New Z's show no love

[SportBikeMike]

I've waved at 300ZX owners and gotten the same puzzled look. You would THINK that they would at least get it!

Kids from teens to early twenties think they are seeing some rare Ferrari or Porshe instead of the humble S30.

I did have two nice acknowlegements from new Z owners. A 350Z was trailing me once and I looked up in the rearview to see BOTH passengers wave enthusiastically. (Cool) I waved back of course. We then proceeded to drive the twisty road the way Z's like to be driven. Fun

The other time was a new 370Z owner. He was my age (40) and as I passed him I gave a thumbs up and a smile. He caught up and returned the gesture. He understood. It was nice to see some genuine generational Z comraderie.

Once upon a time almost all motorcyclists did some kind of wave or acknowlegement to one another. Now they have their little cliques and it's more like 65% wave. Some people never get it.

Just a couple weeks ago, I drove my 280ZXT to work and this guy, 20 or so, asked if it was a Porsche. I said, no its a Datsun, and he just had this kinda puzzled look on his face.

I agree with you about the motorcycles. Now about the only time I wave first is if its another sportbike. If its a cruiser I'll usually wait for them to wave first. Bikers are very cliquish.

[Zs-ondabrain]

A lot of the S14 drivers seem to be very aware of what my 240Z is. And they are a younger crowd, 16 to 28? ish.

Dave

[abruzzi]

Aside from the age thing, keep in mind--to keep a 30-40 year old car on the road requires quite a bit of dedication, so just about all S30 drivers are enthusiasts with a strong connection to the history of the vehicle.

A 350Z to most owners is just a good mid 2k japanese sport compact that you can find on a used car lt. Most owners would probably been as happy with a RX8, S2000, R32 or other similar car.

Geof

[Reverend]

Im 25 and suppose you can say that im "old skool" kinda guy. I know a lot about old cars, especially european and japanese. History is one of my favourite subjects. I feel kinda outsider here in my own country amongst other Z drivers (there's not much). Reason: they're all into tuning and making their car as fast as possible by any means. There's only few true purists and they are all (i think at least) 40+

Funny thing is that many 40+ guys had came to me and said that when they were young, all they wanted was 240Z. One reason why i got my car storaged in large garage was that the owner of that place always wanted 240z (now he's having 355 Ferrari)

Like i said in other thread, one young bloke came and said that "Nice Camaro man!"

[Z Tyler Z]

A lot of the S14 drivers seem to be very aware of what my 240Z is. And they are a younger crowd, 16 to 28? ish.

Dave

Haha yep you seemed to draw a pretty decent crowd at that NWN (Northwest Nissans) meet last week. Even had more attention than that immaculate white Skyline. Seems like the S14 crowd is filled with people who at least know a little about the older Nissan/Datsuns compared to the people who just buy a new Nissan based on reviews.

Personally I've yet to drive my Z enough to really think about throwing a peace sign up or wave at anther driver. Except of course when I'm driving my daily (Pos 92' Merc Cougar) and see a S30, than I think damn I should have drove my Z today.

[Z CAR 77]

Why wave at a Camaro?

Why wave at a Camaro? For me a couple of reasons: When I was in High School (god l'm old) and before the 240Z came out the Z-28 is the car I would have killed for (kind of like your 1st love). 2nd reason is over the years I've found that guys who drive the really "classic cars" seem to "get it". They will actually come up to you at a show or at a filling station and complement you on your Z-Car. I think it's them accepting the Z-Cars into the faternity of really "classic cars".

So for me, I wave at 1968 Z-28 & Bullet Mustang and every other "classic car" I see :classic:

[zcar70]

I can't tell you how many times younger drivers in 350s, Z32s (and Hondas and Toyota tuners for that matter) pull up to me in my 240 and invariably want to know "What's a Datsun???"

The heritage is not lost on all, just SOME born after 1980....