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Nissan trying to stop illegal GT-R importing

12/21/2007, 12:28 PM

By Drew Johnson

The Nissan GT-R is currently on sale in Japan, but won’t launch in other parts of the world until March 2008. Apparently, some European customers can’t wait three months to get their hands on Nissan’s newest supercar so several business have been importing JDM GT-Rs for sale in the European Economic Area (EEA).

But Nissan claims that importing the JDM GT-Rs — which voids the car’s warranty — actually infringes on the company’s trademark rights and is threatening legal action. Nissan’s other concern is that dealers in Europe are not yet equipped to service the GT-R. “Nissan’s number one priority is to ensure that the GT-R and its dealer network are in optimal condition to facilitate and support our customers. It will take until start of sales in March 2009 to do this. Until that time the UK will have no GT-R trained technicians, no established GT-R parts supply and, most crucial of all, the GT-R will not be covered by a manufacturer’s warranty,” Nissan said.

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12/21, 12:40 PM

posted by:

F3INT))AP3X

Friggin Europeans and their impatience…

12/21, 12:42 PM

posted by:

SwerveEarly

Thank god they are looking out for their customers like this.
While fanning the flames with BS press releases about how even in Europe the home to all the great sports car makers, people will do anything to get their hands on our GTR.
Shame on the corp dicks at Nissan.

12/21, 12:51 PM

posted by:

RicardoHead

Swerve’s probably right that they are just fanning flames, but I dont see where Nissan has a leg to stand on unless an importer is claiming to be a authorized agent/dealership of Nissan. If it’s fully disclosed that it’s grey market, there is no warranty, no parts supply (yet), the dealer is a habib trying to make a fast buck, blah blah, then the deal is legit.

One thing, though, Swerve: shame will be on the corp dicks at Porsche who are gonna get their overpriced **** handed to them on a Japanese plate by Nissan.

12/21, 12:55 PM

posted by:

LP640

This shows just how good it is that people cant bear waiting three months for it. I’d wait three months rather than hurry and get a cheap import if i were in that position.

12/21, 1:04 PM

posted by:

CTS DRIVER

yup lp640, some things are worth the wait, 3 months for a gt-r or 2 years for a ferarri, i will take the gt-r.

12/21, 1:12 PM

posted by:

lotusfire

Haha, yeah. Still, I doubt the chances are high that you’ll get a GT-R in three months if you didn’t make a deposit. I’m willing to bet that the waiting line for the GT-R will grow pretty quickly.

12/21, 1:24 PM

posted by:

trooper1

This is a very hot car and is definately making international waves. The fact that Europeans are so eager to get one speaks very highly of this car. I wonder when the day will come when we build a sports car that the world is very eager to want. We may have the Viper and Z06, but they are still nowhere nearly as desired worldwide as Porsches, Ferrari’s, Lambo’s and now the Skyline.

12/21, 1:35 PM

posted by:

F451

All Nissan is doing is riding off this free publicity. Does anyone really think that they will get anywhere against people who were savvy enough to get the cars into Europe to begin with? Please.

12/21, 1:38 PM

posted by:

sharpie

WTF? How do you claim trademark infringement when the cars roll off the same assembly line? Since when do Nissan or most car manufacturers care about customers’ complaint? Hvae you tried calling their dickheads at the headquarter? NOOOOO . . . Nissan figures they want to make a pretty sum of cash by limiting the number of GTR available!

12/21, 1:41 PM

posted by:

LP640

^yup agreed CTS its been a very long wait for the GTR but its worth it and im sure that a little extra three months wont hurt comapred to almost a decade that this thing has been in development.

12/21, 1:42 PM

posted by:

MY Si

New GT-R + Impatient Euro Morons = (insert answer here)

12/21, 1:44 PM

posted by:

autonut

What Europeans? The car can be driven only in England! The steering wheel is on the wrong side. Can anyone drive mailman’s jeep at high rate of speed on US road? I think the whole article is a product of LLN’s writer imagination due to slow news day. Or they like to **** with us :)

12/21, 1:52 PM

posted by:

LP640

^ dont forget Australia, they drive on the left too.

