Who says there are no nostalgics left on the east coast? In recent weeks both the Washington and New York Times have published stories about owners of J-tin on opposite ends of the mileage spectrum. First up is Linda Smith, owner of a 1972 Toyota Corona that she purchased with only 1900 miles on the clock. The trip home to DC from Florida almost doubled the odometer reading. Her husband offered this unfortunate truism about old Japanese cars: “Their sheer reliability meant most of them racked up hundreds of thousands of miles before finally going to the scrap yeards [sic].”
A couple hundred miles north in the Big Apple is Morton Ash’s one-owner 1975 Datsun 280Z. At over 330,000 miles on the clock, it has 100 times the mileage of Smith’s Corona but Ash still drives it at least once a week in the city known for some of the nation’s worst roads.
Both articles are worth a read for their insight into the owners as much as the cars themselves. Also, it’s nice to see newspapers paying attention to old school Japanese cars and bringing such stories to a mainstream audience.
People, (the public in general) are starting to understand our point of view.
Keeping things and taking care of them is good.
the ONLY place i see a LOT of Jassics at 1 time is RIGHT AT THE JUNK YARD!!! there are MORE of them there THAN ANYWHERE ELSE!!! trust me!!!
i look for 300zx’s,280zx’s,impulse’s,200sx’s,classic maxima’s,celica’s,supra’s,mr2’s,3000gt’s,starion’s,conquest,svx’s,rx7’s and they are ALWAYS ON THEIR WAY TO THE CRUSHER!!!!! many people RIGHT HERE in NC wont even try to part them out!!! they just CRUSH THEM its all i see EVERYDAY!!!
WHEN ARE PEOPLE GONNA UNDERSTAND THAT THE 1960s FOR AMERICAN CARS WAS WHAT THE {1980s} WAS FOR JAPANESE CARS!!!
im at junkyards everyday and i NEVER see more on the road than the ones in the junkyard…
oh and i forgot CRESSIDA’S!
What I like most about both of these stories, is that the owners are just normal everyday people (i.e., read as “not car enthusiasts”) and they enjoy their cars.
The toughest part of our hobby is reaching the regular Joe’s and Jane’s out there… 😉
Like Toyotageek said: “The toughest part of our hobby is reaching the regular Joe’s and Janes out there.” I totally agree with this statement. The meets we’ve been hosting in the Atlanta area have been growing, in part , from all of us chasing “regular Joes and Janes ” down on the street. Most of them have been harassed by someone wanting to buy their car, but we’re the only ones harassing them to come out to our meets, just to meet people whom could help them find parts, help keep the cars running for them, and just meeting people that like old Japanese cars. We now have a few regulars at our car meets that are not on the forums. I call and talk to them on my phone just to let them know when a meet is coming up. I think being really creative, in how we reach the car owners, not in the chat rooms is critical to pushing this hobby forward.
The woman is 5′ 2″ and can’t fit in most cars? What? My mother is 5′ 2″ and drives our fullsize van. AND my ’70 Chrysler.
And we had Coronas before more than “just in time for the energy crisis of 1973”.
I guess I’m being too tedious, neat to see cars like that being mentioned and given their due though. The 300,000+ mile Z is very cool.
@ Davexzero: Exactly – it’s trying to reach out to the people that don’t get involved, especially online, where the difficulty lies.
It’s also important and difficult to not try and alienate anyone. That’s something that has plagued TORC for years. TORC started out with a handfull of ‘regular’ people and when things got going and more members hopped on board, many of the ‘regulars’ felt alienated by the modifiers and racers, and so many of the ‘regulars’ left… 🙁
It’s a fine line to tread, and as always, difficult to please all the people all the time. That’s why one of my goals is to reach out to the ‘regulars’, since the rest of the crowd pretty much is aware of what’s happening (online, and in their neighborhoods).
its great to see some classic japanese metal here on the east coast, I live in Pennsylvania, and theres practically nothing here! Im glad at least a few have survived, and look good doing it.
thank you JOE! agreed!