Car #1 - The Datsun

It was a sunny day in 1981 when my parents and I drove up to Woodbury, NJ to pick up the new car - a 1982 Datsun 310 GX. At the time, you could get a 310 in a 2-door coupe, a 2-door hatch, and a 4-door hatch. Ours was the latter, though I'm still not sure what the "GX" badge meant. But, since it was a 1982 model, that meant it was the last of the "Datsun" badged cars, and under the GX was written, "By Nissan". It was also the last year for the 310.

Ours was a light metallic blue with blue interior. This, oddly enough, caused a rift in our household since my father considered it a, "cool grey". "Don't argue with me - I'M AN ARTIST!" he'd quip.

But my father loved this car, and drove it daily for years. I think he really enjoyed the utilitarian-ness of the hatchback, and it wasn't long before he'd line the interior with a tarp and fill it full of tree branches and grass clippings.

The car saw some action through the years, too. It's major christening came on a family road trip when all three of us fell asleep, and awoke to my father over-correcting like a madman. We crossed three lanes of traffic, and slid onto the grass median in the middle of interstate 95 in Virginia, damaging the drive axles and CV joints. Later on, its driver's door was backed into and replaced with one of the (almost) same color, and another incident resulted in a crumpled rear quarter panel which my father had repaired by a man at the local junk yard and a hammer. This repair also resulted in a mismatched tail light, but it passed my father's idea of safety, so it stayed.

After 10 years, and 125k miles or so, the car was passed on to me. By then, the hammered-out quarter panel and bumpers were rusting out, the pinstripes were peeling off, and the LR door no longer opened. But it was mine, and I drove the remaining three doors off of it.

The engine was a mighty 1.5 liter putting out an astounding 67hp through a new for '82 5-speed manual. But since the car probably weighed just over a ton, and had pretty short gearing, it was a spritely little car. In fifth gear, it would top out at 80mph, but if you shifted down into fourth, it developed enough torque to pull you to a staggering 85mph.

Amenities were few, but my parents did pop for the bucket seats which, to this day, are still some of the most comfortable ones I've experienced. The radio was a single-speaker unit, which didn't do much to impress the ladies (or anyone else, for that matter).

I had to do something about the outside, so I took a cue from Porsche and went with the "black chrome" look they'd started in the '80s. I sanded down the rust on the chrome bumpers and painted them black, along with the peeling plastic chrome on the drip rails, and the shiny door handles. I also rattle-canned the 13" steel wheels back to silver. When I was done, the car actually looked remarkably good, and more than one passerby would stop and ask about it. I even caught a glance or two from the guy across the street with the custom Maxima.

The struts had long since worn out, so it skipped across uneven pavement. This, combined with the front wheel drive, made for entertaining cornering and, along with the 6k rpm redline, made you feel like you were always hauling ass. The muffler even fell off once, which made the car ridiculously loud (and "sporty", to my 17-year-old ears), but was soon replaced much to my chagrin.

But like my father, I learned to really enjoy this little car over the next few years. It looked like nothing else on the road, and even had a reverse-opening hood with functional louvers which gave it a sporting persona.

I was terribly upset one afternoon when the car finally died, and I hobbled it home and parked it. My father, who knew nothing about cars, was convinced that the engine was toast. Now that I know better, I think it was something like a fouled spark plug or a bad distributor. It only had 155k miles on it.

I can't imagine many of these cars still exist, but I'd love to have the opportunity to find another one and run it up the road again. I'll even be happy with metallic blue. Sorry, Dad.

Photos courtesty of oldparkedcars.com

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Driving Music - "You Really Got Me"

One thing that I really miss about the current stereo setup in my car is that I don't have iPod connectivity (yet). As a result, I'm still stuck with channel surfing through radio stations, trying to find that great playlist that usually ends up being mediocre with long commercial segments in-between.

Occasionally, though, you get a real gem in the mix. You know it instantly because your pulse unconsciously starts to race, you reach for the volume knob, and no matter the weather outside, the windows get put down and you belt out the lyrics. It turns you back into that wild-eyed 17 year old, doesn't it? Sure it does. No need to deny it, or be ashamed of it.

So what was my song the other night? The old Kinks song, "You Really Got Me", as done by Van Halen. Granted, the original was a great song, but there's something about Eddie Van Halen's feedback-heavy guitar, Alex Van Halen's drumming, Michael Anthony's thundering bass, and the over-the-top vocal ownership that can only come from David Lee Roth that makes the adrenaline rush through me whenever this song comes on the radio.

