This is not some random sports car I am obsessed with (there are plenty of those).  Instead, there’s a real story behind this infatuation.

Let’s get something out of the way right off the bat: This is Unc’s Z.  Not mine, not my fathers, but Unc’s.

See, I’m getting ahead of myself already.

In the 1980s, my Uncle Robert bought several Nissan Z cars and my parents brought me into this world.  Uncle Robert started in 1970 with the Datsun 240Z, skipped the 260Z, and then bought one of the first 280Zs produced, in 1975. He continued to drive Z cars (as they developed) as summer cars.

In fact, we became a “Datsun/Nissan” family, as a 610 wagon and then several Maximas joined the “Feder Fleet.”   Fast forward to 1989, when my Uncle Robert special-ordered a blue-on-blue 1990 Nissan 300ZX.  He ordered it with every option and waited for his new baby to be built and shipped to the local Datsun (later Nissan) dealership, FM Auto Mart in Fargo, ND.

Many ask me why this car is not a twin-turbo.  In fact some have pooh-poohed it for not being one.  My uncle wasn’t after pure speed; he planned to use it as a grand tourer. Thus he chose the 2+2 configuration for its longer wheelbase, with the small rear seats for nieces and nephews.  I was one of those nephews.

My uncle was a successful attorney.  He fought for what was right, and fought for justice. He was well respected and I looked up to him like no one’s business.  He was the definition of ”excellence” in every way. After losing a battle against cancer in 1997, his passing left a void in all of us, as well as the community.

He drove the 300ZX only during the summer months and stored it during the winter under the OEM car cover.  Most of the miles were put on by going between his house in Fargo and his cottage in Detroit Lakes, MN, a 45-minute highway drive.

When Uncle Robert passed in 1997, his 300ZX had a little more than 38,000 miles.  During the next 11 years, my aunt put a mere 4,000 miles put on the car.  The rest of the time, it sat in storage, just as my uncle had left it.

Why Unc’s Z? When my older cousins were children and just learning to talk, they couldn’t say “Uncle Robert” at first, and it was then that he became “Unc.” To an extent, my “Uncle Robert” was somewhat larger than life to all of us, and that’s how he became “Unc”

In the spring of 2008 my aunt agreed to sell Unc’s Z to my father and I. It hadn’t been started in years. The odometer registered just over 42,000 miles.

My father and my Uncle Jerry installed a new Interstate battery and pumped up the tires. When the original titanium key (yes, The 1990 300ZX came with a titanium key) was inserted, the injectors pressurized and the car fired instantly. No cranking required, just ignition, and it was running.

We had most of the rubber in the engine checked or replaced to insure against problems, and we had the timing belt changed. The wiring harness looked like new, so we decided not to pull the engine. We had the rest of the car’s drivetrain checked to make sure it was mechanically safe and sound.

All the fluids were flushed; they came out sparkling clean, except that the coolant was dirty, so we spent extra time flushing the cooling system.  Red Line fluid was installed in the transmission and differential, along with blue racing brake fluid.

The car is mostly stock with the exception of a few tasteful upgrades such as HID headlights, and upgraded brake lines.

I have memories of riding in that tiny back seat with my uncle to the local store to get the newspaper.  I remember watching my uncle hand-wash the car up north at the cottage.  I remember my uncle’s love for his Z.

Almost everything is original, though there was an, ahem, incident a few years before my father bought the car.  My aunt drove it to the cottage one weekend and a huge storm rolled through.  Before anyone could move the car to safety, a branch fell onto the hood.  It wasn’t ruined, but the hood definitely suffered minor damage, which we had repaired and repainted. Except for the hood, the paint is factory-original.

The original front brake rotors and pads were just replaced in 2010, as they had finally worn out.

There are now three blue-on-blue 1990 300ZXs in the Feder family. No, I’m not joking. My other uncle bought and restored two cars that are now duplicates of Unc’s. He gave one to my cousin and he still has the other one.

We try not to drive the car in the rain unless necessary, and it is not driven during the winter.  This past summer Unc’s Z clicked over 52,000 miles.  The engine compression is still at factory specs and the car drives terrific.  With only a few thousand miles put on a year (if that) I can only hope the car will last long enough for me to hand down to my son.

As many of you know, I now live in Portland. The car does still live in Minneapolis with my father. After some intense discussion, it was determined it was best if the car stayed in Minneapolis for now.

