Can The New Gtr Be Anything But Disappointing?

[Smurf]

I know the title is quite negative however I think everyone is expecting a miracle from the new GTR. Given the time it is taking to get to market I know I am expecting an amazing car.

Do you think we are setting ourselves up for disappointment.

BTW why is it taking so long? I realise this will be a completely different car to the R34 GTR however surely it can't take this long to produce something that is fast and reliable.

I probably know only a fraction of what most people know so please inform me.

Cheers

[predator]

I think its taking so long, as its not a priority for Nissan.

Its something they obviously want to do as they know its an aspiration trophy in their cabinet.. But they realise that they are not going to sell millions of them, or make millions off them. In some ways, its a risky thing - so they want to take their time and get it right.. or not do it at all.

[Rezz]

As Predator said it's not a priority for Nissan (as long as Ghosn is beancounting/cost cutting).

Nissan enthusiasts have to get it into their heads that:

a) Nissan had a near-death experience in 1999

b ) Ghosn was called in to 'revive' Nissan and to put the Co back into the black - not much more than that... he is a professional CEO, and he does what is *needed*, not whats wanted. The fact that he's had great interest in Fairlady Z/350Z and the next GT-R is a bonus... to expect Nissan to just carry on with the same motorsports driven financial arrogance as in the 1980's and 90's is just stupid.

c) true Nissan enthusiasts will give Nissan all the time in the world to release an R34 GT-R successor. There has been 'breaks' in the Skyline GT-R lineage before, and theres no reason why anyone should get nervous because it's taking 6 years or more to bring about the next GT-R. Rest assured, the Japanese are still in control at Nissan, Nissan is still Japans 'trophy' carmaker (despite lacklustre model lineup) - in spirit at least - and Ghosn will not be at the helm forever.

d) What we're seeing is Nissans evolution into the 21st century way of doing business. For 20 years from the early 70's to the early 90's, Japan was in an unprecedented economic bubble that put them at the top of the world financially. That kind of wealth seriously 'scewed' reality in that Japanese car makers were going around releasing fantastic cars that put the maker deeper and deeper into the red... but on the face of it everything was rosy... in my experience this is typical Japanese 'inward protectionism' (as I like to call it) where they kept failing businesses afloat with extraordinary amounts of money - not to learn new ways of business in changing economic climates - but more to *save face* and not bow to defeat and apply for bankruptcy... which Nissan came dangerously close over 5 years ago.

Sorry for the long winded post, but thats kinda what I've learnt from 5 years in Japan and researching car industry matters there. It's very brief and theres alot more to it than what I've just posted, but you get the idea.

Edited October 6, 2005 by Rezz