Back in 1996, Nissan licensed this particular version for a TV commercial featuring their flagship 300ZX twin turbo. By then, the writing was on the wall for the car's demise, but Nissan hired ad firm TBWA Chiat/Day North America, who jumped on the popularity of the "Toy Story" movie (released in November, 1995), and made a farewell commercial for the car. 

The spot featured a G.I. Joe type of toy who speeds across the playroom in a red, remote-control 300ZX turbo. He eventually steals the heart of a Barbie-esque doll, who descends from her Malibu beach house and zips away with Joe in the Z, her boyfriend looking on in horror. "Oh no no NOOOOOO!!" wails David Lee Roth as Eddie hammers away at the neck of his Music Man guitar. 

It's still one of my favorite commercials, and it's one of those pieces of film that I think of whenever I hear that song. Fortunately, it wasn't ruined for me like Cadillac did with "Rock 'n' Roll" by Led Zeppelin. I suppose it's the combination of a really great piece of music, and a car that was truly timeless in its design. To this day, I still stand in awe when I see a 1990-1996 300ZX coupe. 

Should I ever be fortunate enough to drive one, rest assured I plan on popping some Van Halen into the CD player. But sorry, Barbie. I'm already hitched.

We build excitment - just not cars anymore

With all the excitement and pageantry that is Halloween, no one seemed to notice a strange disappearance....

That's right - while we were all out trick-or-treating, General Motors closed down Pontiac.

There's no doubt that a lot of people will be saddened by this - including me. And there will be thousands of pages written by journalists lamenting the loss of the once great brand. So as much as I'd love to sit and wax rhetoric with Jim Wangers about the GTO, I don't really feel like it's what my Pontiac memories were like.

Growing up as a little kid, I always seemed to have a black and gold Trans Am in my hand, whether it was a Matchbox car or a plastic toy. I must have had six or seven of them at any one time. One even had a "Bandit" decal on the side, which never registered with me until I was about 12 and someone showed me "Smokey and the Bandit". To this day, I'd love to get a ride in a 1978 Trans Am Special Edition - just make mine with a 4-speed and the Buick 455 engine.

My first real Pontiac memory came with the first episode of "Knight Rider". That sleek, black 1982 Firebird Aero whistling its way across a desert, with the red lights in the nose, just looked like it could have been the fastest car EVER. Sure, it talked, but it sounded like nothing else on the road and even had a "Turbo Boost" button that made it fly!

I always liked the looks of those cars, but it wasn't until 1993 that I finally got to drive one. It was a burgundy Firebird GTA, complete with the Corvette L98 TPI motor, gold mesh wheels, and the T-tops out. The owner let me hammer it down the street, and the roar combined with the shark-like looks made me feel like the coolest guy around. "You got a Ferrari? Whatever."

Years before that, I remember a friend of our family bought a new white-on-blue Grand Am SE sedan. It had the big, alloy wheels and a screaming QUAD-4 motor with 180hp. With the body cladding, matching white wheels and the digital dash, it was a sweet ride in all of its 1980's-ness.

I even liked the big Bonneville. I still remember running out to the Pontiac dealer around 1990, and demanding to see a Bonneville SSEi with the supercharger. The salesman thought I was nuts, but I'd seen one in print, and fell in love. To this day, I still think it was one of GM's better designs, albeit with those funky  front faux vent windows. Make mine hunter green, like every other one. Seriously, anyone remember ever seeing one that wasn't?

Even the Fiero still draws my eye when I see one go past. I loved the way they looked, but was disappointed when I finally got a seat in one (an early V6 GT model), and didn't fit well at all. I'd love the chance to try it again.

In more recent years, Pontiac became a GM knockoff. The models seemed to lose their uniqueness, and became even more of a lackluster car. As car enthusiasts, we'd convinced ourselves that Pontiacs were Pontiacs - not rebodied Camaros, Cutlasses or LeSabres. But somewhere in the last 10 or 15 years, the magic that blinded us wore off, and we saw Pontiacs for what they were.

Trans Sport. Sunfire. Aztec. When did they go from "We Build Excitement" to "We Build Crap"?

Once GM turned their back on the car enthusiasts, the damage was done. Even really great cars like the new GTO, Solstice, G6 and the G8 failed to bring back the hordes of fans. All the hard work, legend and lore that had been put into the brand by folks like Ed Cole, John DeLorean and others, had been thrown out within a few years time.

With brands dropping like flies at GM, it makes you wonder where the company is headed, and who's running the joint. 'Cause it sure ain't car guys anymore.