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i think the problem with this car being sold to the united states is were too focused on straight line performance. not that thats bad. i didnt read the OP too long =P so i dont know if he addressed this but the specv seems totally designed for road course driving which i think the vast majority of US car enthusiasts dont participate in. drag racing is probably the cheapest form of motor sports you can get into so theres going to be tons of people into that.

thats the great thing about the vette its good at drag racing and roadcourses. it totally suits american car enthusiasts.

im sure the specv will see some improvement in straightline performance but obviously not that much because thats not what the car was designed for.
+10000000k

MC just posted about the new LC and look how many post wondering 0-60 time. They say it's not that important, but that'll be the first thing they ask and will decide on whether to go with the update.
 
Nissan is as much to blame for the LC fiasco as anyone. The poor dealership network sure didn't help, but in the US, if you advertise it, you'd better back it up. No people going to bend over and take it here. Just ask BMW.
Nissan never advertise LC, never. Nissan don't even say it anywhere in the manual. The mag did it and advertised it themselves.
 
Thanks for the great write-up, sincerely.

"America is not ready". That is LAUGHABLE. It's too absurdly funny to even be offensive. Let's explore what that probably REALLY means :

1. "America is not ready to pay twice as much ... at least ... for a Nissan with VERY slight, incrementally better performance ... at best."

Why no Nurburgring ring times posted on the SpecV? Hmmmm ... i wonder. Is it because, ALL OF A SUDDEN, the 'ring is no longer important to Nissan and GT-R performance? After the GT-R's 'ring performance was even boasted in the OWNER'S MANUAL? I think not. It's because the 'ring time is only slightly better ... for well over twice the price! Let's explore the quotes concerning the Nurburgring performance from the original post, as Nissan tries to dance around the issue :

"We learned that the general theme of the car was improved performance in a track-focused fashion. Whereas a typical GT-R is a car that may only see occasional track use, this car is designed to spend much more time on circuits. As such, it was designed to be faster in that type of environment, and not necessarily on the streets."

and a bit later :

"Some might think that these sorts of improvements can't possibly yield a significant gain in overall performance. While that might be true in certain cases, this is where the significance of Mizuno's goals comes into play: he made it to be faster on the most challenging road courses in the world. As a result, the benefits of the SpecV's improvements can really be seen on courses such as the Nurburgring, where improvements in traction, stability, and other aspects of performance can become more important than raw power gains."

BUT then :

"Among those in the know, it's a commonly accepted view that the SpecV is able to run with the fastest factory cars to ever hit the Ring. But as quickly as they acknowledge this they tell you how little they care. The Ring, they feel, doesn't really represent the street, or even every track."

and :

"So while they say the GT-R and SpecV are indeed fast on the Ring, they question the greater significance of it and resent what he's done to the community that's given meaning to the administration he now presides over."

Anybody else smell the bullshyt here? There's only one reason why the 'ring performance is no longer important to Nissan : the SpecV is coming up short, especially for the price.

2. "Nissan North America is not ready."

There's some support for this interpretation, directly in the article. The quality of service ... including cars rotting at the port for months ... is not exactly what one expects for a "supercar". But, we all know this isn't purely Nissan North America's fault ...

3. "America is not interested ... because America already has access to some of the best supercars in the world".

Apparently, America is indeed "ready" for Ferrari Enzos, Porsche Carrera GTs, Merceds Benz Black Series, Corvette ZR1s, etc. While the non-SpecV GT-R is a true breakthrough in terms of performance-per-dollar, this REAL supercar crowd leaves precious little room for an overpriced Nissan.

I think I get it now
 
I've largely taken Nissan's side on the whole Launch Control issue ... at least, from a legal perspective. But the whole situation regarding LC is not an "American problem". The responsibility ultimately rests with Nissan themselves (and not NNA), for informing the press about a mode of operation that is not supported in legal documentation. That dichotomy was the root cause of the issue ... and I'm the guy who has screamed that we all need to READ the manuals, and IGNORE the press !!! NO, the press didn't discover Launch Control on their own by randomly flipping buttons ...

Maybe he meant, the "American Ports" are not ready for Nissan to leave the cars sitting for months on end as Nissan tries to wrangle themselves out of a legal predicament. Our ports are too salty, and they cause corrosion.

And in my view, the SpecV is certainly overpriced, compared to the competition ... which INCLUDES the non-SpecV GT-R


Like I said above, this whole SpecV "mystique" ... and the comments made in the first post regarding America not being "ready" ... are LAUGHABLE.

Call it what it is : incremental enhancements, at a grossly exaggerated price, designed for a handful of wealthy collectors.
 
Honda did the same thing with the NSX Type R many years ago

Didn't hurt their sales one bit.

Nissan is mainly an ecomony car manufacturer. The Spec V is a niche market car that won't sell in the US because of it's price point. I see no reason why Nissan is not allowed to sell THEIR car where they see fit.
 
Honda did the same thing with the NSX Type R many years ago

Didn't hurt their sales one bit.

Nissan is mainly an ecomony car manufacturer. The Spec V is a niche market car that won't sell in the US because of it's price point. I see no reason why Nissan is not allowed to sell THEIR car where they see fit.
No problem! Of course they can sell it where they see fit!

I'm just raising the big "BS FLAG" on the absurdly silly reasons they gave (or implied)!
 
So an admin. from this web site becomes an apologist for the U S Market touting...

Nissan's... Unique perspective.... America's NOT Ready !!!

What a load of BS.... Nissan's home office is now blaming their customers...

because Nissan brought the GT-R to market, before it's time !!!

There are far too many reported issues with the GT-R for the problems not to be due to the manufacturer.

Here is an in person interview with Nissan's GT-R manager... who is trying to gloss over the failures,

and reporting that...

Nissan/Japan is blaming their own dealer/service network , as well as their customers...

for accepting Nissan's GT-R at face value, expecting the performance promised.

It's NOT the U S consumer expectations that caused GT-R's problems...

It's Nissan the manufacturer... making promises that the GT-R was unable to deliver.

Other marques have had problems with various new models...

but I don't recall a Corperation saying their own dealers and customers

were the cause.

 
and if the notion really is that "Nissan North America" is not ready ... well whose JOB is it, or was it, to get the dealer network ready?

Was the training of the dealer network an "American" responsibility, an "American consumer" responsibility ... or maybe, just maybe, the responsibility to get the NNA dealer network "ready" lies elsewhere?

The more you think about the "America is not ready" comment, the more ridiculous it sounds.

The fact is : NISSAN is not ready !!
 
I don't post things up on this forum considering I don't own a GTR but after reading this I had to say something...

to the point.....

and I couldn't agree more..... I just would add one thing "Most of America is not ready".... not all.

There are people that pride themselves in the knowledge they know about All makes and models...
 
so if the US is ready for it does that mean you would buy one? if not it would seem the US is not ready for it.
well, what percentage of forum members would need to say "YES" ???

What percentage of forum members in Japan need to say "YES" (and really follow through, of course)?

History shows that America is CERTAINLY ready to buy high-dollar supercars, if that answers your question.
 
well ill put it this way.... i wouldnt buy it. lol.

the only way i would consider it would be if i was so loaded with money i could buy it just because i wanted to own one of nissans first offerings of their top cars in the united states.

from a performance standpoint it had better be a large increase in performance for that price.
 
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