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how I'm doing,
Deer Valley, Arizona
The following factoids were printed on the free Nissan Z playing cards that were sent to potential customers in preparation for the release of the new 350Z. This what I experienced with my decks. Other peoples decks may vary.
Actual scans of the playing cards can be found here.
| Description | Model | Face | Suit Name | Back Image | Text Color |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Known Facts Department: The wheels on the 1990 through 1996 300ZX were specially engineered to draw the air out from under the car at high speeds to cool the brakes. | Z32 | Ace | Spades | rear | silver |
| Because a balanced weight distribution can be critical to the performance of any sports car, Nissan engineers specified an aluminum hood for the new Z to help reduce weight over the front wheels. | Z33 | 2 | Spades | interior | orange |
| In 1990, Road & Track names the Nissan 300ZX Turbo "One of the Ten Best Cars in the World." That same year, American sales reach the one million mark, making the Z the best-selling sports car of all time. | Z32 | 3 | Spades | rear | silver |
| A racing fanatic, Nissan Motors USA President Katayama's own Z-Car was the Japan-market 240ZG. An extended "G nose" added 190mm of length and included glass covered headlight scoops for more aerodynamic efficiency. | S30 | 4 | Spades | dash | silver |
| A succinct commentary on the 1990 300ZX Turbo: "The only cars in the world that can better this performance are high-bucks exotics." - Car and Driver | Z32 | 5 | Spades | car | silver |
| The Evolution of a sports car, the 1975 280Z: "When first introduced, the Z-Car was a sensuous, gracious, almost gentle machine. Now it is showing definite signs of pure machismo." - Car and Driver | S30 | 6 | Spades | interior | silver |
| On October 13th, 1998, the legendary Yutaka Katayama, "Father of the Z," was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan. | Nissan | 7 | Spades | front | silver |
| In the "Best Sports/GT Car ($3,000 - $5,000)" category of the 1972 Car and Driver Reader's Choice Poll, the 240Z won with 54.3% of the vote. The next nearest competitor polled 10.9%. | S30 | 8 | Spades | car | silver |
| Chief Designer Diane Allen: "The cabin is purposely selfish so there is no mistaking the new Z for a sports coupe or sports touring car. We even avaided using a longer door because we didn't want to suggest access to a rear seat." | Z33 | 9 | Spades | rear | orange |
| In 1970, affordable sports cars weren't scarce - the MGB, Triumph TR-6 and Fiat 124 come to mind. But one offering Jaguar-esque style and Porsche-like performance for $3,500, that was a miracle. That was the 240Z. | S30 | 10 | Spades | rear | silver |
| "The design [of the new Z] represents the Z Brought into the 21st Century. Our desire was to honor its 'Z-ness,' yet not be retro." - Shiro Nakamura, VP Design Division, Nissan Motors Limited. | Z33 | Jack | Spades | rear | orange |
| Question: What were the eight exterior colors offered on the 240Z in the American market? Answer: Silver 901, Dark Blue 903, White 904, Red 905, Dark Green 907, Orange 918, Yellow 919, and Gold 920. | S30 | Queen | Spades | front | silver |
| The Chevrolet Corvette took nearly 25 years to sell 500,000 units. The Z did it in fewer than 10. | S30 | King | Spades | front | silver |
| The June 1972 edition of Road & Track magazine featured a reader's survey conducted among current Z owners to gauge their level of satisfaction. How many owners said they would buy another Z? Only 91%. | S30 | Ace | Hearts | dash | silver |
| An all-new, second-generation Z debuts in 1979 as the 280ZX. It is named Motor Trend's "Import Car of the Year," and setst eh all-time Z sales record of 86,007 units. | S130 | 2 | Hearts | front | silver |
| In the U.K., a popular police series from 1962 to 1978 featured two officers whose designations were Z-Victor 1 and Z-Victor 2. The show was "Z Cars." Any relation to the Nissan Z? Nope. We just thought it was interesting. | Nissan | 3 | Hearts | car | silver |
| In 1970, Nissan was shipping 1,600 240Z's a month to the States. By mid-1971, they were up to 2,500 a month. Had the factory's production capabilities allowed, they could have sold twice that number. | S30 | 4 | Hearts | interior | silver |
