The breath of The Dragon envelopes you, and you understand, as you pass back into clarity, that you’ve just had a golden moment, a driving experience that will never leave you. The Dragon does that. It always does that.
The 100th Indy 500
One of my very first prehistoric memories was the piercing sound of those rorty engines wafting across the corn fields and subdivisions of West Indy,their mechanical wailing drifting into my bedroom and sparking a curious awe that has never left me.
4DSC Returns as an ’09 Maxima?
Since there is no Infiniti dealer within driving range, I take my car to the local Nissan dealer for service. Despite having traded off my 350Z nearly a year ago, I still get their “Nissan” mailings and the offer of a $19.95 oil change from them was irresistible, so down I went for a few […]
My First Time in a Datsun 610
They say you never forget your First Time. You’ll always remember the short beat of the heart when you first saw her, the anticipation you felt when you realized that she was yours, the dreamy sensuality that overcame you as you gently washed her body, feeling every curve and contour for the first time.There’s that […]
SkidMarks with Jerry Hofschneider
Article Series
Skidmarks is an eclectic assortment of irreverent, humorous, and sometimes nostalgic commentaries on automotive-related themes.
Part 1 of the Fantasy Test Drive
It was five years ago this week when, with a predestined wild hair making itself known, I bought my new 350Z. I traded in a perfectly good 2000 Maxima for it. It was really the first time that the dealer had a reasonable supply of new Zs, and he knew what he had; I had […]
Gas Rant
The “low fuel” light on the gas gauge in the dash of my G Coupe began blinking, a sight as rare as chicken lips. I pulled into a nearby Kangaroo, pumped in 17 plus gallons and, chit, I just spent $71.00 to fill the tank!!!Never in my existence have I spent that much for a […]
And now a Hurricane
One of the reasons I chose to live in the little nowhere town of Ocala is its distance from the Atlantic or the Gulf. After living in coastal Ft Myers and low-lying Tampa for over 30 years without a significant storm affecting me, I decided that my string was about played out and the Law […]
SkidMarks Introduction
JHof – an introduction I just recently said a short goodbye to another forum after being a regular member there since April of ’03 when I finally got a hold of my new Z and had tons of stuff to post about. But, that website is devoted solely to 350s, and has no room for […]
When You Get Caught Between The Z and New York City
One of the continuously mysterious parts of Z ownership, for me anyway, was the almost complete absence of 350Zs from the streets of Manhattan. You can see all kinds of exotic cars in the endless streams of traffic that NY coughs up–Rollers, Peugeot, Russian stuff with DPL tags, classics, etc. but seeing a Z is […]