15 year instant overnight newbie

[We Bad]

Greetings all,

I'm here because I love first generation Z cars. (I like Jaguar E types as well but that's another story.)

I bought my first (and only) Z in 1993, raced it (autocross) all of 1994 and by 1995 it had a 383 SBC in it. (I had a 1970 Chevelle prior to that with a supercharged small block and a Doug Nash 5 speed. I came to the conclusion that the best way to go faster would be with a bigger motor in a smaller car.)

I met Mr K at the 1995 National Z car convention ( hosted by the Georgia Z club). I said to him "Thank you for building the Z car." To which he replied, "No, thank you for buying it."

I have made a study of cars that I think are significant in the history of the automobile and my opinion is that for a car to really leave its mark in history it had to be inexpensive enough to be accessible to most folks.

Case in point: The Ferrari 250 GTO is a fabulous automobile. (In the dictionary under "sexy Italian sports car" there is a picture of it.) But seriously, how many folks have ever seen one? Nice car but I can't afford a ten million dollar automobile.

The Mazda Miata, though, is an affordable car that has captured the hearts of many. Just like the Z car, if you wanted one when they first came out you added your name to a waiting list at the local dealership. The Miata was pure and simple and FUN, much like the Z car. People celebrate the Miata just as they celebrate the Z.

(But the Z car came first!)

I'm glad to be amongst others that share my enthusiasm,

Richard

[Carl Beck]

Hi Richard:

Good to see you here. I along with several automotive historians agree with you - the Datsun 240Z is considered to be one of the most important cars in U.S. automotive history. It changed the perception of Japanese cars in America, from being cheap little economy cars, to being high quality world class vehicles.

FWIW,

Carl B.