10th anniversary 280z

[dogma420]

actually, Nissan wanted to sell more cars...the 79 280zx sold a lot of cars...numbers don't lie...to the 'average' car buyer, the 280zx was a great looking car when it came out....and if the s30 didn't exist (and we are all biased) it is a great car to the average joe.

I believe the 1979 280zx sold the most cars of any year up to that point, maybe of all years...anybody know?

[sblake01]

Don't know the figures but the 1979 280ZX was the Motor Trend Magazine 1979 Import Car of the Year.

[mazingerz1976]

"Import Car of the Year" for1979, the 280ZX sets the all-time sales record for the Z line with 86,007 units sold.

[chickenwafer]

Annual sale figures:

1970 240Z: 9,997

1971 240Z: 26,733

1972 240Z: 31,342

1973 240Z: 52,556

1974 260Z: 53,415

1975 280Z: 66,419

1976 280Z: 67,891

1977 280Z: 71,230

1978 280Z: 77,890

1979 280ZX: 86,007 (peak sales) [import car of the year by MT)

1980 280ZX: 71533 (first decline in Z sales)

1981 280ZX: unknown

1982 280ZX: 57,260

1983 280ZX: 48,980

1984 300ZX: 73,101 (top-selling sports car in America that year)

1985 300ZX: unknown

1986 300ZX: 52,936

1987 300ZX: uknown

1988 300ZX: 19,357 (fastest Japanese car sold in America)

1989 300ZX: unkown

1990 300ZX: 22,183 (Import car of the year by MT) (25% twin-turbo)

1991 300ZX: 23,981

1992 300ZX: 26,522

1993 300ZX: uknown (2,068 convertibles and 1,470 Twin turbo, total unknown)

1994 300ZX: 22,421

1995 300ZX: 19,189

1996 300ZX: 17,873 (Lowest sales sense the 1970 240Z) (Twin-turbo model peaked with a sticker price of $46,570)

I don't know the sales for the years I marked "unknown" (obviously), but they're out there somewhere. But the '79 280ZX was the best selling Z ever. Sad, isn't it?

Dave

[sblake01]

Looks like they should have built one more year of S30. Then the 10 anniversary car would be an S30 and maybe they'd still have won that Motor Trend award by releasing the ZX in 1980.

[bemmerguy714]

by tmu do u mean the car that was donated to a university museum when new. i saw that zed on ebay about 2 and a half years ago. i'm not positive but i think it sold for around $17K, and i believe it had more miles on it. correct me if i'm wrong.

tmu Is "true miles unknown". I bring it up cause they're are some people out there who would do that. ITs not hard to take the odometer out roll it back and all of a sudden the car is thousands of miles slimer. :eek: But like i said im sure someone ran a carfax or something on it. at least i would have... :tapemouth

[sblake01]

What year did Datsun go to the 100000 mile digit on the speedo? Or the 17 digit VIN? All of the services like Carfax seem to require a 17 digit VIN. My 78 and 79 have neither.

[dogma420]

<<

Looks like they should have built one more year of S30. Then the 10 anniversary car would be an S30 and maybe they'd still have won that Motor Trend award by releasing the ZX in 1980.

>>

Motor Trend's 'car of the year' is only for brand new models...if the 10th anniversary car was an S30 it would have been disqualified...this is why the 'car of the year' from Motor Trend isn't much of an award if there aren't many new models that year...

ie. See Toyota Tacoma truck of the year 2005 (or 6?)...good example...not many new trucks out there for the model year makes it easier.

If the 280zx is so refined, why is it even today that racers use 240z's but never touch 280zx's?

[sblake01]

<<

Looks like they should have built one more year of S30. Then the 10 anniversary car would be an S30 and maybe they'd still have won that Motor Trend award by releasing the ZX in 1980.

>>

Motor Trend's 'car of the year' is only for brand new models...if the 10th anniversary car was an S30 it would have been disqualified...this is why the 'car of the year' from Motor Trend isn't much of an award if there aren't many new models that year...

ie. See Toyota Tacoma truck of the year 2005 (or 6?)...good example...not many new trucks out there for the model year makes it easier.

If the 280zx is so refined, why is it even today that racers use 240z's but never touch 280zx's?

You missed the point of my scenario. If the S30 had been built through 1979, the 79 model would truly be the 10th year it was built. Then, if the first ZX had come out in 1980, it would be a brand new model making it elligable for the car of the year award. Now I'm not a fan of the ZX but they did race them. Many others besides the three listed, including Paul Newman, campainged 280ZXs in IMSA, SCCA, etc.:

[sakijo]

What year did Datsun go to the 100000 mile digit on the speedo? Or the 17 digit VIN? All of the services like Carfax seem to require a 17 digit VIN. My 78 and 79 have neither.

According to a quick search, I found the following:

Commencing in September 1980, Motor Vehicle Safety Standard regulation FMVSS-115 required a 17-digit VIN (vehicle identification number) on all new vehicles sold in the United States. (In Canada, the applicable regulation is Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations Standard 115 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act.) In June of 1983 the American requirements of the regulation moved to Part 565.

The vehicle identification number is divided into four parts: the World Manufacturer's Identification (WMI - three characters); the Vehicle Description Section (VDS - five characters); the check digit; and the Vehicle Identification Section (VIS - eight characters). When decoded, the VIN tells the country and year of manufacture; make, model and serial number; assembly plant and even some equipment specifications.

So, your 78 and 79 predate the new requirement. I did some research into this when trying to determine if I could bring my motorcycle to the US from Japan. You can learn a lot about your car if your decode your 17 digit VIN.

[zhead240]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-Series-280ZX-1980-Datsun-280ZX-Coupe-Only-18-334-MILES-ONE-OWNER_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6187QQitemZ4576078063QQrdZ1

i had to giggle when i saw the BIN price

he must have seen the first anniversary go for $28K and figured there must be another dumbie out there. at least the first one was unique in that it only had 37 mikes. the 18K miles is no comparison.

[GunnerRob]

DON'T BUY THIS CAR!

The guy's a imposter. Look! He's really a Chevy guy!!