 hatchback. I've almost been Jonesing for one lately, so I gave the car a bit of a once over to make sure there wasn't an intercooler or something peeking out from under the bumper, only to notice that the owner was sitting in the driver's seat. Stereotypical 16 year old buzzcut kid who you'd think would drive a car like that, he almost seemed to be checking out my car too, but I couldn't really tell. Damn Oakleys again.

I swear, we then proceeded to stare each other down for a good 5 minutes before finally deeming it ok to give each other the "thumbs up" for approval of each other's rides.

...Or on the other hand he could have thought I was just a huge gay. In any case, after this occurance I hold out hope for future generations.

Most of the random praise for my Z car comes from 40-50 year olds, who always either had/wish they had a car like that when it was new, and half the time specifically compliment my hubcaps (:laugh:).

But again, since you get a free Corvette issued to you at that age, I guess they don't have room in their garages for another...

...

Starting the wave among Z owners might be harder than starting the wave at a WNBA game. But maybe, if just one person here gets waved back to by a fellow Z owner...

Edited August 14, 2008 by Danglybanger

[DougN]

Well, my Z has not been in Cali since around 2004, so it was not me who did not wave to you! :classic: Actually, I always wave at any other Z car, but, like you don't always get a wave back. But, as we have discussed here before, the majority of (350Z in particular) Z owners don't seem to know/care about the Z heritage. Even if I get a return wave from another Z (even a 240Z), they often seem surprised that I waved to them.

Like Vettes, Brit car owners are pretty good at waving to each other, when I drive my MGB and see other British cars, I almost always get a wave back!

P.S. here is a cyber wave to you in your Z from me in mine (yes I am driving it today!)

Edited August 14, 2008 by DougN

[bigoak]

A little different up here...S30's always acknowledge...my Z31 usually gets attention from Z32's...the buyer of Z33's simply don't generally buy because of the heritage, but because of looks / performance (most likely in that order, although I was at a Honda dealership looking at a used S2000 and sales guy said he'd prefer a Z33 any day of the week...)

[Danglybanger]

...the only Z31s I see at all are typically beaters (headlights stuck in the up position, battered bumpers with the paint worn off, etc.) that look eerily similar to the only S30/Z130s that I used to see before they seemed to disappear completely. I saw a GORGEOUS one on the 5 a bit back, but I wasn't in the Z too

Z32s seem to belong to a separate tier that includes other modded cars (most of them here seem to be), but not other Zs...