kcobean

iTrader: (2)

n8236, you've been registered on this site for 2 years this month and you have 260+ posts under your belt. You should have known better than to start a thread like this.

This is a 350Z enthusiast site, so naturally people here are going to be biased toward the Z or G. The only question you should really be asking here is whether to buy now or wait, and honestly, that is a question that nobody can answer but you.

As for the "gift" thing, I'm surprised you've gotten off as easily as you have with the other members given how most of these types of threads have gone in the past.

GeorgeBush

Why do you guys hate it when some parents buy their sons and daughters a Z? Yes, you guys have a bad childhood memory of owning a cheap car or not even owning one. I didn't have a car when I was 17,18,19..23.. I'm now buying a new Z at the age of 28. I used to drive my mom's or dad's car. And I always thought I wish my parents were rich and buy me a new sports car. I'm 100% sure you all had that thinking when you were young. If I had a son and I make $10k a month, I buy my son a sports car like Z. What do you think Bill Gates' son drives? Is that wrong? If you say yes, then you are poor and your son will be poor.. And his son will be poor..

kcobean

iTrader: (2)

Bill Gates was a drop-out who earned every penny he made. He started a company in a garage with sheer grit and determination. I don't recall Bill Gates driving around in parent-purchase sports cars, so I don't see how your argument is valid.

The reason some people have a problem with kids getting freebies from their parents is that not only are many (not all) teenagers dangerous in a sports car because of their lack of experience and false sense of immortality, but they don't learn the value of what it takes to earn the $30k it takes to buy a car like this. Sure it's not a Ferrari, but so what?

gNaRKiLL

iTrader: (17)

Amen.

Ruth

Back seats in a 350Z.If you need to f@@k go get a room!Back seats in a 350Z.May the engine that falls off a 747 kiss you forehead!

taurran

iTrader: (18)

This means a lot coming from you, George Bush, not everyone's daddy was the President of the US!!! Now quit wasting taxpayer dollars and get to work, you lazy bastard.

cessna

I agree. Is this becomming a trend? Will I one day have to feel obligated to buy a car because as my future offspring has a right to a HS grad gift????
Dispite having grown up with wealthy parents, it was always assumed that their ''job'' was to care for me and pay the shot (living expenses) and mine was to study as best as I could. That was my ''job''.
Now, if this guy has parents which not only have the means but the ''will'' to buy him a nice car as a grad present good for him. Back then, I ''wished'' my folks had gotten me a then new RX7, but no dice, I got a used Chev Cavalier.
Not sure if I`d be the person I`ve become today, had I been given silver spoon feed-outs.



TO THE ORIGINAL POSTER:

a)Stay in school!
b)Dont drink or smoke and drive.
c)Respect what you`ve got, whats been given to you, and dont loose sight of that.

PS. Do me a favour....Dont wrap it around a tree will ya?!!!!

Hraesvelg

iTrader: (1)

Subscribing

MulhollandDrive

My recommendation is to buy the car that you can afford cash purchase. Nothing more. This is serious advice. If a 350z fits that bill, go for it.

zland

It seems Bill Gates came from a rich family with influence. Here is the story, decide for yourself. Yes he dropped out of school but he did that for his passion for computers and was bored. It is not like he came from a poor family and had no advantages in life, heck he went to Harvard:

http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynami...es.Mirick.html

Family and Early Childhood
On October 28, 1955, shortly after 9:00 p.m., William Henry Gates III was born. He was born into a family with a rich history in business, politics, and community service. His great-grandfather had been a state legislator and mayor, his grandfather was the vice president of a national bank, and his father was a prominent lawyer. [Wallace, 1992, p. 8-9] Early on in life, it was apparent that Bill Gates inherited the ambition, intelligence, and competitive spirit that had helped his progenitors rise to the top in their chosen professions. In elementary school he quickly surpassed all of his peer's abilities in nearly all subjects, especially math and science. His parents recognized his intelligence and decided to enroll him in Lakeside, a private school known for its intense academic environment. This decision had far reaching effects on Bill Gates's life. For at Lakeside, Bill Gates was first introduced to computers.
First computing Experience

In the Spring of 1968, the Lakeside prep school decided that it should acquaint the student body with the world of computers [Teamgates.com, 9/29/96]. Computers were still too large and costly for the school to purchase its own. Instead, the school had a fund raiser and bought computer time on a DEC PDP-10 owned by General Electric. A few thousand dollars were raised which the school figured would buy more than enough time to last into the next school year. However, Lakeside had drastically underestimated the allure this machine would have for a hand full of young students.

Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and a few other Lakeside students (many of whom were the first programmers hired at Microsoft) immediately became inseparable from the computer. They would stay in the computer room all day and night, writing programs, reading computer literature and anything else they could to learn about computing. Soon Gates and the others started running into problems with the faculty. Their homework was being turned in late (if at all), they were skipping classes to be in the computer room and worst of all, they had used up all of the schools computer time in just a few weeks. [Wallace, 1992, p. 24]

In the fall of 1968, Computer Center Corporation opened for business in Seattle. It was offering computing time at good rates, and one of the chief programmers working for the corporation had a child attending Lakeside. A deal was struck between Lakeside Prep School and the Computer Center Corporation that allowed the school to continue providing it's students with computer time. [Wallace, 1992, p. 27] Gates and his comrades immediately began exploring the contents of this new machine. It was not long before the young hackers started causing problems. They caused the system to crash several times and broke the computers security system. They even altered the files that recorded the amount of computer time they were using. They were caught and the Computer Center Corporation banned them from the system for several weeks.

Bill Gates, Paul Allen and, two other hackers from Lakeside formed the Lakeside Programmers Group in late 1968. They were determined to find a way to apply their computer skills in the real world. The first opportunity to do this was a direct result of their mischievous activity with the school's computer time. The Computer Center Corporation's business was beginning to suffer due to the systems weak security and the frequency that it crashed. Impressed with Gates and the other Lakeside computer addicts' previous assaults on their computer, the Computer Center Corporation decided to hire the students to find bugs and expose weaknesses in the computer system. In return for the Lakeside Programming Group's help, the Computer Center Corporation would give them unlimited computer time [Wallace, 1992, p. 27]. The boys could not refuse. Gates is quoted as saying "It was when we got free time at C-cubed (Computer Center Corporation) that we really got into computers. I mean, then I became hardcore. It was day and night" [Wallace, 1992, p. 30]. Although the group was hired just to find bugs, they also read any computer related material that the day shift had left behind. The young hackers would even pick employees for new information. It was here that Gates and Allen really began to develop the talents that would lead to the formation of Microsoft seven years later.
Roots of Business Career

Computer Center Corporation began to experience financial problems late in 1969. The company finally went out of business in March of 1970. The Lakeside Programmers Group had to find a new way to get computer time. Eventually they found a few computers on the University of Washington's campus where Allen's dad worked. The Lakeside Programmers Group began searching for new chances to apply their computer skills. Their first opportunity came early the next year when Information Sciences Inc. hired them to program a payroll program. Once again the group was given free computer time and for the first time, a source of income. ISI had agreed to give them royalties whenever it made money from any of the groups programs. As a result of the business deal signed with Information Sciences Inc., the group also had to become a legal business [Wallace, 1992, p. 42-43]. Gates and Allen's next project involved starting another company entirely on their own, Traf-O-Data. They produced a small computer which was used to help measure traffic flow. From the project they grossed around $20,000. The Traf-O-Data company lasted until Gates left for college. During Bill Gates' junior year at Lakeside, the administration offered him a job computerizing the school's scheduling system. Gates asked Allen to help with the project. He agreed and the following summer, they wrote the program. In his senior year, Gates and Allen continued looking for opportunities to use their skills and make some money. It was not long until they found this opportunity. The defense contractor TRW was having trouble with a bug infested computer similar to the one at Computer Center Corporation. TRW had learned of the experience the two had working on the Computer Center Corporation's system and offered Gates and Allen jobs. However thing would be different at TRW they would not be finding the bugs they would be in charge of fixing them. "It was at TRW that Gates began to develop as a serious programer," and it was there that Allen and Gates first started talking seriously about forming their own software company [Wallace, 1992, p. 49-51].