I have a ridiculous emotional attachment to this car. Karen and I drove away from our wedding in this car. The license plates and floor mats say “Uncs Z” (yes, we still have the factory blue “Z” mats, in perfect condition, in storage). This always has been, and always will be Unc’s Z.  I think of him every time I drive it.

This isn’t just another sports car.  It’s not the fastest thing in the world, it’s not the lightest thing in the world, but it is Unc’s car—and that’s something you can’t put a price on.

This is the tale of my experience with the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe and having a blowout during that time. I assure you it’s entertaining if it isn’t you that is living it.

My fiancée and I were just leaving home in the CTS-V Coupe, off to see some friends, when a large pothole on an onramp blew out the front passenger side tire. Immediately after hitting the pothole I realized the tire blew out and pulled over. At this point I didn’t realize how bad a situation this really was going to become.

Upon examining the tire, I could see the hole was the size of my pinky, and was clearly on the sidewall. The CTS-V Coupe doesn’t have a spare tire, rather it has an emergency inflator and a tire sealant kit. While I naturally assumed this would do nothing, I still hooked it up to the tire and shot the sealant inside. As soon as the air flowed into the tire, the sealant flew out of the hole. I clearly wasn’t going anywhere.

I called my fleet rep and OnStar roadside assistance. Both quickly worked to find the best solution. After a few phone calls we decided the CTS-V Coupe would need to be towed to a dealership.

The tow truck arrived and it (thankfully) was a flatbed. I stated over the phone this was a high-performance luxury car with little ground clearance. A flatbed would be necessary. After the driver gawked at the svelte coupe sitting before him, he instructed me to pull it forward. I could instantly sense he didn’t understand how low the front end was. I asked my fiancée to “assist” him in watching the front end to ensure it was not going to bottom out. The two plastic pieces on either side of the front clip are held in with some clips. If you hit a driveway incorrectly (or too fast) you’ll rip them right out.

I could see how this situation might end poorly. As I crept forward I watched my fiancée’s face and could instantly tell this wasn’t going to work. I stopped the car and got out as it was within an inch of the flatbed. The driver continued to assure me it was going to clear. I looked at it for two seconds and assured him it was not going to happen. I asked him if he had some wood planks to which he started grumbling about how this Cadillac was stupid and expensive.

After he found the wooden planks (which were more like two foot wooden two-by-fours) between the two front tires and the flat bed, he instructed me to continue forward. Already seeing how much he cared about the safety of this car so far, I made sure my fiancée was paying close attention. Ignoring the driver and watching my fiancée I slowly made my way onto the truck. The front end cleared, if just barely.

Once I was on the flat bed, the driver said I would need to pull forward another two feet so he could lower it back down. I was sitting in the CTS-V Coupe at what seemed like a steep angle with my foot firmly planted on the brake and clutch. It was clear that if the car moved backwards at all I might damage the exhaust by hitting the ground, to which the driver didn’t seem concerned at all. At this point I became slightly nervous. I clearly had no choice and needed this car to move forward without moving backwards at all. In one swift movement I moved my foot from the brake to the gas, releasing the clutch and then instantly back to the brake and clutch again. That swift movement might’ve been a bit fast, as the power of the LSA quickly left two sticky black tire marks on the already happy tow truck drivers flatbed. He got his two feet.

We lowered the flat bed onto the truck and hopped into the cab with the tow truck driver. The conversation during the drive to the dealership mainly consisted of the tow truck driver explaining how this high performance Cadillac was clearly stupid and over priced because of the situation. Right.

Upon arriving at the dealership I knew taking the car off the truck was going to be as much fun as it was getting it on the truck. I was clearly psychic. I noted that during the ride to the dealership the front passenger tire had lost all the remaining air and was now completely flat. This meant if I rolled off the truck I would be rolling directly on the rim. I asked if the driver had any air on the truck. After giving me a puzzled look as to why I would ask such a thing he said yes.

I hopped in the car and the driver took the flatbed up. Once I was at the proper angle he told me to slowly back off. I first reminded him that we need the “wooden planks” ready for the front wheels. I then asked if he would put air into the front passenger tire. He gave me this look like, are you a moron? I explained that if he filled it up the truck would put air in faster than it would come out. Once he had it full I could roll back a foot or two before it would be completely flat. This would prevent me from rolling directly on the rim and possibly damaging what has to be an expensive wheel. The concept clearly clicked in his head and he filled the tire. What little sealant was left start shooting out of the hole. He quickly looked up and said good to go. I back up two feet and it was quickly deflated. He repeated the process three times. After I had backed the car off to the front wheels my fiancée placed the wood behind the front tires. The driver filled the tire one last time and I quickly backed off the truck. Soon as the front end cleared the truck bed (barely) the front tire deflated. That was it. The nightmare was over.

