We are very excited to have Mr. K’s 1972 Datsun 240z at the shop! Yutaka Katayama (affectionately known as “Mr. K”) put Datsun on the map while serving as President of Nissan Motors USA.
This Z was Mr. K’s personal car, with touches like the “G-Nose”, custom mix Yellow Pearl Paint, wire wheels and automatic transmission. It was most prominently featured in Nissan’s multi-million dollar Datsun Heritage advertising campaign in the late 90’s. Check it out in this Super Bowl Ad – “The Dream Garage” lead a series of T.V. commercials featuring Mr. K (played by an actor):
In 1977 Mr. K retired and before returning to Japan he gave the Z to his long time Administrative Assistant, Johnnie Gable and her son Kenny Ueda. The family still owns it to this day, driving to many events and Enjoying The Ride. Johnnie contacted Z Car Garage to bring the Z in for some TLC. We are honored to have this national treasure at the shop and look forward to getting it back on the road!
If you listen closely, you can almost hear it whisper the words of Mr. K’s simple philosophy, “Love cars. Love people. Love life.”
Thank you Johnnie and Kenny for making the trip from Southern California, Long Live The Z!
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