Spent nearly a month in the US through parts of May and June and did quite a bit of traveling. Met up with the usual LAZ32 crowd in Los Angeles and also my friend Kenny down in San Diego with his 240z he lets me drive. Some time in Arizona with the ProjectZ32 crowd at the Pavillions Car show in Scottsdale, I also went to my 3rd Branson Z Fest out in Missouri and my 2nd visit to see the guys at Z1 Motorsports in Georgia. It wasn't for the nationals this time, but I spend a couple of days with the guys and went out for dinner with Russell Floyd and a few others. Had an awesome time as always.....not to mention the Ferrari California a friend from Texas let me borrow!

 

Anyway, whilst I was out in Missouri at Branson Z Fest, I got chatting with Mike (Mad Dog) Taylor. If anyone is really into the Z scene, then you might have heard of Mike. He's probably the most prominent Z guy in the US, and likely the whole of the English speaking world. He is close friends with Yataka Katayama (the father of the Z car and Nissan USA president back in the 60s). Mike has also got close ties with Nissan Japan and helped offer ideas for the 350Z development and has his own concept version of this car. He was also heavily involved with the History Channel's documentary about the Z Car. Steve Burns knows and has met him. Mike's a great guy. Anyway, Mike presented me with these 2 books (both of which he edited/co-wrote), neither of which you can get over here. I think some have made their way over here and if ever you get a chance to read or buy them, I advise you to!

 

Mike runs trips out to Japan once every few years to see Mr.K and also visit people from Tomei, Nissan Japan directors etc which I hope to go on maybe next year.

 

Anyway, just wondering if anyone has read or seen these two?

 

 

 

 

The show at Branson is awesome, it's just a week long party in the beautiful Ozark Mountains where us (the staff members at 3ZC - the US Z32 Owners club - as I am a moderator over there) to have a piss up). We had well over 140 cars this year which is pretty good for a 'little' regional show. Alas, I destroyed my phone last week with ALL the photos on it. Here's a video of the Branson. The first 3 opening photos are actually of me being a dork at the Pavilions Car Show in Scottsdale Arizona before I headed out. My friend with the red Z drove there....from 2.30 onwards, the silver 2+2 is the Z I use out there most years. hNAwxFPLeOQ

Thanks for sharing Si, the scene out there really seems a winner. Weath of information from the 3zc guys.

Awesome! Looks and sounds like you had a Zedder's dream holiday.

video gives error message- "The content owner has not made it available on mobile"

Can you tweak it so I can watch on smartphone,

Cheers

Awesome! Looks and sounds like you had a Zedder's dream holiday.

video gives error message- "The content owner has not made it available on mobile"

Can you tweak it so I can watch on smartphone,

Cheers

 

Worked on my iPhone

Thanks for sharing Si, the scene out there really seems a winner. Weath of information from the 3zc guys.

 

There is no denying, the Z scene in the US is great and there is HUGE support for the car and the brand. This has something to do with the motorsport heritage over there which we never really got in Europe, add that to the fact that the Nissan brand is held in quite high regard as their range is significantly better and bigger than the European range which is dominated by horrible bland Eurobox cars like the Micra and Note. They get the Titan which is a huge V8 pickup truck and its SUV stablemate, the Armada. Both of which would be totally unsuitable in Europe, but are great vehicles none-the-less. In addition, you also have the Maxima, Altima and Altima coupe. All of which are really nice sedan cars and a coupe. Sure, they get the Sentra which started life as a rebadged Sunny/Almera derivative, but now looks totally different and also the Versa and Versa Note which we sort of have, but they aren't big sellers and were introduced for the California markets and north Eastern states.

 

The support is reciprocal too with the dealerships and even Nissan USA HQ supporting the assortment of events over there. ZCon for example is a big corporate affair with huge sponsorship from Nissan USA and various aftermarket component manufacturers/suppliers. They're great though and I've done done 6 shows out there now from the grass-roots type events in the Midwest to Znationals.

 

Awesome! Looks and sounds like you had a Zedder's dream holiday.

video gives error message- "The content owner has not made it available on mobile"

Can you tweak it so I can watch on smartphone,

Cheers

 

Alas no, my friend who uploaded it seemed to have trouble in getting the option to run on all devices.

So in essence, they have :

 

V8 Armada

 

V8 Titan

 

Maxima V6

 

Altima - I had one of these as a rental car last month. I have to say it was really nice, even with the lowly 4 cylinder engine. Can come with the 3.5L V6

 

 

Altima Coupe either 2.5L I-4 or 3.5L V6

 

 

 

What do we get? IE, the best sellers?

 

These dull and dreary creations :

 

A rebadged Modus:

 

 

The Micra - this is the new one, looks more dated than the model it replaced. IMO, I think Nissan could make a killing in the supermini market if they designed something a little more streetwise and stylish looking. The old people would still buy it, but if they did a Nismo inspired hot-hatch as a viable and good alternative to the 208 and Fiesta, I think it would sell. There are no decent fun superminis from Japan at the moment. The Jazz is dull, the Micra is miserable, the Alto is a crock of shite and the list of dullness goes on.

 

 

The Juke.....this has started to grow on me, but NOT MUCH. Even the Nismo version looks grim.

 

 

Even their sports models look better.

 

Their 370z is available in NISMO trim. A spectacular looking car in the flesh.

 

 

The Euro version is pretty much a 1-model lineup in terms of visuals. Still a nice looking car, but nowhere near as striking.

 

 

Now I appreciate that the US also gets a Versa and a Sentra. Neither of which are that nice. The Versa only sells really in California and also to rental companies. The Sentra, Astra sized, isn't too bad looking. They also get the Juke, but it's not the mainstay and most are 1.8i 16v Turbos. Their main sellers are the Altima, Maxima and Titan. Their version of our Navara is called the 'Frontier'. Almost the same but with a slightly different back section to the cab.

 

I also appreciate the markets are different and Nissan see value in the small car sector. But you get an idea of why the marque is considered a little higher than it is here in Europe. I wish they'd launch the Altima over here with a 2.2D engine or something. It's a lovely looking car and a nice alternative to the regulars we see out there in the family car market.

Have always enjoyed reading your American exploits. Sounds like once again you have had a great time and the thread was a good read matey.

 

Welcome back.

Have always enjoyed reading your American exploits. Sounds like once again you have had a great time and the thread was a good read matey.

 

Welcome back.

 

Thanks and thanks. :)

Great books and I have never seen them before plus signed by Mad Dog is a nice touch.

I'd like a read of that second one, an in detail explanation ofvwhy they revived the z liniage after all those years with something so far behind the previous. It should have been closer to the quality and performance of the current skyline.