New from FL

St00k said:

Welcome to the forum @therumblewagon

At 6'6" it's probably a tight fit in any vehicle.

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Thanks, and can confirm! My better half and I currently share a Mazda CX-5. Between the two of us this is our fourth Mazda, so it checked the boxes of something with room yet fun to drive and something she felt comfortable in and know is a good car. Also helps I can fit a hitch & rack on it to lug bikes around, too. She's been using it more and more since she's back to commuting (I've been fortunate enough to WFH for years) so the desire to get something of my own again is increasing.

But yeah, when shopping for this I tried to sit in a lot of different vehicles, most of which were ruled out once I tried to slide behind the wheel. Really sucks.

THaskins said:

Welcome @therumblewagon! What stands out to your the most about the Z?

How did you manage to fit in the Miata? I'm a couple inches shorter than you and I find it such a pain to get inside those things.

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Honestly, a lot of willpower and the nimbleness of whatever age I was at the time (19, 20 maybe?). My roommate and I at the time were quite versatile in our mechanical capabilities, so we spent a weekend researching what metal would best sub out for the OEM seat rails and what bolts would be strong enough to keep it in place, so between that and his welding knowledge we took out several vertical inches and bolted it to the floorboards. Smartest idea? In hindsight, probably not. However, even though he and I haven't talked in years, I will forever be grateful to him because I got T-boned by someone who ran a red light in that thing and both myself and pax at the time walked away scratch free. Credit to Mazda for building a safe car of course, but the seat didn't budge at all.

Outside of that, a smaller diameter steering wheel + a quick release - which proved good for both security purposes but also allowing me more room to slide in - was the winning combination. Didn't hurt that carrying a steering wheel around with me from class to class made me look a lot cooler than I was, too. Fairly certain I have photos somewhere, I'll try and dig them up when time permits.

Re: Z, I've always loved the line. The 240Z is obviously on another level, and one of the cars I'd love to get my hands on one day to restore/have fun with, but besides that can vividly remember my next door neighbor growing up buying a new 300ZX and me losing it over how futuristic it was. Fast forward a bit, and another buddy had a 350 in college, later to get a 370, and fell in love the handful of times I drove it.

There's just something magical about the history of these cars, and when I saw Nissan bringing the line back + me being a bit further along in life to get one of my own, I just knew it was time. The homage they're paying to past generations withdesign, but bringing about modern touches like the gauge cluster/infotainment, seems like the perfect blend. Also really appreciate that, from what we can tell, they're not overcomplicating things. Staying true to the driver-centric experience.