Too Fast, Too Furious

Student Shereen Shahid purchased the body of her 1983 Datsun 280ZX Turbo on Facebook Marketplace. It was love at first sight.

Like many children, young Shereen Shahid looked forward to the winter holiday season when the air turned crisp and frost hardened the ground. Lights went up, and school let out. In the suburbs of Detroit, Shahid and her cousins would crowd around the television, eager for hours of screen time uninterrupted by schoolwork. Their indulgence of choice: the Fast and Furious films.

Though sensationalized, the knavish lifestyle of the racers appealed to five-year-old Shahid. The street-racing cars took on identities of their own, distinct personalities that fit into the real-life community that she saw around her. With the seed of passion planted, Shahid grew up and slowly became part of the Motor City herself.

“A lot of people come from generations of car people,” she says. “But my story is a little different.”

Detroit’s century-old car culture welcomed her with open arms. “It felt like the safest place for me to learn and grow,” Shahid says. She went to events as official as car shows and conferences, and as casual as festivals and garage visits. Every summer, she attended the Woodward Dream Cruise, a massive parade of classic cars north of Detroit.

“My jaw would drop to the ground every time,” she reminisces. “Despite growing up in this culture, I still held onto it as if I had never seen a car before.” Her interest blossomed in young adulthood, and she began looking for a project car to tinker with in her spare time while enrolled at U-M, majoring in organizational studies and minoring in writing.

Shahid tinkers with her beloved car in a garage in Ypsilanti, sometimes with the help of the Datsun’s seller.

In August 2023, Shahid spotted a listing on Facebook Marketplace: a 1983 Datsun 280ZX Turbo. It had been sitting in somebody’s back yard since its original owner had passed away, its guts corroded by harsh Michigan winters. As a result of its damage, the seller had listed it for a low price. This cannot be true, Shahid thought. This is such a rare car. You would never see it on the street.

She made an appointment to see it, and it was love at first sight. She made a deal with the seller: If she could keep the car at his garage in Ypsilanti, use his tools and expertise to fix it up, she would pay the asking price without negotiating. And $5,000 later, the car was hers.

There was just one small hitch: Her father, an authorized signer on her bank account, received a notification about a large transaction. Her parents, both immigrants to the United States, were at best ambivalent about her hobby. Her mother had owned her 2006 Toyota Camry for at least a decade. Her father, though he worked in the automotive industry, considered cars to be a part of his job, but nothing more. Shahid knew she had some explaining to do.

As it turned out, though, her parents came to understand how the old Datsun harmonized with other parts of Shahid’s life. “It fits perfectly with organizational studies,” she says, since the field makes ample room for guided creativity. “You take your own path to figuring out solutions,” she notes, pointing to the automotive industry as a stage for technological change. “We can see how cars progress over time, while thinking about ways to innovate.” Her goal is to leverage her academic background for more professional experience in the industry—which is, in turn, related to her personal passion.

Often, Shahid finds herself in the position of a cultural translator. When speaking with car enthusiasts, she has to change her frame of mind to get the answers she needs. “This group of people doesn’t usually talk about their feelings and how much they love the car community,” she says. “I have to be able to understand their different motivations and their past experiences, and how they are going to affect the way that we’re interacting in that moment.” The principle of team building comes naturally to the car community, and her experiences have shown her that their relationships are built on trust and togetherness, cemented by the automotive industry’s importance to the region.

The horizon is boundless for Shahid, who, with her hands-on knowledge of working with cars, hopes to stand at the forefront of automotive development.

As she looks to the future, Shahid worries about how electric vehicles will impact her beloved Motor City. “What I’m seeing now is how owners are being pushed away from the cars themselves,” she says.

Shahid argues that EVs prioritize function and affordability over driver experience. “You don’t feel like your car reflects you anymore,” she says.

Shahid relishes opportunities to tell her parents about her progress on the car and to learn from older car enthusiasts who are eager to help the new generation. She strives to work toward innovation and creativity in the auto industry rather than away from it. Working on her car has changed the way she thinks about everything—not only because of the unique expertise required to troubleshoot the nuts-and-bolts issues of the day, but also because of the curiosity and playfulness that the community celebrates.

The dynamism of the Motor City never fails to stun her. “People share joy in their common passion, and it feels native in Detroit because of the history of the industry,” she says. “The giants of the American automotive industry have stayed here for over a century because the people keep feeding into the culture.” Her dream? Working at the forefront of product management while staying true to her roots. Hop in—it’s bound to be an adventure.

Photography by Josh Scott Photo
Illustrations by Matt Vierling