Of course, since I only had a week scheduled with the CTS-V Coupe and this was a Wednesday I was somewhat devastated at the situation. As I will mention in my review, this CTS-V Coupe was still wearing snow tires. Unfortunately no one in town seemed to have the tire I needed. My fleet manager worked closely with the dealership and a new tire was overnighted from Tire Rack. The dealership mounted the tire and balanced the wheel. Friday morning around 11 AM a shuttle from the dealership arrived at my house to take me to the car. The staff was friendly and they had me on my way quickly.

So what were some of the takeaways of this nightmare? Well for starters the sinister looking front end of the CTS-V Coupe is low to the ground. While we aren’t talking Corvette low, it poses a challenge when it comes to towing, even with a flatbed truck. Make sure you have some wooden planks when loading the CTS-V onto a tow truck, as without them you are likely going to damage the front end. Also, you do not have a spare tire. If you have a flat the sealant and air pump might get you back on the road. If you have a blowout, be ready for some roadside assistance. Last but not least, the stiff sidewall and low profile on the recommended snow tires for the CTS-V do not like potholes.

While your experience may vary, the above was my colorful CTS-V Coupe towing experience. Needless to say, we never made it out to our friends house that night.

The above picture is a glimpse back in time, myself standing next to my uncle’s C5 Corvette heading to my senior prom. At the time high school was almost over and I would be heading to Drake University in the fall. A fresh start, a new beginning.

Turns out college was a lot like high school, only with more drinking and partying. Same kind of drama, same type of people. In 2008 I was about to graduate into the “real world,” you know, versus the fake world I had been living in. At this point, I thought life would change. Another new beginning.

Well would you look at that, the real world is just like my fake world. Same kind of drama, same type of people. Turns out that real life is just like high school. Sure there’s less drinking and partying than the college version (depending on how you live your life), but what’s really changed? Well, a lot has changed, but so much has stayed the same.

All this made me ask myself, do we ever really graduate from high school? I mean honestly, is it a choice? Even if we try, it feels like others just wont let us leave the school yard.

What do you think? Are we stuck in the school yard for the rest of our lives?

Note – When I started this blog there was a warning that non-automotive stuff might filter in. To date, not much of that has happened. The above is just that, non-automotive life filtering in.

Thanks for the heads up Elliott.

Are you afraid the world is going to end? Do you think zombies are going to take over the planet? If you said yes to the second question, then boy do I have a video for you.

The video below will demonstrate step-by-step how to zombie proof your vehicle, along with some helpful tips on how to use some tools to protect yourself from these zombies.

The video is somewhat long for my tastes, but it is quite entertaining for those that have the patience.

[YouTube]

The below Nissan Pathfinder commercial from Germany is possibly the absolute best explanation of independent front suspension ever. Another thing we can learn from this commercial is that clearly Germans have better advertisements than we do.

So grab a mini bag of popcorn and root beer, sit back and learn about how independent front suspension works.

[YouTube]

[YouTube]

While Detroit has been down in the dumps for a while, this years auto show definitely shows things might be back on track in the D. Of course it had to snow while everyone was in town, but it gave those from the warmer climates a chance to see what us snow belt state peeps live through on a daily basis.

Some of you will remember that last year I wanted to differentiate myself. I started tweeting pictures of cars with the models and tagged them as #EyeCandy. This quickly became a hot topic. A few of my followers mentioned this year that I was not really tweeting any #EyeCandy and asked why not. The simple answer, there wasn’t any. Few booths had the babes that were in attendance last year. Though Chrysler group and Ferrari still pulled through.

But lets get down the to the product. The new Chrysler 300 looks terrific. In reality, many wondered when they saw the pictures if it can recapture the market that the 300 once had in 2005. Upon seeing the car in real life, I am happy to report that it looks much better in person. The interior really does deliver on the promise that the 300 made back in 2005. American luxury. From the great new Pentastar V6, to the growling Hemi V8 in the 300C, this is American luxury in a rear-wheel drive car.

