Actually, for those of us who can remember the late 60s and early 70s,
Datsun didn't kill it, beauty did.
Convertibles weren't selling well in those years and more and more people
were buying coupes and hatchbacks like the Z, Camaro etc. People were tired
of hard to erect convertible tops that leaked (except for those Italian
cars). People also wanted more comfort and the Roadster is hardly
comfortable when compared to a Z.
I remember there were always left over new Roadsters, Bs and Triumphs on
dealers' lots - they weren't selling well.
NHSTA also played its part and many manufacturers were fearful that the
NHSTA would require that convertibles be banned from production for saftey
reasons.
Let's face it the Roadster was never a big seller. Datsun sold more Zs in
the first year than all the Roadsters made from 63-70.
Tastes and technology change. Now look at all the convertible sports cars
made because of the Miata revolution. They don't leak, the tops are very
easy to erect, are quiet and have a good ride. I think more types of
convertibles are made today than made in the 60s - Honda, Mazda, BMW, MB,
Toyota . . .
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary McCormick" <gkmcc@netgate.net>
To: "Eric Frisbee" <efris@qwest.net>
Cc: "Gary K. McCormick" <svgkm@halley.ca.essd.northgrum.com>;
<datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 11:23 PM
Subject: Re: Tail Light? Reflector? Mine is AWOL
> Well, "Erc" (I call you that because it seems like everything irks you) I
didn't say I
> approved, I was just stating fact. I actually kind of like the pre-'70
rear
> light/reflector treatment - but it's very reassuring and I get a warm,
fuzzy
> "all-is-right-with-the-world" feeling just knowing that you are still one
big button
> waiting to be pushed...
>
> ...and the Roadster didn't die, the "Z" killed it.
>
> BTW - maybe the Colorado child seat law comes in response to all of those
SUVs rolling
> over ;^)
>
> Gary (now that I've pissed off just about everybody possible, I guess my
day is complete)
> McCormick
> San Jose, CA
>
> Eric Frisbee wrote:
>
> > Screw the NHTSA! They singlehandedly destroyed the look of every
decent
> > car out there with their "safety" features. I still remember the final
MG
> > model... and am glad the Datsuns died long before they had to have the
huge
> > battering ram bumpers!
> >
> > Colorado passed another "safety" law today... now it seems I have to
keep my
> > kids in car seats til they are 40 years old or 12 feet tall. I love
this
> > place...
> >
> > EF
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Gary K. McCormick <svgkm@halley.ca.essd.northgrum.com>
> > To: Andrew Murphy <solex67@hotmail.com>
> > Cc: <mad@madgrizzle.com>; <datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net>
> > Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 5:27 PM
> > Subject: Re: Tail Light? Reflector? Mine is AWOL
> >
> > > ...and are thus violating NHTSA safety requirements. The reflectors
were
> > relocated because
> > > they were made larger, and they were made larger to comply with new
> > regulations which
> > > increased the required reflective are at the rear of a vehicle. The
> > larger, rectangular
> > > side marker lamps on the '70 are part of the same deal.
> > >
> > > Gary McCormick
> > > San Jose, CA
> > >
> > > Andrew Murphy wrote:
> > >
> > > > <snip>The 70 roadster had a much larger refelctor that was relocated
to
> > the
> > > > side of the tail lights. A lot of people found the rear end way too
busy
> > > > because of this and removed them.<snip>
> > >
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> >
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