Below are the fuel economy numbers for June 2009. We've listed the best, worst and overall average tanks.
As always, we were missing a few cars that were out of town or unavailable at the time of this writing. I'll continue to add them as they come in and let you know in the comments.
Car
Best
Worst
Average
2009 Audi A4 Avant
26.8
17.5
21.9
2009 Audi S5
22.3
11.3
18.0
2008 BMW 135i
27.7
13.9
19.8
2009 BMW 750i
21.8
12.4
17.9
2002 BMW M3
23.5
12.3
17.5
2009 BMW M3
20.5
12.7
16.1
2009 Ford Flex Limited
26.7
13.7
19.2
2008 Ford Focus SES
40.6
16.6
26.7
2007 Honda Civic GX
47.3
12.7
31.6
2009 Honda Fit Sport
39.0
24.9
31.0
2009 Hyundai Genesis
24.4
14.3
20.4
2009 Infiniti FX50
21.8
10.7
16.9
2009 Mazda 6
29.3
19.4
23.5
2008 Mitsubishi Evo X GSR
22.6
11.0
17.0
2009 Nissan 370Z
24.4
13.7
17.9
2009 Nissan GT-R
21.8
11.5
16.4
2008 Smart Fortwo Passion
43.4
23.5
33.6
2009 Suzuki SX4
28.3
18.6
22.5
2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI
43.0
28.0
34.6
After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.
I got a short notice invitation to go to Vegas last week. Well, I did sign up for our long term 2009 Nissan GT-R for the weekend. That sealed it for me.
It's about 285 miles from my home on the Westside of LA and I got about 17 mpg roundtrip. It took 4 hours to get there, but 5.5 hours to get back on Sunday due to the horrendous traffic.
Although there is a great deal of road noise and some wind noise, the R35 is a superb tourer. It has supportive seats, but not at the expense of any comfort. While the ride is quite firm, even in the comfort setting, it's manageable. And power? No problem -- you can slice through traffic like a katana sword.
I saw a black GT-R in front of a fancy hotel. It may have belonged an NBA star because we spotted D.Fisher of the Lakers and a few other players by the pool.
A few other notes:
1. I find the analog speedo useless, with the numbers too close together to read quickly with a brief glance. I prefer to use the digital speedo in bottom of the tach. (The speedo looks deceptively big and uncluttered in the photo.)
2. The fuel range readout is useful too, but you have to toggle through multiple displays including the digital speedo. I'd like to have the speedo and range available simultaneously.
Say what you will about aerodynamics, tackiness and visibility, what really bugs me about the EVO's wing removal is the lack of a proper external cupholder. I'm certainly not going to put my sweating iced coffee on painted metal, but a big hunk of plastic is fair game in my book. Sure, we could put the wing back on, but then we're back to not being able to back up. Solution? Buy a 2009 Nissan GT-R-- stylish and functional.
(Demonstrated below by professional testing team. No paint was harmed in the production of this blog.)
It's pretty rare that I'll get one of our high-demand long-term cars for a weekend. With a milestone birthday on the horizon, I requested the GT-R almost a month ago and Keymaster Schmidt came through. I wanted something that would recharge my batteries, so to speak, and this Nissan supercar did the trick.
In addition to its unreal sense of speed, smarty-pants twin-clutch transmission and sheer Godzilla presence, our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R is notable for its displays.
It has so many. And many of them feel like they're straight out of a video game -- which is no surprise since Kazunori Yamauchi of Gran Turismo fame did consult on their design to the point that Nissan felt obliged to have Sony's Polyphony Digital logo flash whenever you switch over to the multifunction meter.
Though I don't use the displays for entertainment during normal driving, I like that I can nearly always find the information I'm looking for by sifting through the menus (though one turbo-obsessed passenger noted the lack of an exhaust gas temperature display). So here's the tire pressure monitor. Yep, monitors are federally mandated equipment now, so no big deal.
But this particular screen was so easy to get to and it kept me honest: The cold spec for all four tires is 29 psi, so there's no way I could have willfully parked the GT-R in our garage this morning without topping off that right front tire. Now it's done. And I feel better.
We just published the results of our 2009 Inside Line Readers Most Wanted Awards and the 2009 Nissan 370Z and 2009 Nissan GT-R cleaned up, winning two categories each. That means these two cars took four of the 15 awards.
The BMW 128i also grabbed a spot on the list, which essentially means three cars in our long-term fleet are favorites of our readers. Plus, several recent long-term blog alums took honors. Readers also voted big time for the Honda Accord, BMW X5, Toyota Tundra, Ford Mustang and BMW 3-Series.
You know, sometimes we take flack for this blog not having cars our readers are interested in. Um, hello.
After a weekend of running pointless errands and squirting through freeway traffic, our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R found a friend at a local city park on Sunday evening.
"One who has the power to judge or ordain at will."
A curious thing happens when I drive the GT-R: People who insist on being de facto speed regulators (either by self-righteous choice or through a total lack of situational awareness), traveling 62 mph in the No. 1 lane with a half-mile of clear road in front of them, no longer irritate me quite so much. The anti-destination league doesn't have a chance when I've got 430 torques at my disposal from a mere 3,200 rpm.
Chris Walton, Chief Road Test Editor @ 22,042 miles
When you live and work on LA's West Side, you see multiple copies of every exotic piece of automotive iron. For example, it seems that almost every time I go to a fancy restaurant or mall, I see someone's black 997 Turbo. They're plentiful here.
But that's not the case with the Nissan R35: it's rare. I've only seen a handful in LA (not counting car shows). I mean, if you're going to spend that kind of money, most guys are going to get something that impresses the ladies, one of the few things the R35 does not do. (I know: who cares.)
So I was quite surprised to come across this brand new black GT-R in the Costco parking lot, its regular-guy owner eating an In-n-Out burger in it. He said that the dealer in the Hollywood area (near the amusement park) wanted $100K! He told that dealer to take a hike, and ended up paying the $80K list price from a store in Orange County.
A couple of guys shagging the one million shopping carts in the Costco lot busted out their camera phones and also took some pics of the GT-R pair, as happy as kids on Christmas morning. And why not? Car guys know that the R35 isn't just awesome, it's Special.
Enjoy your new R35 Sean.
Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 21,800 miles
The 2009 Nissan GT-R suspension walkaround started to get long and drawn-out, so I decided to break it up. I took way too many photos for a single post.
Let's spend a bit more time on the brakes and tires.
At last we come to the suspension walkaround for the 2009 Nissan GT-R. I've been holding off waiting for answers from Japan to a couple of clarifying technical questions. But I can't wait any longer. I'll point them out as we go along.
As you'd expect, the GT-R has a lot of interesting things going on, but much of it is obscured. To get at some it we'll have to take the GT-R to a real lift at a later date and remove multiple covers and undertrays that are not found on mainstream cars.
I know you didn't hear any of that because you were hypnotized by the humungous 6-pistom Brembo brake calipers and two-piece rotors. They're two piece because the rotor is pinned to a lightweight aluminum hub (black). But you need brakes like this if you're going to orbit the nurburgring in the mid 7-minute range and stop in less than 100 feet from 60 mph.
They brakes are so huge that they almost totally obscure the double control-arm suspension. But from here we can see an aluminum high-mount upper arm and the curved upper portion of the aluminum hub carrier.
I did it. I think I'm the first adult to have gone for a ride in the backseat of our 2009 Nissan GT-R. Editor Dan's kids, Scott O.'s kids and, I think, Karl's kids have sat back there and all editors have said that adults don't fit. But I've lived to tell about it; and yes, they do. OK, it probably helped that I'm short, 5'5".
But, it actually wasn't that bad. And I was sitting behind someone who's 5'9". But they had enough room for their legs and my knees weren't pressed against the back of their seat. Sure, when I leaned back my head was touching glass and I could look up and see the sky but it wasn't cramped back there. Definitely cozy. And I can fit my hand through the holes in the seat and poke the person sitting in front of me.
Not saying that I'd agree to a long road trip (I'd get car sick from the harsh ride), or even a ride cross town back there, but I wouldn't complain during a quick trip to the store.
I mean, *cough cough*, this is serious business, no place for silly drag races up and down an abandoned stretch of desert.
Months ago, Inside Line took a Z06 and ran it head-to-head with a brand new Mustang GT500KR. Serious business. Very little fun to be had. So when we had more people necessary for a successful video / photo shoot than we had cars, choosing a support car was difficult. The Caravan was already booked. So was the Smart. Poor us. Someone (me) would have to take the GT-R.
Now, we still had to get some work done, so most of the day was spent flat-out in the big V8s, but with a Z06 and GT-R out there, together, we had to make at least one run. Wouldn't you?
Follow the jump for a second-by-second account and some graphs!!!
Pop the hood of our 2009 Nissan GT-R and you'll find the term "Premium Midship" stamped into the heat-resistant mouse fur that lines the underside.
"Midship" is shorthand for mid-engined, which of course refers to a car with its engine located behind the driver but ahead of the transmission and rear axle.
Here the Nissan marketing folks have stretched the definition, employing the term "Front Midship" (or FM, for short) to indicate an engine that's ahead of the driver but behind the front axle. Since the GT-R is so bitchin', they call it Premium Midship.
The reason it's a stretch is simple: Whether or not the engine sits behind the front axle is a highly debatable point.
Our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R has excellent front seats. They are both comfortable and supportive, with luxurious suede-like surfaces and leather trim. You can see in this shot the excellent 8-way power seat adjuster knob that Erin inexplicably left out of her previous blog pic.
Just above that seat adjuster knob is the seat heater switch, a strange location and difficult to find unless you remembered it or something.
The small quirk about the seat is that both sides of the bottom side bolsters connect through the base of the seat (seen in below photo). This extra material can be felt right at your tailbone if you have a bony butt.
It's only slightly uncomfortable, but I've never seen another vehicle with this type of bottom cushion seat styling.
Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 21,600 miles
Went to a local cruise last weekend. Good mix of new, old, affordable and exotic. After seeing a yellow Lamborghini Murcielago SV roll by, I got to talking with a friend about exotics, specifically Lamborghinis.
We both agreed that Lamborghinis have become a bit of a joke. Sure they're fast, make great noises and look like nothing else on the road, but you can't drive one without looking like a tool that's trying too hard.