| The first soft-top convertible in the 25-year history of the Z appeared on the 1993 300ZX. A whoosh of fresh air for Z lovers everywhere. | Z32 | 5 | Hearts | interior | silver |
| The new Z will arrive in fall 2002. But rumor has it there may be some big Z news at the Tokyo Auto Show this October. Be sure to mark your calendars. Twice. | Z33 | 6 | Hearts | dash | orange |
| At last count (May 2001) The Z Cat Club Association's Gloabal Z Club Registry put the number of clubs in the United States at 67 - six of them in California alone, and five each in North Carolina and Texas. | Nissan | 7 | Hearts | interior | silver |
| The 1970 240Z was an instantaneous hit. Everything about it said speed, except to one frustrated group of people: clamoring buyers who had to wait six months to get their hands on one. | S30 | 8 | Hearts | rear | silver |
| "I talked to a woman who had sold her '81 Z two years ago, then realized she just couldn't live without it. She tracked down the current owner and told him to name his price." - David Morreale, President, Z Club of Houston, 1997. | S130 | 9 | Hearts | front | silver |
| The new Z is a rare example of "product out" design. Nissan designers and engineers were free to create the absolute best sports car without undue concerns about market niches or buyer profiles. | Z33 | 10 | Hearts | car | orange |
| Following its intro in 1990, the 200ZX remained on Car and Driver's "Ten Best Cars" list for six consecutive years and on Automobile's "All-Star" list for five. | Z32 | Jack | Hearts | interior | silver |
| The retractable headlights on the 1984 300ZX were more than a design nicety. The motors were strong enough to crack a coating of ice. No power to the motors? No problem. The headlights could be raised and lowered manually. | Z31 | Queen | Hearts | dash | silver |
| Diane Allen, Chief Designer: "Our first thought [for the new Z] was to recreate the sensation of an open-wheeled Formula I car - all wheels and an intimate center structure." | Z33 | King | Hearts | interior | orange |
| Car and Driver conducted a Reader's Choice Poll in May 1972. No surprise - the 240Z topped the $3,000-$5,000 sports car category. Big surprise - it also grabbed best all-around sports car. The former title holder? The Chevy Corvette. | S30 | Ace | Diamonds | front | silver |
| In 1978, the last year of the first-generation body style, the first Z to be painted black was sold. It was called "The Black Pearl Edition." | S30 | 2 | Diamonds | car | silver |
| The distinctive three-gauge cluster in the center of the insrument panel, a Z icon, returns in the new Z. Two gauges report oil pressure and battery charge while the third is actually an on-board computer. | Z33 | 3 | Diamonds | interior | orange |
| Yutaka Katayama, the first president of Nissan Motors USA and affectionately known as "Mr. K," was an enthusiastic student of everything American, including our love of fast cars. He is considered by many to be the "Father of the Z." | Nissan | 4 | Diamonds | front | silver |
| The new Z Concept: 3.5-liter DOHC V6 producing 260+ horsepower; six-speed manual transmission; all-new fully independent suspension; 18-inch alloy wheels; expected price of less than $30,000. Enthusiasts rejoice. | Z33 | 5 | Diamonds | dash | orange |
| As of May 2001, the Internet Z Car Club confirms that three of the first 500 240Zs produced in 1969 are still in the possession of their proud owners in Katy, TX; Burkburnett, TX; and Los Altos, CA. | S30 | 6 | Diamonds | rear | silver |
| Don't think of them as vanity plates, but as attitude plate: ZMEGOBY, XZILER8, ZIPNBY, Z4U2NV, NIZZAN (a corporate favorite). And finally, a heartwarming display of sentiment for both car and home: NUJOYZ. | Nissan | 7 | Diamonds | car | silver |
| The first-year Z had a 240Z badge displayed on the C-pillar. When the second-year Z debuted, a vent had been integrated with the badge to improve cabin air flow - further proof that form and function could peacefully coexist. | S30 | 8 | Diamonds | interior | silver |
| When most wheels were limited to 15 inches, Nissan pushed the performance of the 50th Anniversary 1984 300ZX Turbo with 16-inch alloy wheels. (Like they say, give engineers an inch and they'll…take it.) | Z31 | 9 | Diamonds | car | silver |
