Z cars at the Concours

[black gold man]

Don't be ranting the judges must be blind because they are.

This show is three miles down the road from me at end of 8 mile. At the FORD house.

Here is a concours type event with z cars and other Japanese cars mingling with the aristocrats .

EyesOn Design Auto Design Show

http://www.eyeson.org/index.php/eyeson/auto-show

2006

2011

http://blog.caranddriver.com/eyeson-design-charity-car-show-for-the-visually-impaired-need-not-be-seen-to-be-appreciated/

Award winner Shiro Nakamura

Winner 2010

Lifetime Design Achievement Award

Honored Recipient: Shiro Nakamura, Vice President and Chief Creative Officer, Nissan Motor Co.

Edited April 5, 2012 by black gold man

[TomoHawk]

Will we see TWO cars there next year?

[motorman7]

This is the link to the La Jolla Concours 2012 winners page. It's awesome to see the Z amongst that group of vehicles . Thrills the tar out of me. Thanks again everyone for all the congrats.

http://www.lajollaconcours.com/new/concours/content.asp?contentid=2017752898

[72 OJ]

Thanks for the link. A''Z''in great company and heavy iron, it makes me dam proud in owning one ,not a show piece but a looker and a blast to drive

[zpizzaman20]

A comment was made earlier that concours judges do not understand the cars enough to judge them.

I find the problems on the internet and at all z shows, that people truly do not know what is a stock Z.

There is so much misinformation out there, I appreciate all of you gentlemen with such beautiful cars educating the rest of us.

Fred

ZCCA Head Stock Judge

[TomoHawk]

You should look at the "unrestored" cars.

I was looking at one (a 1917 electric car) once, and a stupid old lady said, "Look at that old floor, with those big cracks (between the wooden floorboards.) This car should be junked."

Some people just don't understand what the different kinds of shows, or their entry categories, are about. They mostly think a "show car" is about the same as a "new car."

I'll take a neatly-welded rat-rod or a clean model T over any new Corvette or shiny whatever any day. Even a rusted rat-rod; some people have made rusty cars a kind of art form.

[TomoHawk]

Some people do have their misconceptions about Zs (see the "Weird Myths or Facts about your Z car" topic) and they essentially do some harm to the reputation of the marque. One guy tried to convince ME that the casting marks on my intake manifold were actually welds because "so many of these cracked after the were driven."

[TomoHawk]

s Mr. And then there's people like Mr. George Barris.

Remember the Car Warriors TV show where they customized 240Zs? Even after they outrageously customized both cars, Mr. Barris (a custom- and show-car "expert") says, "They're still Datsuns!"

Regardless of how rediculous or out-of-style the two 240Zs were, that comment didn't show any respect for the most popular marque in sportscars.

[esprist]

Hello Rich,

Congratulations on the first place award!!!

[Carl Beck]

A comment was made earlier that concours judges do not understand the cars enough to judge them.

I find the problems on the internet and at all z shows, that people truly do not know what is a stock Z.

There is so much misinformation out there, I appreciate all of you gentlemen with such beautiful cars educating the rest of us.

Fred

ZCCA Head Stock Judge

Hi Fred:

I've heard that comment before and in many cases it may be true.

I'll add that there is a difference between "Concours" and "Stock" Events and Judging. As someone else mentioned a Concours is a Beauty Contest.

I had the pleasure of taking to one of the people that is a Judge at both Pebble Beach and Amelia Island. He is also the owner of one of the Vintage Z's and a huge fan of Mr. K not the mention having a rather impressive private collection of Classic/Collectible and Special Interest cars himself.

Judges not knowing what is pure "Stock" or "Original" to any specific car is not at all uncommon at the Best Concurs Events. In fact it is mostly the case. They leave the judging of "Stock" or "Original" to the marque clubs, or the Antique Car Clubs like AACA for the most part. No doubt that at least a couple of recognized experts exist somewhere in the world for almost every car made or mass produced - - but they are not usually available or attending every Concours event.

The Judges at the Concours Events - ask the owners about their cars - and for the most part the owners are honest in their responses. It is more the preparation and presentation of the car, plus it's inherent beauty that counts on that day, with those Judges at a Concours Event.

On the other hand - it's people like you that have to judge what is "Stock" or "Original" on any specific Z at National Level Z Car Events, or The guys at the National Level Corvette Shows etc.. It's the Judges at the Antique Automobile Club of America that focus on historically correct examples.

Take Dan's Banks car - already Judged by the ZCCA and the AACA - to a Concours event - and the Judges at that Concours Event would take the ZCCA's & AACA's word for it being "Stock" or "Original" - then on top of that they would look at preparation and presentation as well as the inherent beauty of the design.

So - bottom line - Keep up the good work - down the road many others will depend on your judgment. I do agree that it would be nice if not helpful to have the Z equivalent to the Corvette Back Book. Maybe when you retire again - you can work on that.

FWIW,

Carl B.

[Bonzi Lon]

Saturday was a beautiful sunny day for a car show in McPherson, KS. Not too many imports, however a nice Ferrari, 2 Porsche's away, had plenty of attention. One of the admirers was Wayne Carini, see photo. He went all over it with the owner and onlookers. It was a western KS barn find.

He was walking down the sidewalk talking to another when his eye caught my car, stopped in his tracks and said, "Wow!" He walked over, introduced himself and started with the compliments. We talked Z car, Z history, my car, for at least 5 minutes. He was genuinly interested in the car and its history.

The finest compliment I got from him was, "You even have the original wheel covers! Wonderful! Thats nice."

Bonzi Lon

[motorman7]

Very cool that you got to chat with Wayne Carini. I think that is the cool thing about the Concours events; you get to meet some very interesting people. Last year at the Dana Point Concours, I was able to meet Barry Meguiar, CEO of Meguiar's car wax. We really had a nice conversation about the Z car as he had a '72 when he was younger.