It's one of the reasons I like the GT-R. It's not exactly subtle in the styling department, but it's not over the top either. You can drive it around without looking like you're starved for attention. It's a car that's impressive and unique to those who know what it is, but inoffensive to those who don't. And of course, it has the performance to go toe-to-toe with a Lambo any day of the week.
Then again, maybe we're just spoiled living here in Southern California. Maybe Lambos are still cool in Kansas City. Even so, I'd still rather have the GT-R.
Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, Inside Line @ 21,515 miles
It was almost a year ago that I picked our 2009 Nissan GT-R up in Nashville and drove it 3,000 miles across the U.S. Yet, I still get excited every time I get in this car -- as if I'm going to drive it again for the very first time.
And, you know, I think it's seating postion in the cockpit. This has to be one of the best resolved driving positions in any current-day sports car.
It takes a minute to get set up -- with a single rotary-looking knob that actually functions more like a joystick as the main seat adjustor. And then there's a separate toggle button for the height adjustment of the front half of the seat-bottom cushion. The steering wheel has separate manual levers for both telescope and tilt (the latter moves the whole gauge pack up and down).
Once all that's done, though, it feels wonderful to sit in the GT-R. The steering wheel sits and fits in your hands just so, and the seat has you all set up to be looking ahead and making quick decisions about where Godzilla is going next. And all the controls are a finger's stretch away. And, when you're stopped in traffic, that special GT-R badge is right there in front of your face.
Here are the fuel economy numbers for 2009. We've listed the best, worst and overall average tanks.
As always, we were missing a few cars that were out of town or unavailable at the time of this writing. I'll add them as they come in and I'll let you know in the comments.
Car
Best
Worst
Average
2009 Audi A4 Avant
26.8
17.5
22.0
2009 Audi S5
22.3
11.8
18.0
2009 BMW 750i
21.8
12.4
18.2
2002 BMW M3
23.5
12.3
17.5
2009 BMW M3
18.8
9.6
15.4
2008 Cadillac CTS
32.5
9.9
19.3
2009 Dodge Challenger R/T
22.3
10.3
16.0
2009 Ford Flex Limited
26.7
13.7
19.4
2008 Ford Focus SES
40.6
16.6
26.7
2007 Honda Civic GX
47.3
12.7
31.7
2009 Honda Fit Sport
39.0
26.0
31.5
2009 Hyundai Genesis
24.8
15.5
20.7
2009 Infiniti FX50
21.8
10.7
17.0
2009 Mazda 6
29.1
19.4
23.3
2008 Mitsubishi Evo X MR
27.2
11.7
17.3
2009 Nissan 370Z
24.4
13.7
18.2
2009 Nissan GT-R
21.8
11.5
16.5
2008 Pontiac G8 GT
24.0
12.0
17.5
2008 Smart Fortwo Passion
43.4
23.5
33.4
2009 Suzuki SX4
28.3
18.6
22.6
2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI
43.0
28.7
35.0
After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.
Much has been made on fanboy websites regarding the Nissan GT-R and the Corvette Z06. At first glance, a showdown makes sense: similar price point, power and performance.
In September 2007 in Nurburg, Germany, home of the Nurburgring, I drove a GT-R in PT2 pre-production trim. The GT-R had prior been photographed at numerous racetracks in such close proximity with a Porsche 997 Turbo that it might have been an appendage.
Still, I was curious. So in an interview with Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn in the company's Nurburgring garage on the same trip, I asked if the Z06 was ever on their radar. He replied that in setting goals for and developing the GT-R, they targeted what they believed to be the highest expression of all-round performance, the 911 Turbo. Surpassing the 911 Turbo's performance would, then, eclipse all others.
But he never specifically addressed the Z06. My suspicion? The GT-R team had never considered it and that Ghosn had never even heard of it before I asked the question.
Subsequent drives in the GT-R have only reinforced this notion. The GT-R is indeed far closer to a 911 Turbo in character and driving experience than it is to a Z06. It is now obvious that all those spy photos weren't just about showmanship, and that any kind of GT-R / Z06 "rivalry" --despite all the attendant internet hand-wringing, chest-thumping and weenieism -- has no teeth.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 22,461 miles.
It's gotta be the most talked about car in the last two years.
For months before it's release, the search engines were buzzing with news and rumors about the new Skyline that was coming.
Well, as you know, it's not a Skyline, but it is the most hyped-up car in recent years. It wasn't just idle chatter. The 2009 Nissan GT-R has lived up to its reputation.
We like it, anyway. And even almost a year after it joined our fleet, it still gets "oh my god, is that your car" reactions from passersby.
Let's celebrate this killer machine once again. The 2009 Nissan GT-R is car of the week.
I snagged the GT-R for the long weekend -- score! Figuring that Saturday and Monday would be bad days for L.A.'s already notorious traffic, I limited those days to running errands and running down to Long Beach to play tennis, respectively. The real quality time would be spent Sunday, taking a day trip with my girlfriend to Santa Barbara, with stops at Calabasas (for Supercar Sunday) and Camarillo (for the outlets). I got my car fix at the former (saw everything from Jay Leno's 192? Bugatti racecar to a mint '67 Shelby GT 500) and some new Nike kicks for my gf at the latter.
Right about now you're thinking "Yeah, yeah, that's all very nice...what about the GT-R?"
Would I buy one? It's a question I ask myself whenever I slide behind the wheel of a car. Would I drop my hard earned money on one of these? Would I want to own it? Drive it for years? Look at it in my driveway? Tell people it's mine?
It's also the question you the reader ask me the most. So I've decided to go through all the cars we now have in our fleet and decide whether or not I would buy one. I also included a few recently departed vehicles. Seems appropriate since they just left us.
What's the more disirable Nissan sports car? Is it the almighty Godzilla or the new Z for half the cost? Personally, after living with both I'd rather have an Infiniti G37 S Coupe. But that's not an official choice for the purposes of this blog post, so I choose the Z. It's more than half the car for far less than half the money. Plus, I'm amazed by the Sychro RevMatch system. It's an incredible piece of engineering.
It's been mentioned before, but I'll say it again: Of all the trick features in the GT-R, its unusual door handles still manage to stand out for their simplicity.
They sit flush, yet are still easy to use. Just push the right side with your thumb and pull the left side with your other four fingers. Seems so easy, but too many exotics get cute and screw up what should be a simple operation.
You might also notice the keyless entry button. It's also frighteningly simple, but like fancy door handles, it's an idea that's often executed poorly. In this case it works just fine and doesn't look horribly out of place either.
There's only a small palette of colors for the GT-R and it looks bad in all of them, really. Our plain white car looks like some kind of angry refrigerator, as if The Brave Little Toaster had turned into a horror movie.
I think our only hope is to buy some contact paper and create a replica of the Nismo-prepared GT-R now being raced in Europe. This is Nissan's first factory-built racing car in a decade, and it's meant to be a preliminary effort to prepare for the FIA's GT1 championship next year. Gigawave Motorsport is fielding the car in four races, and it's being driven by long-time Nismo driver Michael Krumm and Gigawave's Darren Turner.
Though this Nismo car carries no. 35, it's not exactly an R35 GT-R. This is a 2,756-pound rear-wheel-drive chassis and it's powered by the Nissan 5.6-liter V8 that we know in the Nissan Titan pickup truck, only it's been tuned to produce 600 hp and 479 pound-feet of torque.
Looks pretty good, even in white. Maybe an angry refrigerator is a good thing.
Wow. There were so many good ones, it took me forever to decide. Thanks to cuthgood130 for this week's favorite caption.
I also want to give a shout out to ergsum for so many good entries. Clever boy.
Here are the other goodies:
Look what Jimmy won on The Price is Right, Ma! (miniharryc) "Deliverance" charge included! (ergsum) Today we look at the life of an Inside Line intern. (ergsum) This explains all those crop circles! (ergsum) Sweet! It's got a Nismo gunrack! (ergsum) 'Oh give me a home where the GT-R roam' (stpawyfrmdonut) This GT-R came "Wrong Side of the Track" ready! (ergsum) Hunny i want a divorce...you can keep the house! (e10rice) Shack 'n Awe (waynester76) Honey, I sold our house to pay for my oil change. (zoomzoom97) GiT-R Done! (vwthing1) Photo for next month's cover of "Road & Shack" magazine. (ergsum) I found the clipboard, but where's the GT-R damn it! (subaru123)
The video of this 0-170 mph run is on the next page. Turn up the volume. Of course this was brought to you by a professional driver on a closed course. And that hired hot shoe told me that the GT-R didn't even know it was going stupid fast. Besides a slight lightening of the steering above 150 mph the car is dead stable at this speed. Rock solid enough for me...I mean the driver to work the video camera with one hand and steer with the other.
By the way, the GT-R still had more than 20 mph left in it (Nissan says it is aero limited to 193 mph), although it's interesting to see how the acceleration slows about 150 mph. Watch the digital speedo. From zero to a buck fifty the GT-R is accelerating in 3 or 4 mph chunks. But above 150 mph, after it shifts 6th gear, its essentially rolling in single digits.
We just reached the 20,000-mile mark in our 2009 Nissan GT-R. Some of our more memorable costs of ownership include a windshield replacement ($1,669), four new tires ($1,757) and the now infamous 18,000-mile service ($2,010).
Total cost to date: $6,560.25
Days out of service to date: 12
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 20,000 miles
Oh yeah! The accolades for the 2009 Nissan GT-R just keep piling up.
Mike & Tas got married this weekend, and they had their reception at a bowling alley, where they sprung for free tacos and free lane & shoe rental. Attendees were invited to bring their unique or vintage cars to a car show to be voted-on by the other guests.
And, yes, our GT-R came home with a major award. How major? Why, it won the coveted "Long Hauler" award, of course. Impressive, Huh? Cleary. I drove the car all the way from Santa Monica, a whole 30 miles. Talk about dedication to your friends...
Yes, the "G" got beat out of the People's Choice by a cherry '57 Ford T-bird. Damn T-birds --who has a chance against one 'o them when grandparents are allowed to vote? That's stacking the deck, that is! And the Bride's Choice went to a numbers-matching frame-off restored '55 Chevy -- the same one they used to get from the chapel to the reception. Talk about unfair lobbying for consideration!
But *sniff* I'm man enough to take it. I don't think I'll file an official protest. After all, the GT-R did bring home some hardware.
And good luck to you Mike & Tas. If your reception was any indication, you'll do just fine. Have a wonderful life together.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 19,945 miles
The secret to happiness is the driver seat of our 2009 Nissan GT-R. OK, that might be a bit over the top but it's why I have that extra bounce in my step today, that silly grin that I can't seem to wipe off my face.
