Curbside Classic: The Revolutionary 1971 Datsun 240Z

The Datsun 240 was as a true revolutionary, smashing the long-stagnant sports car market of the sixties into smithereens. It was long overdue too; folks were getting cranky for the messiah: a truly modern sporty two seater with four-wheel independent suspension, a zippy OHC six engine, dazzling styling, all served up at a reasonable price; say $3500 (about $20k adjusted). The hole in the market for such a car was begging to be filled. And Datsun stepped up and delivered, with a grand-slam home run. But like most revolutionaries, the Z was anything but truly original. But then neither was Che nor Lenin; they studied Marx. And Datsun? They took their studies seriously too.

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  • Jeff Maybe one day automatic braking will be better sorted out but as others have stated there are too many false alarms and those false alarms could get one rear ended. I agree about the tire pressure monitoring systems when the batteries go out on the sensors they don't work and they are never meant to last forever. Just buy a good tire gauge and learn how to check the tire pressure and put air in your tires.
  • Carson D The funding is so they can travel to China to find manufacturers for their parts.
  • Carson D 1996 OBD-II was a good set of regulations. Everything after that has been a net negative.
  • ABC-2000 I just got a 2024 Crosstrek, first car for me that require 6000 K or 6 month service, I have been told I better follow that schedule if i actually want to keep it.In the last consumer reports survey, it was the only car that got 99 points for reliability, let's hope they are right (:-)
  • Jeff I am going to agree with Tim knobs and buttons but I realize that is low tech but much safer than scrolling thru a screen to reset your interior temperature or to turn off the radio. Also bring back the mechanical parking brake instead of the electronic one.