My Fairlady Z
In 1969 Datsun embarked on a journey that would change the auto industry forever. A sports car for the common man, the Z was meant to bring performance and comfort at an affordable price.
The first Z to come to America came in 1969. The 240z hit the market on October 22nd and came stock with a 2400cc straight six-cylinder engine that pumped out the light-weight Z to a stunning zero to sixty time of under nine seconds. Above all, the 240z was a steal with a price tag of $3,526.00 opposed to the '69 corvette that was just shy of $5,000.00.
The 1970 brought even more hype for the Z. The American demand for the Z became so high that Kelly Blue Book appraised a used Z at almost $4,000.00. The 70s also lead the Z to the race track courtesy of Bob Sharp and Pete Brock. The 240z took home two championships ('70,'71) before retiring the 240z in 1974. Datsun knew they were on to something special when in just 4 years they sold 116,712 Zs.
1974 was no different for Datsun with the introduction of the new 260z. It was the first year that the Z had a 2+2 body style which accommodated fold-down rear seats. The renaming of the Z came from the 2.6 liter engine. Although the engine grew, the horsepower did not. Due to the strict emission laws, the hp of the 260z was dropped to 139. Despite a drop in power, Datsun set new Z sales records selling 63,963 cars sold in one year.
The 260z's life was cut short due to the increase in emissions requirements for 1975. Datsun knew they needed to come up with a new engine and fast or the history of the Z would be finished. Datsun came up with a 2.8 liter six banger bringing the introduction of a fuel injection system that pushed the 280z's horsepower up to 149.
Between 1975-1978 the Z's racing legacy continued. With Sharp at the wheel of a Datsun 280z, won eight races in the GTU racing circuit took the championship with ease. In 1977, the Z had another trick up its sleeve; a five-speed manual transmission with overdrive that raised horsepower to 170 setting yet another sales record with 67,331 cars sold.
years. It went from a step up from an average car to what it is now, a full
When the word Mustang comes to play, most people think of a very well known car, not only for its stylish aspects, but for a variety of reasons: cost, features, speed (probably best know fact), and all around good appeal. The Ford Mustang was designed to be a people car. In 1960 Ford engineers sought out to build a car that the average motor head would be able to afford but yet still have the edgy feel about it. Back at the time of its release, in the early 1960's, the Mustang did hold the advantage over General Motors. General Motors had no car out at the time of the Mustang's release to compete with it. As the years progressed, Ford and Chevrolet managed to out do one another with there monster creations of each car. One such creation by Ford is their 590 HP "Super Stallion." The car features a 590 HP engine which burns alcohol instead of regular pump gas. Jack Keebler noted from Motor Trend Magazine, "The way to a fast time is to launch this pony at no more than 1,600 RPM, gently feeding in the throttle as the big 265/40/ZR18 Goodyear's churn at the edge of traction. Full throttle is impossible until you're well into third gear, but its still one helluva hand full to drive" (40 - 45). That is the newest creation from the M...
The automaker Chevrolet has experienced much technological change in the past 104 years. Although it, Chevrolet, is a French name, it is an American car company. It was primarily founded by William C, Durant, along with Louis Chevrolet, on November 3, 1911. It wasn’t until six years of existence that it became part of the Automotive Division at General Motors, otherwise known as GM. Durant had previously tried to buy out Ford and failed. This caused him to resort to co-founding Chevrolet. The first car sold by the company commonly called Chevy was the Classic Six, at the price of 2,500 dollars. Chevy started producing these vehicles in 1912-1913. The car’s value may seem like pocket change but that is the common day equivalent of roughly 57,000
Entering the 1950s, no corporation even came close to General Motors in its size, or it's profits. GM was twice as big as the second biggest company in the world, Standard Oil of New Jersey (father of today's Exxon Mobil), and had a vast diversity of businesses ranging from home appliances to providing insurance and building Buicks, Cadillacs, Chevys, GMCs, Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs and trains. It was so big that it made more than half the cars sold in the United States and the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust division was threatening to break it up(to prevent Monopolies, Like how Standard oil was broken up). In the 21st century, it's almost hard to imagine how powerful GM was in the 50s and 60s. Sports cars from Europe were getting popular, because of servicemen coming back from WWII, and wanted sports cars, but American Automakers didn't make sports cars, so they would either buy foreign, or go without. A man named McLean would still try to make a low priced sports car. But it didn't work. The idea of a car coming from GM that could compete with Jaguar, MG or Triumph was pretty much considered stupid and insane. C1:Generation: Bad but valuable. Just 300 Corvettes were made in 1953. Each of these first-year Corvettes was a white roadster with red interior. The Corvette was made of fiberglass for light weight, but the first cars were made with a really weak, (and kind of pathetic for a “sports car”) 150 horsepower 6-cylinder engine and an automatic transmission. The result was more of a look at me, I’m rich car than a race car. The first generation of the Corvette was introduced late in 1953. It was originally designed as a show car for GM's traveling car show, Motorama, the Corvette was a Show Car for the 1953 Motorama display...