| When Nissan turbocharged the 280ZX's 2.8-liter straight six, output shot to 180hp with 203 ft-lbs of torque. The result was a 0-60 time of 7.4 seconds. In lickety-split terms, faster than that year's 4-speed Corvette. | S130 | 10 | Diamonds | front | silver |
| A 1970 240Z brochure made an unusual sports car claim: "A new kind of economy car." After all, in addition to its undeniable power, the Z was so well engineered it could deliver "up to 25 miles per gallon!" | S30 | Jack | Diamonds | dash | silver |
| The first 240Z was introduced to members of the U.S. media in October, 1969, in a ballroom at New York's Pierre Hotel. The new Z Concept debuted at the 2001 Detroit Auto Show and included a worldwide webcast. | Z33 | Queen | Diamonds | car | orange |
| In 1980, Nissan commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Z with the 280ZX 10th Anniversary Edition. Only a few thousand were produced, in two color schemes: Gold and Black or Red and Black. | S130 | King | Diamonds | dash | silver |
| The spirit of the new Z will remain true to the original, a perfect combination of passion and performance with cutting edge, sports car style. It's a concept Nissan designers and engineers call "Z DNA." | Z33 | Ace | Clubs | rear | orange |
| From the very beginningthe Z was as popular, and as formidable, on race tracks as it was on the road, winning 10 consecutive SCCA-C production championships. | Nissan | 2 | Clubs | dash | silver |
| Nissan marked 50 years of making automobiles with the 50th Anniversary 300ZX Turbo. Worldwide production of just 5,000 cars featured an anniversary logo, many desirable extras, and two options: manual or automatic. | Z31 | 3 | Clubs | interior | silver |
| Chief designer Diane Allen points out that the new Z's integrated aluminum rear suspension strut tower brace, bearing a Z logo, was designed to be seen from outside the vehicle, "like looking at jewelry through a display case." | Z33 | 4 | Clubs | rear | orange |
| On the all new 1990 300ZX: "This swoopy, seductive supercar makes strangers honk and give a thumbs-up sign and causes small children to wobble on their bikes as they crane to gaze at Nissan's newest." - Car and Driver | Z32 | 5 | Clubs | front | silver |
| For the Z's 25th anniversary, the San Diego, California Z Club organized caravans of Z's from other clubs across Anerica in a 25-leg relay. Upon arrival in Atlanta, they formed a giant Z logo, photographed from the air. | Nissan | 6 | Clubs | front | silver |
| The first Z was to be called the Fairlady Z in both Japan and America. Nissan's U.S. president, Yutaka Katayama, aware of the cultural mismatch swapped "Fairlady Z" and "240Z" badges as the cars arrived in Los Angeles. | S30 | 7 | Clubs | rear | silver |
| Unlike the original, the design of the new Z resulted from a truly internation effort, with contributions from Nissan design studios in Japan, the U.S. and Europe. | Z33 | 8 | Clubs | front | orange |
| While many engineering-oriented European manufacturers were still using mechanical fuel systems, Nissan developed a revolutionary, highly efficient computer-controlled fuel injection system for the 1975 280Z. | S30 | 9 | Clubs | dash | silver |
| Little things mean a lot to 240Z owner Guus van der Bol of the Netherlands, who is creating an Internet archive of every 1/12- to 1/48-scale Z model kit ever offered. When completed, he expects the final tally to be more than 150 kits. | Nissan | 10 | Clubs | dash | silver |
| Between 1969 and 1973, a limited run of 420 "hot" version of the 240Z, the Z432, were built for enthusiasts. Among whon was the Fuchu police force, which favored them for high-speed pursuits on the Chuo Expressway in Tokyo. | S30 | Jack | Clubs | car | silver |
| Because the Z driver did not live by engine revs alone, the 1982 280ZX antenna was designed with even a half height setting to match the frequency of certain popular FM stations. | S130 | Queen | Clubs | rear | silver |
| Except for steeing wheel and throttle, a driver is in most constant contact with the seat. The seat in the 1991 300ZX, the first totally new Z design in 21 years, was chosen after 1,000 other designs had been tested. | Z32 | King | Clubs | car | silver |