Sure, I drove the GT-R to Vegas but I never drove it drove it. But last night I slogged through rush-hour from Santa Monica to Glendale and then had a pretty open highway on the way back in the later hours. And this morning the freeways were actually moving so my drive to work only took me a quarter of the time it usually does. This thing is fast and comfortable and smooth and powerful and ohhhh. And, sorry for the expletives, but OMFG. I think everyone should get a chance to drive this car and then just maybe the world would be a better place.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 19,464 miles
Explaining forced induction to a youngster is like explaining the joy of motorcycling to your wife. Words don't work. You need first-person experience.
So after explaining supercharger/turbocharger boost to my 10-year-old son a couple weeks ago (with minimal success) I decided it was time for a first-person experience. Strapped into our Nissan GT-R's passenger seat I dialed up the custom LCD screen that displayed brake and throttle application, plus boost level, speed and G-force tracking.
After a short reminder of what the boost gauge was tracking ("This is the amount of air pressure being pushed into the combustion chamber.") I told my young Padawan to watch the throttle position and boost gauges. "You'll see the throttle gauge suddenly go from zero to 100 percent, and then you'll see the boost gauge follow. You'll also notice a change in the GT-R's forward momentum."
As Mike Schmidt mentioned yesterday, our 2009 Nissan GT-R went straight from the body shop to Nissan of Santa Monica for service.
No, it wasn't broken again, it was just that Tuesday 4-21-09 was the first day our GT-R was eligible to have the transmission recalibrated under warranty. Nissan wants one calibration done at the 1,000-mile mark. We hit 1,000 miles somewhere in the middle of the country while bringing our GT-R back from Tennessee. That service was done at about 3,900 miles and remains the cheapest service we've had to date; they didn't have pricing available yet. But the next service is not based on mileage. Instead they mandate a transmission recalibration be done between the 9 and 12-month mark. Our GT-R, according to the computers at Nissan, started its service life on 7-21-08. Tuesday was nine-months to the day.
The transmission recalibration took a day and there was no charge. Before the calibration, first gear would bite suddenly somewhere around 1,500rpm. Creeping, backing and parking weren't easy, but they weren't as bad as in say, our single-clutch 2008 Audi R8 or Smart fortwo. Now, after recalibration the clutches start to grab around 1,100 rpm and gradually increase force as the revs build. It feels like a normal car now. For now.
The clutches get themselves out of line with miles and driver vigor, not time. Why this is a calendar-based maintenance and not a mileage one is beyond us.
Also included with this 9-12 month service is an alignment. We got the performance alignment because it's a GT-R. Tire life will be reduced. We're okay with that.
Days out of Service: 1
Cost: $0.00
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 19,002 miles
After 5 weeks our GT-R is finally back in action. Almost. We took it in for service while waiting to schedule an insurance adjustor. Repairs to the rear bumper were finished after about a week at no cost to us. The at-fault party's insurance picked up the $3,500 bill.
But now its back to the dealer again. We are due for a scheduled transmission calibration and alignment. So we pulled from the body shop driveway back into the service drive at Nissan of Santa Monica. We will give you a summary of the service when it returns.
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 19,000 miles
I get this question almost daily from somebody, and my answer usually blows their mind. I say, "Well, everyday this guy Mike walks up to me with a clipboard that contains a list of 15 to 30 cars ranging from a Smart to a GT-R and he says, 'Scott, what do you want to drive home tonight.'"
Alright, "chasing Grandma" isn't the right phrase here. "Following Grandma at a respectful distance so as not to freak out her pacemaker" is more like it. When I came up behind a Ford GT during a GT-R canyon run the other day, I assumed the driver would see the supercar du jour in the rearview mirror and immediately put the hammer down. Instead, we trundled along at 30-35 mph for three winding miles -- no other cars in sight -- until we hit the Pacific Coast Highway, and Grandma GT headed off toward Malibu.
Reminds me of when I got stuck behind a 996 911 Turbo while we were doing the CTS/Genesis comparo. I was piloting the CTS, and in this case the 911 driver actually made an attempt to set the pace, but I was still able to keep up at 7/10ths in my 4,000-plus-pound luxury saloon. When we reached the stop sign at Mulholland and Cornell, I rolled my window down to hear him accelerate away. Yep. Tiptronic. Figures.
Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com @ 18,941 miles
So our 2009 Nissan GT-R needs new rear tires. You don't think it has anything to do with the way we've been driving do you? This video is a prime example of what can happen when you put fresh tires on the front of a car and leave worn ones out back and go tearing around a skidpad. That's test driver Josh Jacquot's voice you hear over the radio at the beginning of the video. He's clearly a fan of this setup.
Total cost: $903.52 for a set of Bridgestone Potenza REO70R size 285/35R20. Stokes Tire Pros here in Santa Monica ordered them Wednesday, they showed up Thursday and were installed in about an hour (busy day).
Note the large strip of missing rubber.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 18,919 miles
Some adventures start at unexpected times -- like after a long day of testing cars in the desert. And then, through the miracle of the modern automobile, they gel into something truly great.
Last month, while returning from a one of those days, I made a few stops along California's Highway 58. Tehachapi pass, to be specific. Those who haven't driven this road at this time of year should know a few details. Heading East out of Bakersfield, the 58 rolls through green hills before winding its way into the Southern Sierra Nevada mountains. Between February and April there's often snow at the higher elevations. And on this particular day, the grass was covered with a bold, white blanket which separated it from the blue sky.
It didn't suck.
And niether did the GT-R, which annihilated the meandering highway all the way to Mojave. Here's how it looked.
Those of you 2009 Nissan GT-R haters out there, you're going to love this one. To the GT-R fanboys, well, sorry, this is going to be hard to make excuses for.
Last week we took our Nissan GT-R to Nissan of Santa Monica for routine service. We knew going in that this was going to be an expensive one. We'd been warned ahead of time that this service was not only an oil change (already expensive on these cars), but also a routine change of the differential and transaxle fluids.
Should be simple, right? Consider this: Automatic Transmission Fluid (GT-R specific) lists for $114.98 per quart. That's not a typo-- maybe an accounting error on Nissan's side, but not a typo. Forget Cristal we're going to start seeing hip-hop videos with rappers pouring this stuff on the ground while throwing dollars in the air. Don't worry, though, we didn't pay that. We got a deal; only $84.24 each. What a bargain.
Once you regain your breath-- lost either by laughing or screaming-- follow the jump for the full break-down of this service.
See the two dark circles just above the Nissan GT-R's lower rear fascia? That's what happens when the Pontiac GTO behind you fails to stop in slow-moving freeway traffic.
The GT0's young driver admitted to being so taken with the GT-R, he rear-ended the car while trying to get a closer look.
The impact was minimal, but enough to leave two screw gouges and a light plate frame impression on the supercar's rear end.
Unfortunately, our local dealer reports there's additional damage under the skin as well.
Sorry for the super shaky video but my passenger was breakdancing while she was shooting this for me. If anything you can hear what the car sounds like at 70+ mph and see how "bouncy" the ride is.
If the screens are flipping by too fast for you, what we scrolled through, after the jump...
I was soo lucky to land the 2009 Nissan GT-R as our road trip car to Vegas. I usually HATE driving to Vegas, such a boring trip. But the GT-R's seats are comfortable enough for both the driver and passenger to withstand 283 miles and our car has all the amenities to make that long, boring slog to Sin City bearable. We had satellite radio so we wouldn't have to keep switching stations, seat heaters!, 480 horsepower for short bursts of speed to enliven things and the entertainment of watching fellow motorists drool at the car.
For my quick trip to Vegas, there could only be one car to roll big in: our 2009 Nissan GT-R. It's also my first time behind its wheel so I was really nervous. And I know this will disappoint most of you but I kept my speeds pretty sane so my trip took about 4 hours with only one stop for gas and another quick stop to secure the hood of the car.
The hood was popped open when I had stopped to get gas 50 miles or so away from Vegas. I had pulled up to a gas station in the middle of nowhere. There were no restaurants around or anything, just this gas station. It didn't even have a Shell sign, just one painted on its roof that promised "Gas & Food."
I thought this would be a quick stop until a couple of 20-something boys stepped out of their F-350 and walked over to tell me that my car was hawt. "Is this your car?" one asked. "No, it's my work car. I work for Edmunds.com," I replied. "Ohhh, it's just your 'work car,'" they said. And then: "Does it have turbo? Is it Tiptronic? How much does one of these go for? How fast did you go? Do you mind popping the hood?"
So I popped the hood for them. Who was I to deny them a chance to check it out? Plus I was on the road all day, this was a nice break. Just funny though because even in the middle of nowhere this car still manages to draw crowds.
Our GT-R broke the 18,000 mile mark this weekend, an event which told the on-board information system that it was time for some maintenance. Actually, it gave us several alerts as the intervals can be adjusted to various mileage limits depending on how much you care about your GT-R.
Despite the repeated launch control take-offs, we do care deeply about our beloved GT-R. It'll get the proper attention shortly, probably just an oil change we're guessing.
Until then, we'll savor the fact that we have one of the highest mileage GT-Rs in the land.
As the GT-R sits cooling in the morning shade, I can't help but wonder about how others view this track bred street car. See, for the past two days I've been driving the GT-R in and around Long Beach, California and in that short time I've lost count of how many times someone challenged the GT-R to an impromptu street race. Here's a short list of the cars: Audi 1.8T Avant, Lexus SC??(does the number really matter), Mustang SVT Cobra, 5.0 Mustang, 2nd Gen RX-7, 90s Camaro Z28 and some kind of lowered Civic that looked like a reject from the VW "unpimp z auto" commercial.
Two theories have developed here in the office - 1) People are clueless and actually think their car has a chance and 2) These folks are enthusiasts, know what the GT-R is and just want to see/hear a Nissan GT-R go like stink. Which one do you think is accurate?
We all know the GT-R is quick as hell and stupid fast. But when you need to bring it back down, it also has tremendous stopping power.
Our GT-R is equipped with huge Brembo 15-inch disc brakes with 6-piston front and 4-piston rear monobloc calipers. Combine that with special high-performance Bridgestones and you can stop this bear from 60 mph in less than 100 feet.