Every so often a man or women has an idea that is innovative, amazing or in some cases far ahead of its time. Unfortunately it is far too common that these ideas are lost or stifled by people who are afraid of the change they may bring. Since people also tend to believe if something seems too good to be true it probably is, these ideas may not get enough good attention until it is too late. Preston Tucker was one of these innovative people with a great idea. In 1944 he began work on a car that was safe, reliable, and groundbreaking. So far ahead of its time it made the wrong people nervous. The car was first christened as the Tucker Torpedo but due to concerns over torpedo not sounding safe, it was changed to the Tucker 1948. These amazing cars turned out to be one of the most revolutionary automobiles ever made and would have remained so if it weren’t for a slander campaign by the United States government.
The Chevrolet Chevelle SSs' earliest engine in 1964 didn't perform as well as the later models. It had a 327 V8 engine which wasn't even close to as powerful as the later models. After a slow start, the 1965 Chevelle became a real muscle car. The car now had a lot more power since it had a 396 V8 engine, also known as the Z-16 package. Along with a better engine the Chevelle also had front and back anti-roll bars, faster power-assisted steering, and better braking. The 1965 Chevelle SS was great, but the 1970 Chevelle was the better than anything Chevrolet had made previously. The 1970 Chevelle had a LS6 454 engine, this was the best engine that Chevr...
When Ford introduced the Mustang in 1964 there was no immediate reaction from General Motors, but by August of '64, just four months after the Mustang's introduction, GM realized the appeal of a four seat sports car. Ironically, the Mustang was created in response to the Chevrolet Corvair Monza!
Some say that automotive racing began when the second car was built. For over a hundred years, competition has driven innovation in the car industry, thus the industry maxim “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.” NASCAR and drag racing contributed greatly to muscle cars’ success. Muscle cars were born from these competitions as factory made race cars. Because of this, the muscle car quickly moved from a low quantity specialty item to the image of the American automotive scene. Each brand had to have one and each one needed better performance and personality than the next. The Golden Age began in the 1960s with the introduction of more performance models such as the Chevy SS Impala and the Ford Galaxy Starliner (Auto Editors).
Each nitro dragster is equipped with a custom supercharged and fuel injected engine, which is the real power of the beast. Another very crucial part of the car is its parachute launch system, which if he drivers didn't have would be a very rough and maybe lethal stop. Also one of the most powerful parts of the machine is the gas which is a nitromethane. The dragsters can use up to fifteen gallons of nitromethane in only one run. Another fascinating fact is that the dragsters are twenty five feet long and two thousand three hundred and thirty pounds. The top fuel dragsters pull eight gs on launch, and also have have amazing drivers who react to the start light in less than a tenth of a second.. The “fire breathing monsters of the NHRA” as they are called are a man mad true feat of engineering. When you look back at how the NHRA started you would be shocked and amazed by the mechanics and systems that go into each nitro drag
The 1920's were a time where North America became modernized. Whether it was the music, the culture or the growth in technology, this time era is known to most people as the point where America advanced itself to become a world renowned country. An advancement that will be focused on is the Ford Model T. During this time owning a car was a symbol of wealth. Henry Ford, the creator of the Model T, made a system that revolutionized the automobile industry as we know it today. Henry Ford made it possible for people with an average income to own a motor vehicle by creating the assembly line and the theory of mass production. "The horse, which had been the chief means of land transportation for 3,500 years, had given way to the automobile, and the country's largest industry had been born." (Gordon)
Another major change was in 1990 when the ZR-1 was made with 375 horsepower and a LTS5 engine under its hood. To help the appearance of the ZR-1 stand out from the standard corvette coupes, it was given all new convex rear fascia and quad rectangular taillights. All of the new corvettes were made with a new cockpit design that included digital readouts and analog gauges plus a driver’s personal air bag. Due to the redesigning of the corvette, the horsepower of the standard L98 engine was increased to 250. Shortly after this change, it under went a styling refinement that included a wrap-around ...
The 1956 model year brought out a new car, The Rambler. This was not a new name, but the car came out with no mention of Nash or Hudson. The press raved the new Rambler with its improved power, larger interior, and smoother steering. The rest of the American Motors line however, still carried the dated styles of 1952.
The first production Tuned Port Injection (TPI) systems appeared on General Motors' vehicles in 1985. The GM vehicles built with these systems were the Corvette, Pontiac Firebird, Pontiac Trans AM, and the Chevrolet Camaro. Upon their introduction, these systems achieved a 35 % improvement over carbureted systems and a 20% improvement over available forms of fuel injection in horsepower, torque and economy.
Nissan was the first company to introduce a 100 percent electric car that produces zero emission and they had great hopes for this vehicle (“Nissan Product Information”). According to Michael Strong, the company believed that this car would be the future of transportation and that it would soon be responsible for 10 percent of all new vehicle sales. However, after 3 years on the market, Nissan’s CEO Ghosn admitted that the Nissan Leaf is only accountable for 4...
Following shortly after Z3, Britain's Colossus in 1943 and two years later America came up with another system ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer)