There’s a debate in our Discord right now over what a car designed by coke might look like, with me completely on the side of those who say Lamborghini Countach. But if there was a car driven by booger sugar, it might be the 10th Anniversary Datsun 280ZX, aka the Black Gold Z.
One of the challenges for many of us, having once written for Jalopnik and now writing for this site, is that we sometimes carry over lore from that place and just assume everyone will get the reference. We call this shibbolething, derived from the Hebrew word used by the Gileadites to filter out the Ephraimites after a battle.
I think most of you know Black Gold, which is the name given to this particular Datsun that someone found in the early days of the site (maybe Murilee?). It’s so old I can’t even remember the first post, but the important thing is that the one version of the Z that sticks in the back of my head is this one, and it’s because of this incredible video:

I had forgotten how suggestive this video is because, well, I’d watched it so many times in the olden days that I just sort of skip over it when it comes up in my feed. That’s a mistake, because, wow, there are some moments.
The video features two models that look as if they were plucked straight from the dance floor of LA’s Studio One. Or maybe the bathroom.
Look at the magic that’s about to happen here.
That mustache is so suggestive, I’m pretty sure MSN is going to outright reject this post purely because of this image.
It’s not even subtle. Look at what flashes on the screen:
I mean, if that’s not acceptable, there’s always:
I think I know what that image is supposed to be, but …
At least Nissan/Datsun in the 1970s believed in the concept of enthusiastic consent, so there was always this option:
Thank you, Nissan. I guess this guy is just going to have to go home and shift his own gears.
Oh, he’s a righty.
The car itself is interesting. Datsun had been pushing the concept of a sports car since the original 240Z, which had morphed into the 280ZX by this point.
Here’s how Nissan itself described the car:
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first Z, Nissan released a special edition 280ZX model with a limited production run. The success of previous Z cars opened the opportunity to equip 280ZX models with upscale materials such as leather seats and hi-fi stereos – a departure from the sporty yet economical approach of the initial 240Z.
With only 3,000 made, the 280ZX 10th Anniversary Edition is today considered a highly collectible car. The most popular model package featured a two-tone black-and-gold paint scheme with accent pin stripes, of which 2,500 were made. The remaining 500 wore a red-and-black paint scheme. Each 280ZX 10th Anniversary Edition had a dash plaque with the edition number. (Canadian models came with a Maple Leaf emblem.)
The 1980 Datsun 280ZX was powered by a 2.8-liter inline-6 that produced 132 hp and 144 lb-ft of torque. Power was transferred to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual gearbox. Other special features include a golden Z hood badge, gold- or black-colored alloy wheels, commemorative wreath decals on the front fenders and hatch, headlight washers, a new style shift knob, tan or burgundy leather seats, a tinted T-bar roof, and a 40-watt, power-boosted four-speaker sound system.
There was a red-and-gold version of it? The commercial for that must be a lot.
Happy Black Friday!
Top photo: Datsun/YouTube
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“With only 3,000 made, the 280ZX 10th Anniversary Edition is today considered a highly collectible car.”
Why not come see the model it’s based on, the 240z, which turned the sports car world upside-down. Ace240z.com
I’m sorry, but I’ll take your Datsun innuendo commercial and raise you a Dodge 600 ES TURBO commercial—this is the actual horniest car commercial, especially of that era.
Can you guys do a write up on this? I feel like I’m having DMT aftershocks every time I see it. What’s with the dog reflection in the side of the car?
https://youtu.be/bgSTgt8G4UA?si=DOBhq89u5Y2RLSre
Kind of like “hey that’s kind of a cool ad, what are the sell…”
“Oh. A K-Car…”
Our drummer in our late ‘80’s glam/punk band had one in his garage. It was his stepdad’s. Definitely a coke guy, with Kenny Loggins/Family Ties beard. Worked in Silicon Valley. A lawyer I think. I remember the swirly pin stripes.
I liked the blue and silver two tone they had. Don’t generally care for black and gold and it would have to be gold pinstriping or accents on black, if anything. I don’t recall ever seeing a red/black, but that was a long time ago and these things had short lives in the Northeast. I don’t think there was any improvement in rust protection going from S30 to S130 and it’s possible that it was even worse than the earlier cars or people just put more money into keeping the S30s around.
