Okay, I’ve spoken to Rob about the ZCG caravan up to the Blackhawk Auto Museum on Saturday.  The plan is as follows:  Meet at Z Car Garage at 7:00am, leave for the show at 7:30.  The drive takes about a half hour which gives us perfect timing to get there when registration opens at 8:00am.

If you are thinking, “Boy that’s a pretty long day.” Don’t worry.  The show and the Museum are located in one of the nicest malls in the bay area with a movie theater and lots of fine dining for lunch and what not, NOT TO MENTION THE AMAZING MUSEUM.

We hope to see as many of you at 7:00am at ZCG on Saturday as possible!!  Long Live the Z!!!

Most of us know that Nissan has been in the hybrid market for a few years now with offerings in the mid-sized sedan lines.  A not so well kept secret is that this technology is actually on loan from Toyota, so yes that hybrid Altima you just bought is more closely related to a Prius than you may wish.

Recently Nissan has made a very strong effort to break out on it’s own in the new electric craze.  The all electric Nissan-Cube test vehicle (officially named the EV-02) has been roaming the world’s test tracks and city streets for some time now indicating that the factory must be close to making some sort of decision on where to head with all of this.

Back in February news broke that Nissan had in fact filed for a loan from the US Department of Energy through the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program.  In just the past few days the loan has been approved for such automakers as Tesla, Ford, and our beloved Nissan, which is set to receive around $1.6 billion US.  Where will this money go?  In the loan, Nissan agrees to spend the money on furthering its “GREEN” production on US soil and on products that it will sell here.  The plan as of now is to begin building an electric vehicle assembly line at the Smyrna, TN plant where Nissan North America is headquartered.  The new line will be capable of pushing out up to 100,000 ‘green-ish’ vehicles a year.  I say green-ish because there is no official announcement as to what will actually be produced here, full on electric vehicles (EVs) or hybrids of some sort.

SO, HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO ZCARBLOG???  Nissan plans to release it’s first hybrid (of it’s own original design, no Toyota parts) sometime between 2010 and 2011 most likely in the M35 (M37 by then?) sedan.  The kicker here is that this platform uses the same VQ heart as the Z Car.  What is stopping Nissan from putting this nifty electric hybrid motor under the Z sheet metal?  Would you like better gas mileage in your Z? Of course you do, but would you trade in the signature VQ exhaust note for it?

Please leave me your thoughts, I’m interested to hear what all of you think on this subject.  If you have a long response simply email rob@zcargarage.com with the heading of “HYBRID Z” and he will forward them to me.  Thanks!!!

Here is your chance to own a car that has been featured in the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas as well as numerous vendor websites.  This car is one sweet ride.  Click on the picture above or the link below to check out the entire listing!

For Sale:  350Z SEMA Show Car

Don’t forget to look at all the other cars in the For Sale section at the top of the page!!!

It is time again for one of the great car shows of the bay area.  I know what you are thinking, I already put up a post about the ZONC show at the Blackhawk Auto Museum.  Nope, it’s time for the 43rd annual Palo Alto Concours D’Elegance at Stanford.

This Sunday, Stanford University will once again host the councours on one of it’s northwest lawns along Sand Hill rd.  If you are wondering why I’m posting this, it’s because Z Car Garage has been invited to be part of the display for Japanese cars.  Last year we brought Rob’s Go Green 240z to the show, but this time I think we will be presenting a more traditional 240z for all to enjoy.

This event is held in very high regard in the automotive community and the level of cars that are brought out definitely reflect this.  For example: The PA Concours is and authorized Auburn, Cord, and Duesenberg club meet, these cars are extremely rare and valuable, and they don’t get shown all that often, so don’t miss the chance to see these beauties in person.

It seems that the show isn’t ready to allow Japanese cars to be entered for judging just yet, but we are happy that they are beginning to realize the historical importance of these cars in the big picture.  Please visit their website below for all the links and information.

I have included a small map below just to give you an idea of where the event is located.

Official Website:  Palo Alto Concours D’Elegance