I took the GT-R to the NASCAR race at California Speedway (below) this past weekend. Like everywhere else I haven taken it, the car was a hit. You see, the R35 doesn't know any demographic boundaries. Regardless of background, everyone loves it.
That is, every guy loves it. Although I got some thumbs up, parking lot shout outs, fuel station shout outs, and a few small parking lot gatherings as shown in the pic above -- for whatever reason -- all the fans were guys.
The R35: for every car guy.
Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 17,377 miles
While We were out at the track retesting our re-tuned GTR I couldn't resist suction-cupping a camera to the GTR and doing a few launch control acceleration runs. For valid blogging purposes of course.
This is 0-110 mph in our 2009 Nissan GT-R using the new launch control. There are two runs represented with three videos. The in-car video was shot by Riswick who was riding in the backseat. That video was also shot at the same time as the run where my camera was stuck to the roof. The final video, the wheel shot, was a seperate run.
So our GT-R is all reprogrammed and ready to blow the doors off anything on the road without so much as touching a paddle. Yep, that's right, you don't even need manual mode any more. Just leave it in "A1" and the thing will run 11s all day.
It's almost too easy. No, it's definitely too easy. I felt like dropping the hammer at every light this weekend. And why not? No launch-control mishaps to worry about right?
Well, not exactly. Our GT-R doesn't take off with the same clutch-shattering thrust it used to, but it's still not what you would call gentle.
Which made me wonder: Is Nissan digging itself an even bigger hole with the GT-R's new programming? Plenty of owners have already shown that they can't be trusted to know when to say when. Might this new form of launch control encourage more of the same? Shouldn't take long to find out.
Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, Inside Line @ 17,039 miles
Note: No human organs were harmed in the making of this textcast, which actually happened yesterday, verbatim, over IM. A preemptive answer to the inevitable question -- yes, Magrath hails from a family of carnies, so he would know.
3:26 PM Sadlier: So how's the reprogrammed GT-R? Magrath: VDC allows less wheelspin now and it smacks you down more, but it's smoother, easier to launch and faster. Sadlier: Interesting 3:28 PM Magrath: There's no thought anymore...just floor both pedals and then release the brake...it's great. So little drama now. 3:29 PM Sadlier: Sounds like PDK. What's the procedure with the settings, same as before? 3:34 PM Magrath: Nope. Leave everything in A. Sadlier: Neat 3:43 PM Magrath: So there's no more screwing around with electrics...just brake torque the car when the other light turns yellow and it hangs at 3K until you're ready to drop the hammer. 3:44 PM Sadlier: Like PDK, except you have to hit the "sport plus" button 3:53 PM Magrath: Yep...and Nissan's paddles work the correct way (if you use 'em) Sadlier: Sure do 3:54 PM Magrath: ...trying hard not to start Porsche bashing... 3:56 PM Sadlier: Oh come on, those buttons are a heritage feature, celebrating the historic achievements of Tiptronic. 3:57 PM Magrath: Maybe it's an intentional move by Porsche to piss off real drivers so that they will continue buying the manual so they can continue building manuals. 3:58 PM Sadlier: Yeah, might be the only way they could hit their claimed target of 50/50 sales. Sadlier: Otherwise I can't imagine more than, I dunno, 25% of Americans would eschew PDK for a stick. 4:01 PM Magrath: If it worked right from a human interface perspective I'd be buying a PDK...and I guess installing it in something I like Sadlier: ...such as the R8. Which, good lord willing, will have PDK before too long. 4:06 PM Magrath: I'm over the R8. More clutches can't help it now. 4:07 PM Sadlier: Ha, you're over it? I actually developed a crush on it today. I think you once told me that the R8's motor should be in every car; whether you said that or not, I agree. 4:08 PM Magrath: I did. Magrath: But the car I'm over. Read my post where I called it desperate, and for the desperate. I still feel that way. Sadlier: Yeah I remember that one Sadlier: What I like about the R8 is that behind the slightly desperate look-at-me styling, it's a bitchin' car. Driving it makes me forget about the styling. 4:11 PM Magrath: But keep this in mind: You always have to get in and out. It doesn't even have a t-top that would allow the super-rich but still not desperate to install a complex slide system by which they are injected via lightless tube directly into the cockpit. Sadlier: An excellent point. Sadlier: Should have been a "con" in my R8 model review.
The smart key on the Skyline R35 partially puked last night. I wasn't able to unlock either door with the door mounted switch -- I had to use the remote key, which worked fine. The car started up, no problem, with the key in my pocket. Mike knows about it and will monitor.
This my first time to drive it after the reprogramming, and I got some wheelspin last night. I got away from a few stoplights somewhat quickly, but didn't floor the pedal, and the traction control came on. I definitely felt some wheelspin - I think maybe more than before the reprogram(?) But I have to check with Josh on this.
Oh yeah, the photo above has nothing to do with this blog. It's just an archived Jacobs shot that I didn't want to go to waste. It's suitable as a screensaver, don't you think?
Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 16,909 miles
Bottom line, the GT-R with the revised software will be quicker with the VDC on, but not as quick as it was before with the VDC turned off. Only a trip to the track will reveal exactly how performance will be affected.
This is what we wrote a couple of weeks ago in our investigative piece Nissan Reprograms the GT-R. This reporting was based on interviews with many members of the GT-R team at Nissan's headquarters in Nashville, TN. It was also wrong. Turns out the GT-R gets quicker with the VDC on and off.
How do we know?
Well, we had our long-term GT-R reprogrammed and then we took it to the track. Here are the results:
VDC on
0-30 mph-----1.6 sec.
0-45 mph-----2.5 sec.
0-60 mph-----3.6 sec. (3.4 sec. with one foot of rollout like on a dragstrip)
0-75 mph-----5.1 sec.
1/4 Mile-------11.7 sec. @ 118.5 mph
VDC off
0-30 mph-----1.6 sec.
0-45 mph-----2.5 sec.
0-60 mph-----3.6 sec. (3.3 sec. with one foot of rollout like on a dragstrip)
0-75 mph-----5.0 sec.
1/4 Mile-------11.6 sec. @ 118.9 mph
Test Driver Comments: "Best run with VDC off...but only by a few hundredths. Made a significant effort to warm tires to run w/ vdc off. Result is very little wheelspin. Technique is essentially the same w/vdc on or off: wood brake, wood throttle, achieve 3k rpm and lift brake. All runs in "A" Wheelspin will kill time (bog) w/vdc on."
That means the car is now quicker with the VDC on then it was with it off. We've tested our GT-R several times. The most recent was for a comparison test with the new Corvette ZR1 back in October. That day it ran these numbers with the VDC off:
0-30 mph-----1.6 sec.
0-45 mph-----2.6 sec.
0-60 mph-----3.8 sec. (3.5 sec. with one foot of rollout like on a dragstrip)
0-75 mph-----5.3 sec.
1/4 Mile-------11.8 sec. @ 118.6 mph
We also once tested our car with the VDC on for kicks. It was much slower than it is now:
0-30 mph-----2.3 sec.
0-45 mph-----3.2 sec.
0-60 mph-----4.3 sec. (4.0 sec. with one foot of rollout like on a dragstrip)
0-75 mph-----5.8 sec.
1/4 Mile-------12.3 sec. @ 118.5 mph
And so the answer is clear. If you have a GT-R, get it reprogrammed. It's free speed.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 16,595 miles
"Come on, for the sake of investigative journalism?"
"Don't do it. You all are responsible enough not to ruin this car." ( Says you.)
"I vote no.
Use the car the way you bought it."
We went back and forth internally for about 5 minutes on this one. On the one hand, launch control is awesome, and with the GT-R it'll dig four troughs in the asphalt before shifting to 2nd and hitting 60 in under four seconds. It's a parlour trick we just can't get enough of.
But then there's every other reason we should get the transmission "recalibrated:" It's what most owners (probably) will do. We'll be less likely to blow up our GT-R. You get the idea.
The debate came to an end on Friday when we got the call from our local Nissan dealer that they had the update. This is despite the Letter to Dealers we published that said GT-R owners would be notified on the 16th. We jumped at the chance. It would allow us to get new performance numbers and let other owners know what to expect. It was a no-brainer at that point.
Turns out the release was available well before this (as some people have already run some quick times post-mod), but then pulled back and re-released. We're not sure what they did in that downtime, but owners who had it done prior to last Friday might want to check back with their dealership. We have the final release.
Our GT-R took the new tune without an issue and was in the care of Nissan of Santa Monica for about two hours. Ours was the first customer car re(de?)tuned.
The new transmission calibration came in lockstep with the new tires we had ordered from Stokes Tire Pros here in Santa Monica. A new set of Bridgestone Potenza RE070R size 255/40ZR20 showed up Saturday morning and were mounted that same day. The total cost was $853.90. The manual says that all four tires may need to be replaced at any time. Ours did not. The rears are still in great shape.
Stay tuned for post-recalibration test numbers.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 16,389 miles
By now everyone and their mother knows Nissan is going to have its dealers contact all existing GT-R owners and ask them to voluntarily bring their GT-Rs to the store for a software change that affects the car's launching with its VDC system on and with it off. We broke that story on Inside Line a week ago (Nissan Reprograms the GT-R) and have been waiting for the phone call from Santa Monica Nissan ever since.
Remember, we bought our 2009 Nissan GT-R from a dealer, just like 1,700 or so other Americans did last year. But, the question is: Should we do it? We like our car just the way it is. Should we voluntarily have our long-term GT-R altered to better protect its pricey transaxle and ourselves from the possible repair costs?
As the economy continues to sputter, we here at the Long-Term Blog are turning our attention to burning questions that are in tune with these troubled times. Such as the following:
Which is better, the GT-R's dual-clutch automated manual transmission or Porsche's new PDK?
I'd like to leave aside the question of durability, since we've just reported that less than one percent of GT-Rs have experienced the infamous transaxle failure. But Nissan's eliminating launch control from future GT-Rs, so there must be something to it. As for PDK, it can weather 40 consecutive launches without issue, according to Porsche, and nothing in our experience suggests otherwise. Advantage: PDK.
The margin only widens at speed, where PDK proves utterly seamless in full automatic mode and serves up lightning-quick yet remarkably smooth manual shifts in "Sport." The GT-R's transmission is very good, but there's some perceptible thunking through the gears, and its downshifts aren't as quick as PDK's.
So there's your answer: Godzilla's good, but PDK's better. It's still no manual substitute, though, and never will be. Check out my rant on this subject over at the new Edmunds Daily blog, and tell me if you agree.
Our GT-R is down. No, the transaxle hasn't gone kapow, the front tires have. Check it out; both are corded on the inside edge of the tread. A Nissan engineer tells me he's surprised they lasted this long. "If they keep the suspension in the performance alignment settings, as you obviously have, most customers will get between 12,000-15,000 miles out of the first set of tires," he told me.
He's right. All GT-Rs are delivered with a performance alignment. It increases the car's grip due to a fair amount of negative camber, but it also accelerates front tire wear. There are less aggressive alignment settings that Nissan recommends, and your dealer will make the adjustment if you wish. We never wished. Our car has always had the performance alignment.
And now it is parked awaiting new front tires, which won't be cheap. Considering we just bought new rubber for our BMW 135i, this is not good timing.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 16,383 miles
Not long after Ferris Bueller charms Cameron out of the keys to his dad's prized Ferrari (cue the Yello song "Oh Yeah"), you can just barely pick out Ferris shouting "Redline! Redline! Redline!" as he mashes the throttle and bolts out of the frame toward downtown Chicago.
This morning, it was me doing the throttle mashing. But my exclamation "Redline! Redline. Redline ... Redline?" was not one of pure exuberance; I was counting the damn things.
That's right, our 2009 Nissan GT-R has four redlines. At least. And that's not including any temperature or pressure gauges.
Of course the twin-turbo V6 engine has a redline, and it's 7,000 rpm. But the GT-R also has redlines for steering (0.5 lateral g, as shown above), braking (0.4 longitudinal g) and acceleration (0.3 longitudinal g.)
We wouldn't normally associate a 2009 Nissan GT-R with Sunday brunch with Grandma and Grandpa, but that's precisely where we were going this weekend. So the four of us piled in.
Truth be told, there wasn't enough space for me to frame a proper picture of the resulting rear seat legroom. After all, this is a real car, not a cutaway used for catalog shots. Besides, the girls weren't in a posing mood. Shelby, our taller 12-year old, fit much better than 10-year old Sarah because her legs are long enough to allow her feet to hit the floor and her toes to slip under the front seat. And she wasn't stuck sitting behind me, either.
But a couple of interesting/weird points are nevertheless visible in this photo.
1) The rear seat belts go the "wrong" way. They pull from the inside to the outside. Not being out in the open makes the buckles hard to get at, especially for "big" people. But big people don't fit back here anyway, so it doesn't matter much. Still, it's an odd choice.
2) Those seats don't fold and there isn't any sort of pass-through, but the Bose subs are backed-up by an unseen vent that turns the whole trunk into a resonator. Couldn't really try it on Sunday morning, though. I didn't want to boost the bass of the Car Talk guys any more than necessary.
"Hello, you're on Car Talk."
"Hi Tom and Ray. I'm Dan from California. I need your help. My transmission is making a funny noise."
"So's my brother. What kinda car is it?"
"It's a 2009 Nissan GT-R. It all started after I used launch control to dust-off this guy in a Porsche..."
OK, I made that last part up; My call never got through and the GT-R's transmission noises are no more humorous than usual.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 16,198 miles
It's not every weekend I have access to both a Ford GT and a Nissan GT-R. In fact, I'd say it only happens about once a month.
But it did happen this past weekend, and I spent enough time in both vehicles to get a sense of their unique character traits. Thus, what follows is my completely unbiased appraisal of how these two supercars stack up.
Even though I'm not driving our Nissan GT-R anymore, I've been thinking about what some previous commenters had to say about the car's character -- or specifically the lack thereof. Here are my thoughts on the subject after my two weeks with the car.
I had my first opportunity to play Gran Turismo 5 Prologue this weekend, which was the first version of the game I've played since GT3. Needless to say, it's a damned impressive feat of videogamery (as I'm sure many of you already know). Since I bought the game for my father-not-in-law (aka girlfriend's dad), I started things off for him. I purchased a Mini Cooper S and we began winning races and earning enough credits to purchase something better. I initially thought I'd get a 135i to see how the real and virtual versions compared, but then I noticed its price tag: 61,000 credits. The Nissan GT-R by comparison was a mere 77,000. A few extra races and we had the virtual key to a brand-new red 2009 Nissan GT-R.
After a few blasts around three different tracks, it was striking how well they nailed the GT-R -- at least as much as a video game could nail a car. Also at least as much as I remembered the GT-R. To know for sure, I took our long-termer out for a blast through the canyon and formulated an Edmunds-style consumer-biased comparison test. Enjoy.
....because otherwise I'd never reach my destinations. Our longterm 2009 Nissan GT-R still draws a crowd at every fuel stop.
I've learned to be efficient when refueling--get out quickly, have card in hand, avoid eye contact and return to the seat ASAP. It's the best bet when looky-loos are about.
Once cornered, though, does politeness suggest I engage them and risk prolonging my stop, or should I be curt and risk being the "a-hole driver of [your brand here]?" It's always a quandary for me.
This morning, it didn't matter. I was a relegated to bystander in my own conversation. Today I learned all about Raoul, who was refueling his Lincoln LS when I pulled up in the GT-R.
Raoul's a longtime Nissan fan who had never heard of the R35 GT-R. Didn't know the first thing about it. However, his curiosity was piqued when he spied its edgy lines and Nissan badge. He's well-versed in the R32-R34 Skylines and furthermore recounted his love for Nissans (he's owned eleven) which among them count three Z-cars, four 510s and two pickups.
I also learned that Raoul still owns various muscle cars stored at his mother's place, that he used to street race back in the day, plus his age and marital status. Fifteen minutes later, I realized I'd hardly put a word in edgewise.
I'm not annoyed, though. It was cool to see the GT-R rekindle the automotive passions of Raoul, the guy who just needed to get some gas on the way to work.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor at 15,619 miles.
I've been looking over our 2009 Nissan GT-R posts recently and have noticed a frequent theme. Here are some quotes from my esteemed collogues:
"...it's so fast that you can almost believe those signature round taillights contain afterburners or JATO rockets, or something." (Dan Edmunds)
"Stupid-fast." (Edmunds)
"It sounds like a plane." (Sadlier)
"...the acceleration at speed is amazing. If you mash the throttle on the freeway ... you're just gone. And you find yourself quickly going crazy fast." (Austria)
This past week has been my first time behind the wheel of our Nissan GT-R. Before I started driving it earnestly, I thought that maybe -- just maybe -- the GT-R and I would be on the down-low. I mean, the GT-R's from a mass-market automaker, isn't red, isn't low to the ground and doesn't scream "exotic!" or "male member enhancer!" in the traditional sense. Maybe people would just mistake it for a G37 coupe or something?
Alas, that hasn't been the case. I live north of our SoCal offices in Fresno, Calif, which isn't too far off from being the "Midwest" of California. Even if people don't know what it is, they recognize it as something special. Having a GT-R here is like having Scarlett Johansson move in next door to you.
And this is probably how three prepubescent boys on their bicycles felt as they swirled around the GT-R yesterday after I had parked it at the local supermarket...
A week in the GT-R is like hanging out with Superman. Wherever you stop, people notice, and if stationary long enough, begin to congregate. Matronly types with no interest at all in automobiles put their hand near their mouth (as if the GT-R might overhear) and comment in unconsciously sultry tones on how fast the car looks. Small groups mingle on sidewalks to watch you pull away, witness to the jet-like roar as the car spools its turbos. All the while, you're ensconced in a bunker-like cocoon with fantastic seats. Beyond the ill-deserved attention, my wife specifically asked me not to bring this car home again. Why?
The Skyline R35 is absolutely thrilling to drive -- each and every time I get behind the wheel. My friends who were lucky enough to get rides in it marveled at the explosive acceleration and amazing handling. One remarked that the acceleration produced a pressure feeling in his chest. Another said a downhill grade was like being on a roller-coaster. They were all howling like kids on Christmas day. But there's a downside to this pup: it attracts fleas.
Nearly everywhere I went, some guy wanted to race or look at the car from behind at a range of one meter as I negotiated traffic. Two guys wanted to race me on Sunset...in a Nissan Titan! No thanks -- me and my passengers only laughed with disdain.
Myself and a few friends also took the GT-R into the canyons above Malibu (The 'Bu to you surfer dudes). It was there where we picked up some fleas (shown in the pic.) These pinheads (five cars in all) tailgated me for quite some time, eventually passing me (due to my moderate pace) by crossing the double-yellow line at ridiculous speed. Uncool. And illegal. Fortunately, no one got hurt -- this time.
Unwanted attention -- yeah, the Skyline gets that in spades.
Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 14,450 mi
"I used to like this car." She says as I'm opening the throttle, tearing down the only deserted stretch of roadway in Southern California last night. "But after the GT-R it's just so... I don't know...pointless and soft. And can you please stop doing that with the transmission?" The car had just changed from second to third, lagging for a second and then slamming the car forward. She was not impressed. But she does have a point.
I awoke this morning to the coldest temps in recent memory around here. Which, in Santa Monica, means high 40s, so yeah, not really cold at all. Still, the cool air seemed to have chilled the GT-R's bones a bit as it turned over a little more lazily than usual. I also noticed that the dashboard display screen took a minute or two to warm up like some old vacuum tube TV
That said, once everything was up to temp the GT-R had no trouble with the slick roads from last night's rain. Like Roman's pointed out earlier, you don't realize how insane all-wheel drive can be until you try laying down some serious horsepower on a damp, cold street. There was a slip here and there, but for the most part the GT-R could still muster a pretty serious launch. Not the mythical transmission-busting kind of launch, but certainly one that would leave a rear-wheel drive car wallowing in the Nissan's tire spray.
This weekend marks a first for me: It will be my first weekend with our Nissan GT-R with no strings attached. It didn't just come from having something major replaced. It's not on break-in miles. I don't have to drive it to the middle of nowhere to drag race a ZR-1 (okay, that wasn't so bad) or some other crazy, yet usually fun, work-related errand. Nope, this time it's just me and the GT-R for a whole weekend.
Well, there is one catch. Remember back in October when I dragged my girlfriend cross-country and back in our 2009 Ford Flex? Well, it's payback time.
I got an early Christmas present this weekend when I found that the Skyline GT-R was available. The acceleration is explosive -- like a sportbike! And if you mash the throttle like an ape while making a 90 deg turn, it'll get sideways a bit. The only downside to the handling is that you get a lot of bumpsteer and it wants to follow every rain groove in the pavement -- so you're constantly making steering inputs. We celebrated Manny Pacquiao's pummeltuous victory over the Golden Boy by cruising around a bit in the GT-R before going to a house party. My buddy asked me to pick up his girlfriend on the way so she could ride in the vehicle that he intends to purchase, instead of a house. Initially unimpressed, after experiencing a few brutal launches, she proclaimed, "You're not allowed to get this car!" I think they're still together. But that's how it is with the GT-R: men go bananas over it, women couldn't care less. I capped off the weekend by attending mass at the Los Angeles Cathedral (pictured). To thank the Lord for the GT-R? Nah, I got final exams this week and could use the help. When we sell this Skyline R35 sometime in 2009, the ad may read, "Driven occasionally to church on Sunday."
Albert Austria, Sr Vehicle Evaluation Engineer @ 13,638 mi
So how fast is it w/o using launch control?" asked Desmolicious. This was the first reply when Straightline broke the news that the 2010 Nissan GT-R would not be available with the launch control feature that helps the car get some pretty amazing times. Turns out that this sort of thing -- electronically dumping the clutch on a 480-hp, AWD car with the revs way up -- could do some pretty serious damage to the gearbox as well as the tires. "We just don't want to deal with the warranty nightmare anymore. It'll make the 2009 GT-R really special. It'll be the only R35 with launch control." Said a ranking Nissan Exec.
There's been a lot of speculation on the performance, but we have data loggers and test drivers and a closed test facility, we don't need to speculate. Last week we put our 2009 Nissan GT-R back on the starting line, this time without launch control. Follow the jump for the numbers.
I was reminded this weekend why supercars like the GT-R aren't all that great. They're too damn fast. As in, if I dip into even half of this car's capability, there could be jail time in my future. The GT-R is especially guilty of this. Unlike a hard-edged Viper or Z06 Corvette, the Nissan is so tame that going ridiculously fast feels quite comfortable. It made driving one of my favorite mountain roads this weekend a lesson in restraint. Maybe I should have taken the 1-Series instead.
It only takes a few stints behind the wheel of the GT-R to figure out the best settings for its driver-configurable transmission, suspension and stability control systems. It looks pretty much like this: transmission switch in "R" mode, suspension switch in "Comf"and the VDC switch left in the middle. The result is slightly quicker reactions from the transmission (which is otherwise quite lazy for a sportscar) and a fractionally more comfortable ride. Oh, and it also means that the soon-to-be-defunct launch control setup is only two buttons away instead of three. Not that we would ever take such a risk.
Every time the 2009 Nissan GT-R's dual-clutch automated manual transmission rattles and clicks while cruising around town, it reminds me of the sounds made by a racing-type, non-synchromesh dog-ring gearbox. And when someone whines about this intrusion by the mechanical workings of the car, I'm happy. It means there's one less crybaby fascinated by the GT-R - and one more person who will find his way to the Lexus SC 430 that he deserves.
I recently ran a tank of premium through our 2008 Subaru STI. It was a 50/50 mix of highway and city driving and I averaged 16.5 mpg as you can see by the top photo.
A week later I drove through a tank in our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R. It was also a 50/50 mix of city and highway. But check the number. It wasted the STI, averaging almost 20 mpg.
Now, this is not a scientific comparison. In fact, the EPA says the Subie should get the better mileage. It's rated at 17 city/23 hwy, while the GT-R is rated at 16 city and 21 hwy. But it doesn't change the fact that in the real world, the wicked quick GT-R gets better mileage than the STI. At least when I'm driving.
A few weeks ago I used this blog to dump on the instrument panel of the new Mitsubishi Evo. I called the car's dials lame during an obvious spell of extreme creativity and made the point that the Evo's lack of a real temp gauge or oil pressure gauge was a joke.
Now me and my nearly senseless point are back and I'm going to use the gauges of our long-term 2008 Subaru STI and long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R the further illustrate the impotence of the Evo's IP. Sure, neither pack a well placed oil pressure gauge (the GT-R's can be called up on its nav screen) as they should, but notice how the Subie and the Nissan prioritize the tachometer, placing it dead center ahead of the driver, while the Evo's cluster does not. Please also take note that the STI and the GT-R have permanent water temperature gauges as any high performance car should.
Which of the three sets of gauges do you like best? A, B, or C? I vote C. The GT-R's cluster offers the most info and the most style of the three.
On Saturday morning I took our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R to the hand wash. I was going to display it that evening at our unveil party for the 2009 Nissan 370Z and it was in deep need of a bath. Of course, everyone at the car wash wanted to know about the car, including a nice man there to bathe his almost new 350Z.
He wanted to know how much faster the GT-R was than his Z, which by the way was rolling on heavy 19s. I told him the GT-R was much faster than his Z. That it wasn't even close. That the GT-R's speed was in a whole other dimension than his ride.
He wasn't buying it. "But they're both V6s," he said. "Same engine, how can one be that much faster than the other? My Z would be just as quick if I threw on a turbo."
I argued the benefits of the GT-R's special engine, dual-cluch transmission and all-wheel drive, but he wasn't buying. So I offered to take him for a ride.
Screw the warranty. I set the launch control and blew his mind. He had no idea a car could be as quick as the GT-R. Its performance was actually out of the man's limited imagination, beyond what he thought was possible. After three gears he begged me to slow down.
It was such a good launch I went back to the spot after I dropped the guy off at his Z. The GT-R laid a 23 ft. patch (look closely at the photo) with its rear tires before the all-wheel drive system caught up and send some of that power to the front tires.
Sorry about the grainy pics, but a little elf just delivered a bright red 2009 Nissan 370Z with a 6-Speed manual transmission to our office. It will be at the Inside Line 370Z unveil party tomorrow night (I hope to see everyone there.) and track tested next week.
All good right? Not quite. Looks like I have a decision to make. A tough decision. Do I take the 370Z home for the weekend or our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R?
What would you do?
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 12,427 miles
There's a considerable amount of internet chatter going on these days regarding the GT-R's durability. We've had our fair share of problems, but none of the issues have left us stranded - and that includes the transaxle that was replaced. It had a leaky seal that Nissan wanted to inspect more closely, but it never refused to work right.
That's noteworthy as most of the chat room bickering involves the transmission. We don't doubt other owners have had problems, but our experience has been considerably different.
For one, we bought the car at a dealership like everybody else and we never had to sign a waiver that said the warranty would be voided if we used the launch control system. If anybody else has, we would love to see it.
Since that time, we've track tested our GT-R twice, used launch control numerous times and ran it hard on the Streets of Willow road course during our GT-R versus ZR1 comparison test. The VDC was off and nothing broke. And this was on a car with over 11,000 miles on it, 5,000 of those miles since the new transaxle was installed. Drove it home last night and the car felt fine.
Again, we're not saying the GT-R doesn't have its problems, but when someone says they barely ever used launch control and suddenly their transmission imploded, you wonder if there's more to the story. We would be glad to hear them if people really want to vent, but for now we'll just keep driving our GT-R as hard as ever - "delicate" transmission and all.
This morning our 2009 Nissan GT-R returned to its second home, Santa Monica Nissan, to get a new windshield. The estimate? $1,696. And we had to leave it overnight.
During it's stay, we asked to have its scheduled maintenance calender reset. As you can see it thinks the car needs service. Trouble is, it doesn't. We're off schedule because the car was serviced early when we had its transaxle replaced some time ago.
And such is life with a supercar.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 12,075
I was working on my "race car" all weekend and used our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R to schelp tired 15-year old mechanical bits to the shop. The GT-R's trunk is pretty large, but its small opening means creatively Tetrising the huge Rubbermaid container to get it to drop into the trunk.
Every so often I'd look up from our clapped-out beater--a first-gen Miata that we're building for the 24 Hours of LeMons--and see the GT-R parked amongst a fleet of Exiges that are being serviced by the shop's owner, Mark DiBella of MD Automotive. It was like gnawing on a rotting Slim Jim while standing in front of Ruth's Chris steakhouse.
Speaking of questionable food choices, we broke for lunch in the GT-R and headed to the In-N-Out drive-thru. When we pulled up, a few of the employees got all excited and started doing the GT-R dance. Wasn't until I unwrapped my burger later that I realized just how distracted they really were by the car. They forgot the bun.
Seriously Nissan? 80-grand. Automatic transmission, keyless entry, iPod integration, NAV with real-time traffic, but no automatic headlights? It seems trivial, but I had them in my '95 Ford Thunderbird Super Coupe and they should be present here, too.
Noticed this gem just the other day. Guess what? No third-party suppliers of windshields for an '09 Nissan GT-R.
The order for a new one has been placed with Nissan of Santa Monica. Installation and curing will leave the GT-R out of service for a full day. We'll let you know the extent of the damage to our budget when the glass arrives.
EDIT: A close-up photo of the impact has been added after the jump. Click the image for full size.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 11,708 miles.
Oh, and yes that is a fire extinguisher in the back seat....I'm not telling you why though.
During last week's sneak preview of the 370Z, one of the Nissan engineers in attendance asked to take a quick spin in our GT-R. He was curious to see if all the recent work we had done was up to spec. After a few brief runs around the block he gave a thumbs up to the transmission swap, but said he thought our alignment might be off.
Since we don't want any uneven wear on our very expensive tires, we took the GT-R to Steve Mitchell at M-Workz in Gardena to have a look. He's worked on more R35s than anyone in L.A., so if there was anything wrong he would know. After setting our GT-R up on his alignment rack, he checked the numbers and declared everything perfectly straight.
The GT-R's spoiler may be functional, but it's also ugly. If this were my car, the first thing I would have done is find a way to remove the ungainly plank of plastic. Sure, it might make it unstable at 175mph, but I think I could live with that. Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor @ 8,327 miles
The first time I really laid into the GT-R was merging onto the highway Saturday morning. The absolutely effortless acceleration and jet-like engine aria were astonishing -- I giggled for a good 30 seconds. Sadlier was dead on when he described it as like driving a plane. Actually, the last time I felt such a sensation was on a small private jet.
So when I drew the GT-R for the weekend, I immediately changed my plans and jetted out for 24 hours in Las Vegas.
My first time behind the wheel of the R35 was long before we acquired our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R. It was almost exactly one year ago in Nurburg, Germany. Nissan had just set a 7:38 lap of the 'Ring, and I was there to drive the Zorro-masked GT-R and a Porsche 997 Turbo.
