Z is Dead!

Nissan 300zx

The Z is Dead! My beloved car of close to 10 years and my only real possession remaining (other than the Van). The Nissan 300zx was and always will be my favourite car. It was a pleasure to own it and a dream to drive it. It had a name, Natalie. And most of my money was spent on her before I started travelling.

300zx

I upgraded her performance with a cold air intake, a stainless steal exhaust system, and aggressive sounding mufflers.

300zx Borla exhaust

I improved the way it sounded with an expensive stereo system consisting of a powerful amplifier, booming subwoofer, crystal clean sounding speakers, and a dvd player.

sound system Helix amp

I even made it look better with a suede interior and a new front fascia, winning it awards at car shows.

The car was very well taken care of, but it has not been driven much over the last 3 years since I’ve been taking on planes, trains, and vans instead. However, coming home this year I was excited to pull the car out of storage and take it for a cross country drive for my summer move out east. The road trip was phenomenal, driving on empty highways over the rockies, through the farmlands, and around the lakes.

But when I got to the east coast for the home stretch, I got hit just outside of Philly. I was probably in the blindspot of the car to my left so the front of the Z was clipped by the car coming into my lane, sending me spinning towards the rail. I surprisingly missed contacting any traffic spinning over a lane and hit the rail numerous times causing severe damage to both the front and the rear of the car. TInside of the car remained intact, so I miraculously escaped the accident without a scratch, as the Z crumbled to save me. I am ok, but the car is as good as done.

To say that I am a little sad is an understatement and no amount of insurance payment will be able to make up for this loss. But I am so very thankful for being alive and well. Maybe this was a way for the Z to tell me to move on, and so I will. I might be done with cars for a little while.  Although it was probably secretly jealous of the van, the Z will always be remembered!

I’m glad I was able to take the Z on an unforgettable road trip across the US. It was kind of fitting to end it like this. So here are some photos from the final drive in the Z.

Jason

Jason is the author of the book This All Encompassing Trip and loves to travel to see Pearl Jam. He spends his time doing design and video work as well as running a daddy blog called The Rockstar Dad.

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