Why The Nissan GT-R Will Fail

Well, that’s pretty bold statement relayed to me by the fine folks at Axis of Oversteer . They pointed to this story at a (new to me, but still very good) site called Speed Sport Life , that basically takes Nissan and the GT-R to task.

To wit:

“…What’s the Nissan GT-R’s market base? Well, it’s primarily made up of people who play Gran Turismo and its descendants, plus a smattering of kids who thought the car with the Impala-esque taillights in 2Fast 2Furious was pretty cool. Most of these people live in the basements of their parents’ homes. Do you see the problem with the idea of marketing a $70,000 car to people who still live with their parents and who spend all night on XBOX Live? If you don’t, allow me to point it out for you: These kids don’t have any money. They may be tremendously knowledgeable car enthusiasts and very nice people, but when I was seventeen years old, I was a knowledgeable car enthusiast too, and I don’t remember buying any $70,000 cars with my minimum-wage earnings from working the parts counter at David Hobbs BMW…”

Hmm … what to make of that?

I know this will not set well with a lot of folks out there (as well as loyal readers of this site). Thoughts?

The car will be successful as the performance will speak for itself. It will just be another car, on the list of cars that someone owns. F430 , 911 TT , Lambo , GT-R. They will own it, so they can say to their friends that their $70k car is faster than their friends $130k car.

We will see though. Time will tell, and hindsight is 20/20

While those teenage fanboys are the ones you hear about, there are plenty of “real” GT-R fans. Folks who can actually afford one. Remember, people have been paying a ton of money to import the old Skylines for years…. and the new GT-R crushes them all in performance.

That is true, and I sold most of the people in the US their cars. If the cars were left hand drive, and through a dealership, I would have sold a lot more.

It will sell, don’t worry. Those drivers who want something to compete with the Corvette or 911, and are Japanese fans, will buy them in droves.

I find it hard to beleive that this car will fail. I am from the playstation generation as is my brother. We are fortunate to be able to afford this car and have ordered one each and when i went to order one there already is a backlog of orders here in the UK.
In the US there have been price hikes everywhere and when i flew out to Japan (to see it launch) there was a great buzz about this car. Like the whole nation is proud of what they have produced and rightly so. With the first generation already beating the Z06 in a drag race, the audi R8 around the B roads of britain and the Porsche GT3 around the circuit and a price tag so cheap that it makes the competitors look overpriced. With more technology in it than tokyo itself, this car is well placed to outsell its supply for years to come. IMHO

I am the inventory manager for a Nissan Dealership. I am in charge of the orders for the GT-R. I can tell you right now that there is a strong market for this car. We have a large list of people who have given us deposits and submitted credit apps, all who are very well qualified to pay for this car, including whatever insane markup we choose. All of them have hopes of being one of the 8 GT-R customers our dealership will serve. I agree that the GT-R does have an amazing cult following of underaged broke adolsecents, but it also has some true sports car enthusiasts with large pocket books ready to slap down whatever cash necessary to own this piece of history.

What an absurd analysis! I’m a 64 year old male currently driving a ‘04 BMW M3. I’ve never been on an X BOX and can (and will) buy a GT-R.

This is a hot, hot car. Maybe they do alot of marketing to that age, and I am sure there are some that age that somehow or another can afford it. But, Nissan being a good, reliable brand of car, this is worth spending alittle extra on, even if it is a bit of a stretch for the buyer. I saw it at the NY Auto Show and fell in love. This will be my next car. http://www.expotv.com/videos/e.....two/257160

Kids won’t be buying this car, unless they are the overpriveldged ones with parental givings. This car should take a slice from the 350z and G35 market for ppl wanting to have a more sportier hardcore look. Mainly guys in their 30’s with life crisis’ on their hands.. haha such an oxymoron.

Well, it’s obvious this car will be on many kid’s walls for a long time, just as the Ferraris and Lambos were back in the day (maybe still are, I don’t know.)

But keep in mind this may just be the start for the GT-R in the States for Nissan. Just as many kids of the 70’s and 80’s grew up and bought that Ferrari that used to be on their wall, it may be a similar situation for the GT-R line.

I think this car will do rather well initially, but after the hype is over, people will realize that this car is overrated, and then sales will begin to fall.

I don’t think that it will fail, however, I just think that sales will be high, drop, and then even out at a rather low level.

A recent Top Gear episode showcased the GT-R, and while it’s as fast or faster than most of the supercars (including the $500K+ ones,) Jeremy Clarkson said it has all the performance you could ask for, but it lacked personality. I could see that.