zland

In the fall of 1973, Bill Gates left home for Harvard University [Teamgates.com, 9/29/96]. He had no idea what he wanted to study, so he enrolled as prelaw. Gates took the standard freshman courses with the exception of signing up for one of Harvard's toughest math courses. He did well but just as in high school, his heart was not in his studies. After locating the school's computer center, he lost himself in the world of computers once again. Gates would spend many long nights in front of the school's computer and the next days asleep in class. Paul Allen and Gates remained in close contact even with Bill away at school. They would often discuss ideas for future projects and the possibility of one day starting a business. At the end of Gates's first year at Harvard, the two decided that Allen should move closer to him so that they may be able to follow up on some of their ideas. That summer they both got jobs working for Honeywell [Wallace, 1992, p. 59]. As the summer dragged on, Allen began to push Bill harder with the idea that they should open a software company. Gates was still not sure enough to drop out of school. The following year, however, that would all change.
The Birth of Microsoft
In December of 1974, Allen was on his way to visit Gates when along the way he stopped to browse the current magazines. What he saw changed his and Bill Gates's lives forever. On the cover of Popular Electronics was a picture of the Altair 8080 and the headline "World's First Microcomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models." He bought the issue and rushed over to Gates's dorm room. They both recognized this as their big opportunity. The two knew that the home computer market was about to explode and that someone would need to make software for the new machines. Within a few days, Gates had called MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems), the makers of the Altair. He told the company that he and Allen had developed a BASIC that could be used on the Altair [Teamgates.com, 9/29/96]. This was a lie. They had not even written a line of code. They had neither an Altair nor the chip that ran the computer. The MITS company did not know this and was very interested in seeing their BASIC. So, Gates and Allen began working feverishly on the BASIC they had promised. The code for the program was left mostly up to Bill Gates while Paul Allen began working on a way to simulate the Altair with the schools PDP-10. Eight weeks later, the two felt their program was ready. Allen was to fly to MITS and show off their creation. The day after Allen arrived at MITS, it was time to test their BASIC. Entering the program into the company's Altair was the first time Allen had ever touched one. If the Altair simulation he designed or any of Gates's code was faulty, the demonstration would most likely have ended in failure. This was not the case, and the program worked perfectly the first time [Wallace, 1992, p. 80]. MITS arranged a deal with Gates and Allen to buy the rights to their BASIC.[Teamgates.com, 9/29/96] Gates was convinced that the software market had been born. Within a year, Bill Gates had dropped out of Harvard and Microsoft was formed.

Zedekiah

yes but there in lies the point. driving around i've seen those very houses w/ accords and avalons in the driveway and nothing else. could mean they scrounged up every penny to buy that house and couldn't get a nice car. it could also mean they didn't take the car as a symbol of success. the point im getting at is: bottom line, the car means nothing (somewhat). at most its just the icing on the cake. weather or not a person is successful isn't absolutely contingent on the kind of car he drives. there are so many other bigger symbols that justifies success. if your embittered because one kid gets one awesome car, you should turn around and look at yourself. you might have the car, a nice house, a family, a loving spouse, a solid career. all these things outweigh the car itself by a long shot and no one or two parents buying their kid the z will ever outweigh this. so c'mon guys, lets all get back to what the thread and forum is about - being a z enthusiast (specificaly the 350).

kcobean also has a good point. Performance between all the cars listed are certainly distinct. The thing to realize is you're not talking about taking a performance hit between a supercar and a econobox. Those are all really good choices. Personaly, I happen to hate to give rides to my friends (not that they're good ppl, but shoffering around is bs). Two seater eliminates any situation to drive w/ more than two people (duh). However, I must concede that there have been times where I could've used the extra two or three seats, and perhaps a smoother ride. That being said, options like the TL and G35 perhaps with an auto makes cruising a cinch (and traffic a little more bearable). And when the time comes to call on performance, those cars also offer sport shifting, so you're not totaly up the creek when you feel like taking the ride on a spirited drive.

Ultimately the z is for the days when I just feel like going out there and driving. Open road (or twisties) with a full tank, and a good cd or the windows down. Pedal to the floor, break, clutch in, match revs, gear shifting goodness. Yes. That is what the z is about.

