Sid,
I should have said the "income bracket" of Triumph, MGB and FIAT, Alfa, etc
owners
The Z filled a niche for a reliable fast affordable sports car. All the
above cars didn't fill that niche in all of the adjectives.
Convertibles were also losing their cache at that period in time also,
probably because of the leaks, noise and drafts of convertibles. The Z came
out at the right time and attracted a lot of fans.
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: "sidney raper" <spl310@hotmail.com>
To: <datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 8:37 PM
Subject: Re: Design Study (getting WAY off target - but interesting banter!)
> Mike,
>
> While you are correct that the hard core Jaguar E type owners would not
buy
> one, there was a big market for the Z cars - more than just TR6 and GT6
> buyers. Triumph continued to sell plenty of their roadsters - someone
that
> wanted a ragtop would not have bought a Z. The GT6 did not exactly set
the
> world on fire with it's sales figures, so it was not the major donor of
> buyers. The Z may have been a rice burner, but at the height of the sales
> frenzy, there was a crazy waiting list, and people were paying double the
> sticker price. ( I heard of one that sold for $5000 over sticker) because
> folks wanted the latest toy. The Z was the adult version of the Tickle Me
> Elmo back in 1970.
>
> Datsun/Nissan was not looking to eclipse the E type, but rather their goal
> was to get the buyer that wanted E type performance, and updated E type
> styling at an affordable price. At the time that the Z was introduced,
the
> E had already established itself as a snob car, and was climing in price
> like a chimpanzee going for coconuts. Datsun/Nissan did what the Japanese
> have become famous for - they saw an unfilled market niche and they were
> "the firstest with the mostest" to fill that niche. America countered
with
> the Vega and the Pinto.
>
> Sid
>
>
> >From: "datsunmike" <datsunmike@nyc.rr.com>
> >To: "sidney raper" <spl310@hotmail.com>, <Pre_Z@msn.com>,
> ><datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net>
> >Subject: Re: Design Study
> >Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2001 17:18:49 -0500
> >
> >"The design was hailed as wonderful as it was an affordable alternative
to
> >the E type coupe."
> >
> >Sid,
> >
> >I don't think Datsooon was aiming at E buyers but buyers of TR6s and GT6
> >Spits. A person interested in buying an E would buy a MB SL, Pantera,
> >Porsche, BMW etc. and their noses would be up in the air catching flies
at
> >the mention of them buying a Z - a friggin' rice burner!!
> >
> >Remember that Jap cars were not highly regarded by many in the late 60s
or
> >70s. People often referred to my cars as the aformentioned "rice burner"
> >
> >Mike
>
>
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