I got THE call today at work. I had been given a mid-September date two weeks ago, but got a call this morning from the inventory manager at John Elway North that my car (Performance Silverstone 6-MT) was suddenly showing a drop date of TODAY, and that it should arrive about an hour after the call! That's one of the best phone calls you can possibly get. I wasn't able to make it to the dealer for the unloading process, but my salesman was kind enough to e-mail me at work with some photos of my car on the delivery truck, being unloaded, and off the truck.

After making it through the afternoon at work and getting in some last-minute MT practice on a friend's car (in the middle of a tornado warning,) I headed down to the dealer. It's been said before that pictures don't do this car justice, and it's absolutely true. The lines on it are so much cleaner than can come across in a photo that you really have to see and touch it to appreciate it. I can't tell you how many other customers wandered through the showroom, stopped and stared, and commented on how its design looks so 'clean' compared to other cars.

During the walk-around I noticed that no front license bracket or rear dealer logo had been applied, without me even having to ask the dealer not to put those on. Those were things that I hadn't really thought much about, but it was a nice touch to have the dealer not do anything that I hadn't specifically asked for.

The interior is a lot nicer than what some other comments and reviews had lead me to believe. The nav door wasn't nearly as poor a fit as I had expected and the lack of a glove box in the traditional location is something that will take some getting used to, but isn't a huge concern. What could end up being a pain in the long run is the lack of power seat controls. My wife and I are vastly different sizes, so the seat adjustment chore when switching between drivers might become annoying. However, I'm perfectly willing to sacrifice something like that to keep the cost down. Besides, there were more cool touches than I can remember. So I'll just say that if anyone else had my lowered expectations of the interior, you should be pleasantly surprised when you're able to see it on your car.

I haven't driven the car enough to be able to give it a thorough driving review, but the thing that jumped out as soon as I drove it was the shortness of the shifter throw. This isn't exactly news, but to actually feel it is something else. I'm able to shift through all the gears with just a LITTLE bit of wrist movement to get the shifter firmly seated in each gate. Not bad considering the fact that I had to practically use both arms to shift my dad's old F-150 column shift!

According to the dealer, this is the first Z delivery taken in Denver. There was a Brickyard Enthusiast on the same truck that mine came in on that was sitting at the dealer, but that owner wasn't able to come in today to take delivery. According to my salesman, there was another Z en route to one of the other local dealerships today, but that he thought that the buyer wasn't going to be able to actually take delivery today. I couldn't be happier with the car, the process, or my dealer, and it's nice to be among the first, given that I ordered on Jan 15th and was hoping for an August delivery.

One final note to underscore what others have said: you WILL get attention in this car. I quickly lost count of how many envious looks I got just in the 20 minutes that it took to get the car home.

Pictures to follow, once I get a chance to post them.

 

congrats Gary! Denver rocks! Great town and you have some
great roads to break your car in on with the rockies in your
rear view mirror...............schweet!

 

I'll offer my congratulations as well! Saw a Brickyard/Frost Touring model waiting for delivery over at Tynan's in Aurora and spent some time looking at it.

I put my original 350Z order in 1/7/01 at Elway South and am still waiting. Unfortunately, delivery is at the back end of the Aug-Oct. timeframe and my Redline 6-sp track model doesn't even have a VIN assigned yet!

Oh well- I'll be thrilled to get THE CALL someday...

 

Thanks for the congrats, guys. It feels great to finally have the car. Llama, that wasn't me you saw at Buckley this morning. Maybe there's another happy owner in town. As promised, here are some pics.

I can't stop smiling.

 

My favorite angle.

 

Being delivered.

 

Whats your initial thought of silverstone, is it as dull as some of the pics show it to be? Is it very metallic? POST MORE PICS!!!! HOw about engine performance? Thanks!

 

Vincey2kr1, the Silverstone isn't as dull as it appears in the pics. These were taken with the sun already setting behind the mountains to the west (the direction the car is pointing,) so the lighting conditions were less than ideal. I've noticed that Silverstone doesn't seem to photograph very well, for whatever reason, but when you see it in person it's amazing how well the light plays off of it at different angles.

The finish isn't as metallic as the chrome silver. It's more subdued, and the effect is understated but VERY easy to appreciate. It's really hard to put into words, but I think you'll see what I mean when you see one.

I can't comment much on the engine yet, as I'm still breaking it in. It has more of a mechanical hum than a rumbling growl (closer to an Indy race car than a NASCAR race car.) The break in is painful because I can tell as I approach 4000 that the car is just waiting for 4500-5000 to REALLY let loose.

I'm going to try to get more pics over the long weekend.

 

Gary,

I am SO happy for you. Congratulations!

I live in the Denver area as well (Westminster). I saw your Z at John Elway. It was flaming awesome! It WAS the very first Z delivered in Denver. Actually, I think even Colorado. My Touring Black Z is due in October from John Elway. It is going to be hard to wait after seeing yours.

As far as license plates, John Elway is going to leave them all off. I love them. They have been such an incredible dealership!

The Brickyard Enthusiast you mentioned is for sale. The owner backed out and they have it for sale in the showroom.

When I get my Z, I would love to get together, talk about the Z and drive around, if you want.

I am so envious,
Todd

 

Your car looks great - have fun driving this holiday weekend. Maybe Deer Creek Canyon - Turkey Creek to Evergreen would be a fun first mountain driive. I'm very jealous.

I ordered mine from Elway South and unfortunately have a late October delivery scheduled (preordered 5/15.). My salesman called Tuesday and said they had a Silverstone Touring to deliver Wednesday. I rushed over Tuesday night and you are 100% correct - pictures don't do it justice.

I'm pleasantly surprised about all the Denver people posting a response to your delivery. Maybe enough for a Z club chapter.

Enjoy your cool new wheels.