But as I said before, test drive. Get some questions. Come and ask.

kcobean

iTrader: (2)

Honestly, the only reason I get 'embittered' at kids that receive expensive cars as gifts is because so many of them have such a small view of the world that they assume I WOULD be jealous of a car that was given to them. That's why they make a point to mention their age, the fact that the car is a gift, etc. Then they get offended when people call them spoiled. There are lots of members on this site who are young, got their cars as gifts, but they never bring that fact up. They don't find it necessary to make a point of their good fortune. They get my respect, because for them it's about being a car enthusiast, not about "being a young kid with a sports car" for all the world to 'notice'.

It takes no ***** to flaunt mom and dads money in the face of others. It takes maturity to just have the car and enjoy it.

My 0.02.

Speedracer

First decide how much pracrticality you need or can live with. Acura TL is obviously the most practical. I love the looks of this car too, but I will never buy a front wheel drive car with anything over 200lb-ft of torque. The torque steer just makes the steering response horrible and makes the power so unfriendly to use. If you are seriously condsidering the TL, buy the G35 sedan.

S2K.....honestly, a superb car, but very noisy, and you have to shift continuously to get into the power band. The styling is also starting to look a little dated and "econobox" like in my opinion.

G35 coupe vs. Z. If you were looking at the S2000, do you want a convertible. If so, Z is it. If not, once again, do you want pure sport, or do you want a little more luxury/practicality. Both cars look hot and are mechanically almost identical.

I own a Z roadster, but it is a play toy for me. Even in my early 20's I found that I needed a back seat from time to time. I wouldn't buy a 2-seater as my only car.

VN_350z

iTrader: (3)

Dude,

"S2k is very noisy": Noiser than a Z? Do you even own S2k??? I drive S2k and Z daily. Believe me, Z engine is way noisier than S2k.

"You have to shift continuously to get into the power band": R u serious? 9K rpm engine requires more shifting????

Morningglorie

+1

Think about your whole life style. A two-seater roadster is lots of fun, a rewarding drive on a summer's day. But do you have to deal with winter? If so, plan on buying snow tires for the Z, and remember the top is not insulated.

Do you often find yourself putting lots of stuff in the back, whether it's camping gear, groceries, home-improvement items, stuff to move back and forth from college to home? Or will you be living in a large city where you take public transportation on a daily basis to get to work, and only need a car on the weekends for fun? (Original question didn't say if poster was graduating from college or from h.s.)

The Z has enough storage for what it is, but certainly not enough for hauling lots of stuff.

The Z, or any roadster, fills a niche, but it takes special circumstances to be the best choice as one's only car.

C4talyst

I've owned 2 brand new VW's in the last 5 years, never had or heard of electrical problems with them. The aftermarket mod options for VW's are vast too. I will always be a fan of VW / Audi, even after I get my Z in a few weeks.

Speedracer

No I don't own an S2k. Obviously, I own a Z. That's why I am here. Wind management in a Z roadster is much better than wind management in an S2k. I drove both cars, extensively, back to back when I was looking to buy 2 years ago. And yes.....when you are in the meat of the power band, the S2000 engine is wailing. Sounds good, but it still sounds like a motorcycle.

And yes, to engage the higher-lift, longer duration cams with the VTEC mechanism so you can get into the "power zone" from a cruise, you have to downshift 1 to 2 gears. VTEC doesn't even switch over until close to 6k rpms. Anyway, this was my experience, that's all. S2000 is still a sweet ride, but I love the attributes of the ZR more.

taurran

iTrader: (18)

And for the record, Microsoft has ripped off about every idea they've had since day one.

Zedekiah

Alright, I'll agree with this. But I think he was posting to explain the circumstances more so than 'flaunting' if you will. But yeah, and I share this view as well. I never bring up how I got my z and if asked I concede abeit reulctantly. I was simply getting at the point that theres a difference from what the original post was vs. "HEY LOOK EVERYONE, I'M 16 AND I GOT A Z. I'M > YOU", and that his circumstances and your circumstances are nothing to cross at.

Absolutely.