Quote:
Originally Posted by Mt Tam I am
I am assuming you went through six in relatively short order. Which of the early Z's was your favorite? I spent 17 years, and over 200,000 miles with a 280Z.
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Between 1969 and 1984 I had a 240Z, a 260Z, two 280Z's, a 280ZX and a 280ZX Turbo.
I loved the 240. Fast and quick, nice tight steering. Still remember my first drive in it (my previous car had been a RoadRunner with 6-pack and RamAir ... 6 mpg, but gas was $.36 per gallon) and thinking wow!...a go-kart. The 260 was a disappointment. The 280s were much better, but the car was getting bigger and heavier. The 280ZX, bigger and heavier yet. Didn't care that much for the ZX either. The Z was going from an actual sports car to a bloated GT luxo-cruiser. The 280ZX Turbo was cool, though...big, heavy, but when that turbo wound up and started whining and it pushed you back in the seat...THAT was cool. Of course, lots of turbo lag back then, so throttle response was slower. And it had to be an automatic (Borg Warner IIRC) because the Datsun clutch system apparently couldn't hold up to the turbo.
Then, marriage, house, kids, kid's college, another house, more college, wife's horses...so I skipped the next Z iterations, but didn't really care for what the car had become going into the 90's anyway. I was intrigued by the return of the Z, but still didn't quite have the resources. But when we finally got around to the 370Z...THAT was a return to the 240Z concept...an actual
sports car again. I couldn't pass it up. Glad I didn't. IMHO, the 370Z is back to what the Z should have always been.