Z Car Garage is excited to see this 1972 Datsun 240z go to auction with our friends over at Bring A Trailer.  We found this Z in 2012 for a customer and purchased it from the original owner. This is our first listing with BaT and we anxiously await the final winning bid on this time capsule S30. Follow the auction HERE and watch the final minutes as bidding ends in 6 days!

 

 

It is a sad day for Nissan and Datsun owners as we learn about the passing of Yutaka Katayama, father of the Z car. The news has spread throughout the media from NissanUSA to Wall Street.

 

As many of you know,  Mr. K is the father of the Z Car and was honored for his innovative design of the early Z Car that set the bar for others. He helped Nissan to become the best selling import brand in 1975.

 

He also positioned Nissan to become the 1st automaker to sell Americans on compact pickup trucks and “King Cabs”.   Here is Mr. K with the actor (Dale Ishimoto) that portrayed himself in Nissan’s famous “Dogs Love Trucks” ads:

 

Retired from Nissan since 1977, Mr. K still had a drive for styling. He played a major role in refining the Nissan Z concept car that was unveiled at the North American Auto Show in January 1999. On October 13, 1998 Mr. K was inducted into the Automobile Hall of Fame museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

We have fond memories of Mr. K at our local and national Z-car shows. It always amazed us how enthusiastic and full of verve this man was to come stateside and participate in our love for these cars. Here is Mr. K at a Z show in the Bay Area, circa 2002. Like many Datsun owners I too was humbled when he signed memorabilia/car parts and shook hands. Mr. K was driving a Z well after he turned 100, noting that his driver’s license was good through his 103rd birthday. Amazing individual.

 

Having excellent communication skills even in is older years he was known for ending emails and conversations affectionately with, “Love Cars! Love People! Love Life!”

 

Thank you Mr. K for all that you have done for the automotive world. Our condolences go out to your family. You will be missed!

 

 

 

Z Car Garage wants to thank all of our customers and friends for making the 10th Anniversary celebration a spectacular day! We had a great turnout of cars and people from all over the Bay Area with free swag, raffles, and food. The shop was open for all to peruse some of our latest project cars and we also dyno’d a few Nissan Skylines.

 

It’s hard to believe that 10 years have passed since we first opened our doors! This was our future dyno room, circa 2004 (left):

 

In case you missed the celebration here is a brief glimpse of the facility. Front office and the main work area with a few project cars on display:

We had a nice showing of cars including all generations of Z-cars:

 

Some neat engine swaps:

 

Lots of Skylines including Peter and Gary’s GC10s, DR30, R32, R33 and R35 models:

 

The highlight for most people (besides the free food and prizes :)) was the dyno running of three Nissan Skylines. Starting off with Gary’s C10

 

Next up was David’s R32 GT-R:

 

Finally, Jermaine’s R35 which we will feature soon on the blog. It was cool to see folks so amped on the results. Here is a short video of all three Skylines on the dyno, enjoy!

 

 

So let’s toast to many more years of service, passion and performance and thank you for supporting ZCG as we celebrate our 10 year milestone! Don’t forget to visit the gallery for more photos below…

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Motor Trend pays homage to the legendary Hakosuka GT-R by taking a drive with owner Hiroaki Shinomiya. It’s a great little story with plenty of eye-candy to drool over from the S20 engine to the Watanabe wheels. Thanks to reader Clark G for the heads up! Click HERE to read the article.

 

By now you have probably heard the hype surrounding Nissan’s answer to the wildly successful and totally rad Scion/Subaru (FR/BR) sportscars. The concept is called the Nissan IDX and it is polarizing Nissan/Datsun fans everywhere. What do you think? Is Nissan’s effort a little late or do we have a winner? Our dear friend Forbes brought our attention to this Jalopnik article with more pics HERE.