Another car I was anxious to see in real life was the new Chevrolet Sonic. The Sonic is Chevrolet’s new B-Segment car which will take on the likes of the new Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris and many others. I have to say, while I think the new Sonic is a home run from a styling perspective, I can see how many will not. It will be either a love it or hate it vehicle. From the exposed barrel headlights to the ridiculously short rear overhang and really long front overhang, the styling is nothing short of eye catching. The interior gauge cluster is also interesting, as they actually put into the production model the Aveo RS concept’s gauge cluster. With a racing like analogue tachometer and a digital speedometer, the gauge cluster is more reminiscent of a race car or motorcycle than that of a sub-compact car. Going on sale later this year I can’t wait to get behind the wheel and see how the driving dynamics compare to the competition.

The new A6 has already won a design award without even leaving the show floor. In my opinion the new A6 takes everything that is right with the new A8 and A4 while dropping everything that is wrong with them. Smashing all the good together to make a great looking Audi. The design language has really come together for this car. The interior is terrific and the exterior is eye catching. The optional LED headlights are very intricately designed when inspecting them up close. You will see the new A6 on the road later this year.

I’m not going to really cover the CTS-V Coupe race car but I wanted to make mention of it. Two words come to mind when you walked past it on the turntable, menacing and awesome. Ok, moving on.

Toyota has finally unveiled a larger Prius. The model is called the Prius V. This is especially confusing to some since the regular Prius has trim level packages that are in roman numerals. Right now if you go buy a Prius in the top trim level you are buying a Prius V. Wait, that can’t make sense. So when you buy a top trim level Prius V will you be buying a Prius V V? This is clearly not well thought out. I wonder if Toyota realizes this yet. Maybe someone should send them a note. Regardless, I heard many people comment on how the Prius V rear end has a lot of Honda Fit in it. I can see that. The front, well it looks like a third generation Prius with a few slight tweaks. You’ll still know it’s a Prius. You will see the people mover Prius at a dealership near you in the Summer.

Ah the Honda Civic Concept. Honda waltzed Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy on stage to talk about the new Civic Concept. Here’s the problem, either Wentz was drunk or he really could care less about being there. He enthusiasm was worse than the new Civic’s styling. He barely stumbled through his words off the teleprompter. Note to Honda: make sure your spokesperson is somewhat excited about your luke warm product.

But getting back to that product, the new Civic Concept looks as if a new Odyssey and the current generation Civic got it on in the back room. That, or a designer of the current Civic got wasted one night, and just took the current Civics lines and tweaked them a little. For a mid-cycle refresh, I am not sure how this will be competitive until 2016 with new competition from Hyundai, Ford and Chevrolet. We will have to wait and see when the new Civic comes out, but I am not holding my breath.

Mercedes had its SLS E-Cell electric car on display. In a word it is blinding. The paint job on this car can literally sear your retinas. Beyond the paint job, it looks fairly identical on the outside to the current SLS. The interior changes a little as most of the gauges and center stack are now LCD screens. This car will go into production, but if you have to ask range or price, you can’t afford it.

I don’t really want to spend much time on the Passat as I’m not sure it deserves it. I’ll reserve final judgement until I drive one. Until then, I’ll say this, Volkswagen is going downmarket to sell more cars. Is that really a good idea? Why alienate all your current customers. People that buy current Passats pay more because they expect to get better quality materials. Cheapening the car for a lower base price is going to hurt your brand image. This is no longer just German engineering, it is German engineering to a price point.

While I skipped Porsches press conference to eat breakfast at my hotel (it was at 6:30 AM), I will say looking at the car in person, it is stunning. Seeing that huge flywheel in the passenger seat, yea. This is how you build a hybrid. It is good to see Porsche looking at new technology for racing. If this car does go into the racing circuit it could change the game. With less fuel stops needed and more power on tap for instant bursts, it could be a whole new era of racing.

At the end of the day I was exhausted. Most journalists were up at 5 AM and didn’t leave the show floor till nearly 8 PM. I ran to nearly every press conference and went through approximately 6,600 milliamps of battery power for my iPhone4. It was a good show with some great product. Not everything was great, but it was a good to see where each automaker is going in 2011.

Full Disclosure- My NAIAS travel and accommodations are being provided by General Motors

Spotted by none other than the great Mark Boyadjis in Columbia Heights, MN, this mid 90′s Chevrolet Silverado has a second generation Cadillac Escalade front clip grafted onto it. Paint is for suckers. Either the front clip is still just primed and not painted, or else the front clip is black and the donor truck is white. Either way it is hideous. For the awesome blend between luxury and redneck, the GM Escalado is the only way to go.

Thanks for the tip Mark.

[Cheers and Gears]