Interesting take on 2012 GT-R

[bofa]

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/2012-nis...ul.html?page=2

[Type[R]+]

Just seems like the writer is having a bitch just because. I'd like to see what he says about a car that costs 10x lol!

If we got the GTR over here for the same price as you guys (we pay $180k and our dollar is stronger than yours!) I'd have one in a heartbeat.

[Neutral_Eyes]

Writer
Consultant
Online Media industry
January 1999 – Present (12 years 8 months)

- Planned and wrote the 224-page official Prima Essential Game Guide for Gran Turismo 5, one of the highest profile titles in the video-games industry. Completed the project from initial brainstorm to print in four weeks, collaborating with multiple companies including Prima Games, Sony Computer Entertainment and Polyphony Digital Inc. The book proved highly successful, with the first print selling out to retailers within a month. Compared to reviews of previous Gran Turismo guides, the strategy book has garnered acclaim by car and gaming enthusiasts.
- Served as copy coordinator for Designory, a marketing agency specializing in the automotive industry. Presented Subaru marketing concepts to clients in Japan in Japanese. Edited and wrote brochures for Subaru Global, adapting copy for various international markets.

The article reads like a case of nostalgia goggles. "Why did Nissan send me this supercar instead of a 23-year-old clunker I fondly remember from my childhood?"

But where the new GT-R really takes an about-face from the old is price. In 1989, the Skyline GT-R started at around $32,000. Factoring in inflation, that’s about $55,000 today, which is in range of the base C6 Corvette. The new R35 Nissan GT-R started off with a price tag of $77,000 in 2008, and has crept upwards continually, now starting at $89,950.

The sticker price alone means the GT-R is no longer a car for “anyone.”

Yeah, like $55k is any more accessible for anyone than $77k or $90k.

[aloretoc]

yeah he sounds like he is suffering driving that car, i can't imagine what he would be going through... poor guy...

[Matador]

With respect to the increasing price and reduced sales, If it's almost as expensive as the Porsche it's meant to substitute, then the guy kinda has a damned good point.....

In fact, a lot of his review is on point, and many more famous and accomplished auto journalists have shared that opinion. It's funny to see all the comments on the article, because while all of them bash the author saying that he doesn't "get it", it's painfully obvious that they don't.

The GT-R is a marvelous car, but you know, It isn't the car that is the GT-R. It's gained a lot, and perhaps in doing that, lost a lot as well... changes that some would say are necessary to justify it's price tag. Which really is rubbish, because it really is a performance bargain.

[baldolera]

This writer is quite biased and lists all the bad points of the car, and even more. He states that the dash is like a truck. That's not true at all IMO, and there's a lot more things that aren't true.

[bofa]

Originally Posted by MatadorRacing_F1

With respect to the increasing price and reduced sales, If it's almost as expensive as the Porsche it's meant to substitute, then the guy kinda has a damned good point.....

In fact, a lot of his review is on point, and many more famous and accomplished auto journalists have shared that opinion. It's funny to see all the comments on the article, because while all of them bash the author saying that he doesn't "get it", it's painfully obvious that they don't.

The GT-R is a marvelous car, but you know, It isn't the car that is the GT-R. It's gained a lot, and perhaps in doing that, lost a lot as well... changes that some would say are necessary to justify it's price tag. Which really is rubbish, because it really is a performance bargain.

Well said. I think what he is basically getting at is that cars are evolving so much that we are losing touch with the old way of 'man over machine'. I can't say I'd turn down a GT-R, and wouldn't for those reasons alone. It's still an amazing car. I think he has a point but should have written it as an op-ed instead of a review on the 2012 GT-R.

[RRnold]

Makes sense! Automatic transmission and mostly computer aided, the GTR practically drives itself! With that being said, if given the opportunity between and R34 and an R35, I'd take an R34 in a heartbeat. I want to shift...

[SUB-FT86]

When your at the top haters gonna hate. Almost every supercar has a DCT yet they still bitch and complain about the GT-R having one with no manual. The Veyron, the 458 Italia, the LF-A, and the Aventador. All of which I bet is terrific cars to drive.

[Exage]

Originally Posted by Yahoo! Autos

How can a sports car that has so much performance value and engineering ingenuity underdeliver? Because in the end, how fast a car laps a track doesn’t always move buyers. And maybe that’s the Achilles’ heel with the GT-R: what looks great on paper—and in a video game—won’t always pull on the heart strings in real life.

I think we're beginning to reach the point where technology is starting to poke it's ugly head at us. It's a delicate subject in which people are able to have extremely different preferences in different areas on different vehicles.

So the question is: What is your preferred balance on a performance oriented system taking over control of certain aspects of the car?

Some find no enjoy in a system helping them drive faster or taking control of the car. It gives a certain detachment or de-sensitization from the experience leaving them underwhelmed.

Others enjoy outright performance. The car being able to take them to the very limit of what it is capable of.

Funny, reminds me a little bit of the constant (Auto vs. Manual) Transmission Debates.

[Type[R]+]

The same can be said about any car that's progressed. The old lambo's would kill you in a heartbeat, the new ones are boring in comparison. The best Evo was the 6.5. Rude, crude, didn't take any shit from anyone.

R32 gtr's are nothing on a r35, let alone an r33 or r34. It's evolution. I've driven all of them, and the r35 is a quantum leap ahead of the pack. It's typical Japanese, everything just works. Maybe people want that 'I'm going to die' feeling when driving their car?

[Dimman]

$90k car not selling in a tanking economy, and it's because it doesn't have 'soul'? FFS...

[82mm 4g63]

Originally Posted by MatadorRacing_F1

If it's almost as expensive as the Porsche it's meant to substitute, then the guy kinda has a damned good point.....

It isn't anywhere near as expensive as the Porsche it's supposed to compete against. The 911 Turbo starts at $137k, the GTR has at least a $47,000 price gap and it still roasts it performance wise. To be fair to the GTR it should be compared with the 911 Turbo S because of the AWD drivetrain, which is $160k or $70k more than the GTR.

At even $90k the GTR is an incredible buy. Look at it's performance versus an $88k Acura NSX.

The author is just a disgruntled Porsche salesman.

[Snaps]

Originally Posted by Type[R]+

Maybe people want that 'I'm going to die' feeling when driving their car?

Bingo.

The same reason skydivers skydive, basejumpers basejump, and the reason most of us love going on those exhilarating amusement park rides so much. It's the adrenaline.

Think about it... Go on a bullet/magnet train and you'll feel pretty damn safe. Drive a racecar (just a reasonably fast one ~450hp) to 250km/h and you'll feel completely different. Drive something like the GTR to the same speeds and you'll feel safe where you didn't in the racecar. You'll feel like it's NOT going to kill you.

And guess what? Safety FEELS boring. THAT'S why the *real* enthusiasts want something raw, want something made with passion. Not something that is controlled by computers, not something that feels like it's normal for a car to go that fast. We want it to feel like we're breaking some sort of barrier that we shouldn't be.