Better Than Botox
Less than a month ago, I traded my Ford Explorer SUV for a new 350Z. I drove the Explorer for almost nine years after trading in my 300ZX when the cost of repairs exceeded its value. I’d driven the 300ZX for almost ten years; it replaced the Corvette that I’d driven for the previous four years. The Corvette replaced my first 300ZX. Okay, so I enjoy driving high performance sports cars!
I wasn’t sure if the “Z” and I were still a good match. Yes, I’ve enjoyed driving sports cars since owning my first Triumph TR-3 back in… well, let’s just say it was a long time ago. This time, despite thinking I really wanted to own another “Z,” I wasn’t sure if I’d grown too soft to appreciate sports car ownership.
When I bought my last ZX, I didn’t have the Web to use for research. This time, before driving to a dealership, I went to the Nissan site to do some reading. A girlfriend drives a Murano (Nissan’s SUV) and it was my second choice if the Z and I didn’t work well together. The Murano, with extras, is priced near the starting price of the Z.
At the Nissan site I used their car/dealer locator and found a new silver coupe at a local dealership. My plan was to visit the dealership, take an up close and personal look at the Z and then test drive it. I’d be able to tell pretty quickly if it was still my car of choice.
Four days after finding the silver coupe online, the very same one was parked in my garage. A ten-minute test drive was all it took to confirm that this was definitely the car I wanted to own. Despite not having used a manual transmission in a LOT of years, and never a 6-speed, it took just a couple minutes to feel comfortable shifting gears again.
My Z doesn’t have a lot of the extras, I didn’t want them. I wanted to have the full-on sports car experience without a lot of frills. The one thing I miss the most is cruise control and only because I’ve used it to keep within the speed limit (or reasonably close). Without cruise control the possibility of getting my first speeding ticket looms. Did I mention this car is fast?
Nine years ago when I traded my ZX for the Explorer, something happened that I tried to ignore. I felt older every time I got behind the wheel of that big bulky vehicle.
Last month, the first time I sat in my new Z, I lost at least ten years off my mental age. Each time I drive it, I feel younger than I ever did driving the Explorer. And that, to me, is better than botox.