Nissan GT-R

My old man, asked me to help him clear out his loft the other day.

I, as a dutiful son, obliged. In fact, most of the junk in it was mine. So I ended up carting a fair amount back to my house in the car. When home, I flicked through old books, comics, letters, you name it.

Then I came across something I'd totally forgotten all about. It was an essay called, "The Beginnings of the American Automobile Industry and the Associated Impact on the Economy of the Early 20th Century".

The author? Me. My dissertation. It's a bit of dry read now, and to be honest, a little crap. But there are a couple of great quotes that I managed to lift....

"A car for every purse and purpose" - Alfred P Sloan

"The real secret of success is enthusiasm" - Walter Chrysler

I wonder if these two titans of the automobile industry could ever conceive that things would be as they are now? The rise of Germany as an industrial force to be reckoned with. A world where American auto workers would be looking to receive help from the US Government. A world where a Japanese manufacturer would make a car so fast, so clever, so good, so affordable that the rest would be catching up.

The Nissan GT-R is such an amazingly capable car. It's achievements and technological advancements have placed it as one of the cars to have. Full stop. 4WD. 4WS. Four seats. Nurburgring lap records. Lamborghini-rivalling performance. 192 mph. Dual-clutch gearbox. All the magazine and industry awards you can think of.

The GT-R has redefined what an affordable sports car is. Porsche must have noticed that the landscape has shifted. It's a seismic achievement. There is no car that offers such performance and supreme ability in as useful a package on this level. The price/performance parameter leaves all competitor manufacturers scratching their collective heads. Bugatti set out to leave no stone unturned in making the best car for the best money. Nissan had the same goal, but they're only asking for £60k.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.......