I was never a fan of the black/gold look. Remember the Yamaha Midnight Specials? Black bikes with gold trim instead of chrome. They had the audacity to charge more for them.
Datsun:
The remaining 500 wore a red-and-black paint scheme.
Matt:
There was a red-and-gold version of it? The commercial for that must be a lot.
Oops.
There was just nothing good about these other than the “so bad it’s good” marketing. Slow. Unreliable electronics. That whole fuel system.
The female model looks like a refugee from a Robert Palmer video.
The lipstick isn’t red enough.
OMG that mustache. The cheap porn star look was in apparently in.
Can confirm. It was.
Source: in 1982, I would have been a 10-year-old listening to Hall & Oates.
i will never turn down the opportunity to remind folks that the Callin’ Oates Emergency Hotline exists:
719-266-2837 (719-26-OATES)
It’s actually back. I don’t understand gen z sometimes.
“Oh, he’s a righty.”
Well, if you drive a manual in the US, that’s pretty much the only way to do it.
I don’t think I ever saw this commercial. I must have seen the car (or the red and black one) at some point, but for the life of me, I can’t recall. I wasn’t really into the 280, much preferring the simpler 240/260.
I’ve actually never owned a Datsun or Nissan, and the fact makes me a bit sad.
40 watt stereo. Be careful, you might blow out your eardrums
I do like the simplicity of those old head units though. Every old car I buy has some difficult to see and use aftermarket radio from the 90s or 00s and it’s frustrating as heck to change stations or adjust the volume since there must have been a no-knobs rule in place for a while. Grrrr! But I’m a grumpy f-ck, so you can’t go by what I say.
PS: yes, I know they make head units now that look old but have modern features (like bluetooth, etc…) but they’re pretty pricey and my back hurts too much to take my dashboards apart unless it’s absolutely necessary.
When I was active duty USAF, a buddy of mine had a Black Gold 280ZX.
He also had a military-grade pornstache like the guy in the ad.
Oh my! What would Steve Wozniak say?!
I’m an Autopian (i.e. a little odd) as the most visceral memory this ad causes is the lettering on the key surround, which reminds me of The Bishop’s Father’s late-70s Datsun Z 2+2
Speaking of shibboleths, what’s everyone’s favorite regional ones? “Creemee” for soft serve ice cream in Vermont? “Duck duck gray duck” instead of “- goose” in Minnesota? Just about half of all placenames in the Pacific Northwest? Just to tie it back to cars, “the” before highway numbers in Southern California?
My home province of Saskatchewan, Canada, has a few very specific ones. What most people call a ‘hoodie’ is known as a ‘bunnyhug’ here. Gravel roads – of which we have a lot – are ‘grid roads’. And you can immediately identify an outsider by the way they pronounce ‘coyote’. A true Saskatchewanian will say it ‘ki-yote’ or even ‘ki-yoot’. None of those fancy Spanish influences here…
I worked with a Kiowa lady from Oklahoma who called them Kye-Oat. None of that Kye-Oatee nonsense.
The winking taillights at the end….”chef’s kiss”
Black Gold. 60% of the time, it works every time.
I found a hornier ad.
https://youtu.be/K15jW27EFgM?si=JZzBUFCZarkNexMA
Not to get too personal, but this one… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voP3U83kigk
That’s an aggressive, Tom-Selleck, John Oates, caterpillar of a mustache.
Burt Reynolds? Pornstache from Orange Is the New Black?
Must be louvered for the driver’s pleasure.
That is a… well-traveled mustache. It has been many places and seen many things, more than the wearer can probably even remember. It probably still has enough, shall we say, residuals that even today it can’t get through Customs without every drug-sniffing dog in the airport going bonkers.
I find much of the fashion and looks of the late disco era….offensive. Coke use was through the nose, literally, to have gone that low.
Its why, even during the 1970s decade nostalgia phase we went through, they just did modern interpretations of 1970s-inspired fashion, they didnt directly bring anything back as it truly was, partly because Caldor going out of business killed off most of the institutional expertise in plaid double knit polyester leisure suits
The 70s retro comeback was highly selective. You’ll notice nobody tried to bring back shag carpets and a color palate made up entirely of brown either.
That’s the way nostalgia works. Retain the good, flush the bad.
I had a shag carpet in my bedroom growing up. Many small Lego bits were lost to it.
Serious cocaine use.
AUTO EROTICA!
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