In Germany I drove a "PT2" car, which is Nissan-speak for a pre-production car. The word that leapt to mind during my first blast through the GT-R's gears on the Autobahn was "relentless." Even today I can recall the seamless and ceaseless flood of speed, a sensation magnified by the car's apparent indifference to the absurd digits being wiped by the speedo needle. No drama. Just speed.
Back in town, I experimented with the GT-R's different damper settings. No matter the setting, however, the ride quality was similarly relentless.
That brings us to today, and our long-term GT-R. This one rides better than that PT2 car. We can thank a few pieces of rubber for the improvement, and I'm not talking about the tires.
Shook hands with Godzilla last night, and had a brief, but enjoyable visit. This thing's good. I only experienced two freeway on-ramps to get just a hint of the handling, but it sticks like glue through the turns. If you probed the limits on a public road, you may find yourself on your head. The steering is good, but not great. But the acceleration at speed is amazing, the fastest I've ever experienced. If you mash the throttle on the freeway, there may not be a downshift but there's no drama; you're just gone. And you find yourself quickly going crazy fast. As Dan said, the speedo's useless, but there is a nice digital speed display so you can confirm the traffic citation.
It appears that our GT-R is back on form. Thanks to a little help from our Escort 9500i radar detector it set down a nice baseline for future OC to Vegas time trials yesterday morning. How does 266.3 miles in two hours and 54 minutes sound?
Actually, we did nothing of the sort. Only irresponsible hacks who care little about the safety of others would do something like that. So cool it with the comments.
With all of the hubbub surrounding the recent repairs on our long term 2009 Nissan GT-R we thought we'd bring things back around and focus on the point of the GT-R: going fast.
We ran our GT-R (our car purchased from a dealership, not a press vehicle) through all of our normal performance tests, 0-60, 1/4-mile, 60-0, slalom and skidpad.
I was thinking the other day (always a dangerous proposition, I know) and wondering how all the current (or really, really recently departed) Edmunds/Inside Line long-term vehicles stack up against each other in fuel economy, at least the fuel economy we've been recording during their time with us. So I made a list. For you and for me. In case we were both wondering.
The only current vehicles missing from my list are the Audi R8 and the Dodge Grand Caravan, and that's because no one has entered any fuel data into the tracking spreadsheet for those vehicles yet. The very top and the very bottom of the list aren't going to surprise anybody (I don't think), but the middle is kinda interesting. Seeing the Rondo and the WRX so close to each other made me raise my eyebrows. Ditto the Ford GT's spot above the Veracruz. Ready to check it all out? Follow the jump with me.
Late last Friday, we got a call that our GT-R was back in one piece and ready for the weekend. A full run down of everything that was done is in the works, but until then I volunteered to give it a test drive to see if everything felt up to factory spec.
It did. The car is still stupid fast and there were no new noises coming from the rear end. No sign of the warning light that started everything either. Everything seemed solid until I went to gas it up. The nozzle clicked off with the tank only half full and no amount of wrangling would get it flowing again. I tried two other pumps at different gas stations, but it was the same story. Needless to say, the GT-R went back to dealer. We'll keep you posted on its progress.
10-days ago I dropped our GTR off at Nissan of Santa Monica to let them deal with a fuel leak we experienced during some *ahem* spirited driving. Once at the dealer the problem, predictably, could not be repeated and nobody in the GTR program had heard of it. Unlike some other issues we've experienced that the dealer couldn't replicate, Nissan decided to act on our complaint immediately instead of waiting for it to happen again. But as the problem couldn't be duplicated and they have no pool of information on this car from which to draw, they weren't quite sure what they were going to do. After several calls to Nissan brass in the States and Japan a solution was decided upon: Replace everything involved in the fuel / evap system from the driver seat back and ship it back to HQ for analysis. The parts were already in the mail when he called me. The car, they said, would be available the following Wednesday, today.
Well this morning I got another call from our local Nissan shop with more news. When the corporate techs (flown in to diagnose a sick godzilla) were removing the transaxle (!) to replace the fuel tank they noticed some moisture on one of the seals. They wiped it off and road tested the car in an attempt to replicate that leak. No dice. Following precedent set with the fuel system problem, they called HQ and were told to remove the transaxle and ship it back for analysis.
The new gearbox is already en-route, we should have the GTR back on Tuesday unless they decide to replace the engine while they're at it.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ ?,??? miles.
There's an infomercial I've watched a few thousand times for some counter top oven thingie. The guy says the contraption is so easy to use, you just "set it and forget it".
I wish our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R followed this philosophy. Every time I climb in the car I have to put the suspension in Comf (there are three settings) and the transmission in R (Race, it also has three settings). I usually leave its stability control system in its default setting, which does not display a light (it also has three settings).
This sucks. If I owned the GT-R I would want the car to remember how I like it to be set up. I would want to set it and forget it. But as it is, I have to go through the same ritual each and every time I jump in the car. Running errands on a Saturday, I can futz with those toggle switches a dozen times in just an hour or two.
It's quite annoying. I just ran up to the cash machine you stupid car, can't you remember I want Comf?
It's a good thing that Doug at Nissan of Santa Monica is a nice guy and that he's one of the most attentive and knowledgeable service advisors I've run across. I have a feeling I'm going to be seeing a lot of him in the next year with our GT-R.
We had two reasons for bringing in our Nissan this time. The first was pretty benign, the 6,000-mile service was at hand. The second issue was more serious; during our performance testing our GT-R was leaking fuel. Leaking may not be a strong enough word here. Trails of fuel raced from the fuel-door and the smell was overwhelming. There were no warning lights and no noticeable loss of performance. Nothing really except a bunch of gas being ejected from the car. The testing was thankfully finished when the fuel-purge began so we parked it, ate lunch, and then drove it home. On the way home, and for the next few days, the issue did not repeat. That doesn't mean that it never happened, though.
The car is at the Nissan dealership now, we'll let you know when we have an estimated time of delivery. One of the problems with buying cars this new and driving them with the frequency we do is that we're often the first people to encounter problems (we were the first GT-R to be serviced in Santa Monica -- they didn't even have a price in their computer yet for the service when we went for our belated 1,500 mile) and the diagnosis is a learning experience for all involved.
Stay tuned.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 5,990 miles.
On Monday our Long Term Nissan GTR went back to Nissan of Santa Monica for a recurring "Check Engine" light. The first time we reset the gas cap and cleared the code ourselves. The second time we brought the car in, they read the gas cap code tightened the cap and cleared the code. On this, the third go around, we sat them down and told them to fix something or we weren't going to leave.
We couldn't just go in blind at this point, not with a car with more computer processing ability than Russia circa-1992. No, one of the neat things about this business is our Rolodex is bursting at the hinges with phone numbers, email addresses, fax numbers and blood types of engineering types at the manufacturer level. While we won't ask them to pull any strings, we have no issue calling them in to appease our own curiosities.
When we heard back from "our guy" he said that, given our symptoms, the Evap Vent Control valve was most likely the culprit, but the dealer would know more once they scanned the car. As much as we trust the guys over at Nissan Santa Monica, there's no sense in giving them partial information. I blacked out the pertinent names and associations and gave them a quick summary of the potential problem. They said they'd call when they had a diagnosis.
Sure enough when we got the call late that very same Monday we dropped it off, they had read the codes and the evap vent control valve was faulty. Good news was that the part was in stock and was being installed as we speak.
This is the part that perked up my ears. In stock? Why? I doubt they have a front license plate bracket for the car, but they have vent control valves? "In stock?" I asked. "Yeah, it's the same one for almost all of our cars. Never seen one fail before." Interesting.
Unfortunately, the car would not be available until the following day. He requested verbal confirmation that I authorized a tech to road test the vehicle. I didn't have any choice but to agree.
Tuesday morning came and I got an early call from Doug, the guy in charge of all GTR service and 300zx owner. "We're having a bit of an issue, Mike. The valve isn't talking to the car right. It should take 3-minutes but it's been 30 with no response. I'll call you when I know more. Sorry." Later that day he called with the good news that the GTR was fixed, responding correctly, road-tested and Nissan approved.
In the time between picking it up from Nissan and today we've put over 300 miles on the car, including 30 hard miles during our routine instrumented testing (results of that forthcoming). No warning light has appeared and the car feels as strong as ever.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant @ 5,300 miles
My high school reunion is coming up. It's a multiple of ten, but I won't say which one.
I have to drive something. Why not take advantage of the Audi R8? Or is turning up in Ironman's car the most utterly tool-ish move I could make? "Nice car, Dan. How long have you had it?" "Well, it's like this..."
The Nissan GT-R perhaps? Only the truly car saavy (and heavy-duty gamers) will know what it is. To everyone else it might simply register as yet another 350Z with an overwrought body kit. This one is a good car-guy filter. Fellow motorheads are always easy to talk to at awkward parties.
How about the Smart? Nah. Everyone thought I was a dork in high school (I drove a Ranchero with side pipes back then.) I'm not sure I want to remove all doubt with this one. But this is Southern California, after all, and I'd like to think we've all grown up a bit. Yeah, right.
The Pontiac G8 GT? Why not the Evo or STI? The Cadillac CTS is another good one.
I must point out that I am happily married and am not trolling in any way. Besides, no one but the valet (if there is one) is likely to see my borrowed ride.
Oh, sure. I could drive my own car--if it'll start. But who wants to turn up in a beater Miata with faded red paint and no A/C? Or in a minivan full of crumbs, for that matter? My wife sure doesn't, and she didn't even go to my high school!
What would you pick?
At this point I'm leaning toward the GT-R, myself.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 18,150 miles
For the second time in a week our long-term 2009 Nissan GT-R is back at Santa Monica Nissan to fix a problem with the car's evaporative emissions system. Atleast, we think it's a problem with the car's evaporative emissions system. The GT-R seems to be running great, but this warning light keeps showing itself sporadically. The first time it happened the dealer said it was the old loose gas cap problem.
Hopefully they have a real solution to the issue this time around. We'll let you know.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 4,993 miles
Since it seems as though lighthearted posts like Donna's photoshop job aren't welcome here, I'll get down to more serious GT-R ownership issues. There are only three options when it comes to ordering a GT-R Premium: an iPod connector ($360), a no-cost cold weather package and a set of $280 floor mats.
