14 | SEPTEMBER 15 • 2022 

OUR COMMUNITY

A BLACK PEARL

Ari and Julie Katz and daughters, Sadie and Libby, live in 
West Bloomfield with their 1978 Datsun 280Z “Black Pearl.” 
This is a rare one. To determine if Americans would buy 
black sports cars, Nissan produced about 1,200 Black Pearl 
280Zs, which were only sold in the U.S. 
But this particular Datsun 280Z is a special one for Ari.
“My father, Steve Katz, purchased the ‘Z’ new in June 
1978 from Leo Adler Datsun in Farmington Hills,” he said. 
“My parents met later that year — a setup between mutual 
friends. My dad was extremely protective of his car, but when 
he met my mom, Joanne, he immediately asked her if she 
wanted to drive it … their friends knew she was ‘the one.’
“Growing up, the car was like another member of the 
family — always there, in the garage,” Ari continued. “My 
dad taught me how to wash it and care for it, and even how 
to drive a manual transmission. When my dad passed of ALS 
in 2003, I took over the ‘Z’ and continued to maintain it in 
the same condition as he left it. Now I get to share the same 
passion for the car with my kids.
“I love driving the ‘Z’ on curvy tree-lined roads, especially 
in the fall when the trees are in full color, causing the leaves 
on the ground to rustle behind the car,” he said. 

A FAMILY AFFAIR

Scott and Debra Silver live in Beverly Hills and have three chil-
dren, Randall, Eric and Sarah, and will soon have four grandchil-
dren. A silver 2022 Corvette convertible with the performance 
package calls their garage its home, but this ’Vette is a family 
affair.
How Scott obtained this Corvette is an interesting story. 
“I picked it up with my son Eric at the Corvette Museum in 
Bowling Green,” he said. “My friend Brian Baker was on his first 
day as director of collections and education at the museum, and 
he handed me the keys to my new car. My son Eric and I drove 
the car back to Detroit after an all-too-brief stop on the Bourbon 
Trail.” 
Scott took his Corvette and family members to the Dream 
Cruise, but his “favorite cruise is with my wife, Debbie, going to 
Dairy Deluxe on Woodward and 14 Mile Road. The car is special 
in all the memories of events I have participated in with family 
and friends and all the new ones to be made.”

GRANDPA’S CARS

Nikki Baron doesn’t own a specialty car, but she 
wrote to us about her grandfather. “My grandfather, 
Donald Baron, owns three Corvettes and an Allard 
[a hand-made English car], but the Corvettes are 
special to our family. He has a ’64, a ’69, and a 2000 
(maybe 2002, I can’t remember). The ’69 was his first 
car and he has owned it since 1970. For a long time, 
it was the car he drove every day, even driving my 
grandmother to the hospital in it just before she gave 
birth to my dad!
“Every summer growing up, we would get to take 
rides in his Corvette and have a yearly picture with 
my grandpa taken in front of one of his Corvettes,” 
she said. “He has driven his first one all over for car 
parades, including the Dream Cruise in 2019.”

continued from page 13

Julie and Ari Katz, with daughters 
Sadie and Libby with their 1978 
Datsun 280Z Black Pearl.

Scott and Eric 
Silver and their 
2022 Corvette.

Donald and Nikki 
Baron with their 
1958 Corvette.