Yes, for $72,900 Nissan will give you a 480-hp sportscar that will do 193mph, but if you want an extra five-square feet of industrial grade carpet to wipe your feet on, it'll be an another $280. But wait, you get more than just the carpet as each patch of gray yarn is adorned with a gleaming, full-sized GT-R badge. The carpet alone may only cost $1.38, but add in those badges and the cost basis soars well into the $2 range. So in other words, we got hosed on the mats, but if anyone steals the badge off the trunklid we've got two very expensive spares.
Just this morning I was chided by an alert reader that my use of the word "sick" to describe our 2009 Nissan GT-R's awesome performance in yesterday's post was misleading.
"For a moment there I really thought your GT-R needed a doctor," was the exact text.
Well, anyone who has watched an episode of "My Name is Earl" knows that karma is a powerful thing. Perhaps I souldn't have been alarmed when the above dire warning flashed before my eyes as I merged the GT-R from the Marina freeway onto the 405 south with a downshift and a squirt of throttle.
It must be serious. After all, three warnings came on all at once: a big yellow warning declaring an "engine system malfunction," (which, in a double-karmic move, obscured the digital speedo I spoke of in the "sick" post), a "service engine soon" lamp and, worst of all, a triangle containing the dreaded exclamation point.
I finished the drive home since the words "visit dealer" and "soon" appeared, instead of "pull over" or "now". I was further encouraged by the normal status of the plethora of gauges that can be called-up on the navigation screen, four pages worth.
First, a shameless plug. Over on our up-and-coming Strategies Blog, colloquially known as "The Edmunds Blog," a rather provocative Weekly Top 3 list has been posted that involves the GT-R. Topic? The best all-around sports car for $70,000. Go check it out, and tell us what you think. (I totally vouch for the Weekly Top 3 guy, by the way. Cool dude.)
And now, a few GT-R thoughts, based on one canyon run and one lunchtime cruise around LA.
Our 2009 Nissan GT-R is one sick machine. It looks like it might unfold into a giant robot at the first sign of trouble. And it's so fast that you can almost believe those signature round taillights contain afterburners or JATO rockets, or something.
But while driving around in my Clark Kent signature Oakleys, trying hard not to get pulled over while masquerading as CommuterMan (complete with regulation-issue Bluetooth headset), I couldn't help noticing that the 220 mph speedometer, glorious as that may be, is just about useless. In law-abiding citizen mode, the needle never-ever sweeps up out of the mud. Fully two-thirds of it is for show.
Too bad they didn't borrow the trick that Audi uses in Europe, specifically Germany. You know, that place where they have things called "Autobahns" where people can actually drive their cars into the dark depths of their speedometers without a secret identity?
What's that old joke about the ultimate in mixed emotions?
"Your ex-wife going over a cliff in your new Porsche."
I remembered that joke when I walked through the garage today and saw these three cars parked together. I kept trying to tell myself how cool it was to see the R8 and GT-R in close proximity, but the Smart Fortwo kept trashing my "dream garage" fantasy.
Maybe it was actually a good thing. Having two such amazing vehicles right next to each other might cause some sort of "cool-car overload," creating a temporal anomaly, unraveling the time-space continuum and destroying the universe! Admittedly, that's a worst-case scenario; the destruction might be confined to our own galaxy.
Either way, the Smart does an effective job of equalizing the "cool car" energy that could otherwise risk our total annihilation.
You meet nice people when you drive the Nissan GT-R.
This car is not just an attention getter. It gets attention from the car enthusiast crowd.
Take, for example, Paul. I was out this weekend to buy some patio furniture. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot of a popular outdoor furniture store in Santa Monica, Paul was all over our GT-R. He's read everything about the car and couldn't believe an actual GT-R pulled into his parking lot.
It turns out Paul has one of only two Z06 convertibles by Genaddi.
I only had my camera phone with me so you can't see the beauty of his Corvette's red paint. But that's Paul in his supercharged Vette.
He let me sit in it and rev the engine so I could hear its sweet sound. Naturally, I let Paul sit in the GT-R, being such a fan and all.
Nissan recommends the GT-R's first service at 1,000 miles. At that point we were still in St. Louis. So we decided to wait until back in Santa Monica to see the dealer. Not all dealerships are qualified to service GT-Rs. But it happens our local Santa Monica Nissan is one of them.
We called to schedule a service appointment.
"We haven't seen a GT-R in for service yet. Heck, we finally got two of 'em in the showroom just the other week. Bring it by anytime tomorrow. But to warn you, it's an extensive service so we'll need it all day."
Our service experience was truly unique. We're sure some of it was due to the novelty of being their first GT-R. But there was more to it. We really felt as though the red carpet rolled out for us.
At this location one service writer handles all GT-R customers. And only one service technician is certified to work on GT-Rs. Both walked over to shake our hand and introduce themselves when we pulled up. This has never happened to us before. And we service cars for a living. The writer proceeded with the normal check-in questions, but at this point we were already impressed.
"We are still waiting for our alignment equipment to arrive, so we can't check that for another week or two. But we will perform all prescribed inspections and confirm the engine and transmission are still calibrated to the correct factory specifications."
We handed off the key and wandered to the showroom where we spoke with a salesman.
"They shipped us two GT-Rs, but both are already sold. They were bought by Donald Sutherland and Andrew Bynum. He's that tall guy on the Lakers."
How old is Donald Sutherland now anyway? A GT-R? We are figuring he meant Kiefer. And we're also figuring he doesn't realize all of the Lakers are tall in comparison to his 5'10" stature. Regardless, he pointed us toward their two GT-Rs tucked safely in an adjacent garage. We snapped a quick pic.
Days out of service: None
Price: $179.58 (oil change and re-calibrations)
Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 3,903 miles
I have a problem with underestimating driving distances, and that's why our 2009 Nissan GT-R and I are facing the prospect of driving 950 miles in one day. It doesn't matter. We're still going to take Highway 145 north toward Telluride (elevation: 8,700 feet) and then cross into Utah on CO Hwy 90/UT Hwy 46.
It ends up being so worth it. The 145 is gorgeous on the approach to Telluride, with snow-flecked mountains rising from truly green hillsides. If only I'd had enough time to do some hiking. Here again, the turns are more sweeper than switchback, so the GT-R makes rapid progress until I have to pull over and ogle the scenery.
Our long-term Nissan GT-R and I enter Colorado on Interstate 70, but quickly divert to U.S. 24 and I-25. We're headed to Walsenburg, south of Pueblo. We'll cross the state via the southern east-west highway, U.S. 160, which, judging by my atlas, looks like it has its share of twists, turns and elevation changes. Later, I have second thoughts and wish I'd picked twistier U.S. 50, but with a motel booked in Cortez for the evening, we have to press on.
The GT-R isn't the least bit concerned about the road selection. It loves the cooler mountain air, doesn't seem to mind that I gave it 91 octane in Colorado Springs, and is barely fazed by the altitude. We drop as low as 4,700 feet in Pueblo, but mostly we're traveling at 6,000-7,000 feet, and it still feels fast. I love the sound of the turbos -- I don't remember them having as prominent a role in the soundtrack of the pre-production silver car I drove a couple months back.
Ride quality takes a turn for the crappy, though, as I-25 is pretty ugly through Pueblo.
As soon as I cross the Missouri-Kansas state line and enter the toll section of Interstate 70, the 2009 Nissan GT-R and I are driving through a pretty terrific thunderstorm.
There's not much hail, fortunately, so the bodywork takes no welts. The flash flooding is considerable, though, and at times visibility seems like it's not more than a few feet in front of the Nissan's nose. Motorists are pulling to the shoulder. And the GT-R's Bridgestone Potenza RE070Rs, particularly the rears, are hard-pressed to find traction. I reduce speed (a lot) but still find myself countersteering every other minute. I don't know if I'd call these tires great in the wet. But given how much water is on the road, this isn't a fair test.
Finally, the storm is over and we enjoy this post-nuclear sunset near Topeka while waiting at the toll plaza. After nightfall, I roll into Hays, Kansas, planning to grab a room at one of its many chain motels. But everything is booked up by summer vacationers. I end up with the very last room at the Best Western in Waukeeney, KS, which is about 45 minutes farther west. Clearly, not everyone has put their summer travel plans on hold due to high gas prices.
I'm actually supposed to do this trip in 3 days, but 5 minutes after getting into our 2009 Nissan GT-R, I realize that's not happening. Granted, the GT-R's fast enough that I could probably do it in 2 days. But this is my first east-west drive across the United States -- I want to take every highway in my atlas. It's also the longest amount of time I've ever not had to share a high-end performance car.
I immediately give into nostalgia and point the GT-R toward Memphis, because about 10 years ago, I went to college there. I'd forgotten how nice the roads are here, and the GT-R's ride quality borders on compliant on I-40.
I arbitrarily decide to keep revs below 4,000 for engine break-in, but I later read that Nissan recommends keeping it under 3,500 rpm for the initial 400 miles. And until 1,300 miles, you're not supposed to use full throttle and you're supposed to keep the suspension in "Comf" mode to allow for maximum travel, says the owner's manual. It's OK, though. Even half throttle provides considerable speed, and you can still see triple digits during closed-course driving.
It's late afternoon in Franklin, Tennessee, when the airport shuttle van deposits me at Nissan of Cool Springs. The shuttle driver had trouble finding the place on his Garmin, which is odd since the dealership has been open for a year. Still, it looks sparkling new here. I look for our white 2009 Nissan GT-R on the showroom floor but learn it has already been moved to service for last-minute checks.
After I hand over all the paperwork and, more importantly, the big check for $73,165 (and 2 cents), I'm shown into the immaculate service reception area. It ends up being a dramatic moment because the room is empty all except for our GT-R.
I meet Matthew, a master Nissan service technician, who has taken all sorts of additional coursework to prepare for this day -- the sale of the very first Nissan GT-R at Nissan of Cool Springs. He's ready to give me a complete tutorial on the car, but I end up being a know-it-all student since we've already driven this car. He does tell me that Nissan is recommending owners idle the engine for two minutes after each cold startup for the duration of the car's working life.
Instead, we drive over to the new Nissan Americas building, which conveniently is only a half-mile down the street from Nissan of Cool Springs. In addition to working on high-end performance cars, I learn that Matthew owns a Harley, which he rides in a pack on cross-country road trips. Cool. I also notice that the dual-clutch transmission is shifting a little more quietly under part throttle than the pre-production models we sampled.
It turns out Paul has one of only two Z06 convertibles by Genaddi.