12/21, 2:18 PM

posted by:

jackjimturkey

Yep, Nissan is building hype, which will help the company sell Altimas.
Realistically, how long have Americans been clamoring for the Skyline/GT-R? A few more months, or two or three years won’t kill most of us.

12/21, 2:39 PM

posted by:

Blakkarr

Is there something they aren’t telling us? Why does NISSAN keep hanging the warranty out like that?

12/21, 3:08 PM

posted by:

jackjimturkey

That’s the second comment related to voiding warranties. I think the company is trying to protect itself from claims on heavily modified units.

12/21, 3:17 PM

posted by:

Jazz

Are they concerned that the car will break?

12/21, 4:21 PM

posted by:

Z06ified

Let me guess. U.S. Nissan dealers are probably taking orders for $140k for this car, with a 12 month wait. I’ll buy a used one in 3 years for $45k.

12/21, 4:28 PM

posted by:

CA36GTP

The fact that Nissan seems willing to rip up the warranty for the slightest goddamn thing besides keeping it in your garage and waxing it every day makes me think anyone who buys this car is asking for trouble.

12/21, 5:17 PM

posted by:

jamaicandude

It’s not just England that drive on the left in Europe: Ireland, Cyprus and Malta as well, but I’m not sure just how many of them will be sold in those countries. England for sure, and I know Ireland has a following, but not sure about the other two.

12/21, 6:21 PM

posted by:

Blakkarr

JJT,

Almost every vehicle in the world, I think Scions don’t fall in here as a slim example, void the warranty if the car is heavily modded. But then most guys who can do that can fix it themselves. Though with the GT-R, I might have think differently on that.

12/21, 7:14 PM

posted by:

CTS DRIVER

WAIT A MINUTE i thought all of europe drove on the left side of the road? matter of face i thought the americas were the only 2 continents to drive on the right hand side. huh shows how little i know.

12/21, 7:58 PM

posted by:

autonut

CTS, don’t make those comments again.

12/21, 10:54 PM

posted by:

Veda

The only real upgrade this car needs is a set of ceramic brakes. Anything else would only void the warranty and makes you look like a ricer.

12/21, 11:37 PM

posted by:

G

Veda: No, it needs one more thing … it needs that black nose painted the same color as the rest of the body!

And the boost increased to create something around 600hp would be nice.

12/21, 11:53 PM

posted by:

Veda

G: That’d be nice and all but the bottom line is the acceleration time. Though 600 HP should increase it’s top speed above a Murcielago.

12/21, 11:55 PM

posted by:

LP640

^i agree with you Veda about the ceramic brakes and 600 bhp would be a nice addition. i also liked the black bits that were on the final GTR proto underneath the headlights before Nissan unveiled the production model, they were super cool. shame Nissan removed them

12/22, 12:10 AM

posted by:

G

Veda: increasing the boost will increase torque as well as peak hp. That should help both acceleration as well as top speed.

Being AWD, any increase in torque should provide increase in acceleration, as grip shouldn’t be the limiting factor, except perhaps for the first second or two from a standstill.

Whereas for the ZR-1 grip will probably prove to be a much bigger problem for limiting acceleration. Chevy needs to borrow the launch-control system they have in the European F430..

The pudgy weight of the GTR is a definite hinderance to acceleration though. They really need to shave some pounds off that thing. The Infiniti G coupe has a similar problem with weight … Nissan really has to do something about that.

PS…because I mentioned the ZR-1, I have to say I love the look of the rear lip on the ZR-1, but I wonder if it’s going to provide enough downforce to the rear, especially since it has really small (if any) Bernoulli tunnels, and no rear wing…

12/22, 12:13 AM

posted by:

LP640

^they could use carbon fibre in a bid to keep weight down but then that would increase costs and they definetly cant use cheap plastic

12/22, 6:44 AM

posted by:

Veda

G: I haven’t seen the 0-60 times for the ZR-1. How quick is it exactly? It has lots of power but doesn’t seem to be capable of putting it down on the road due to grip. Plus the 100K price tag is almost R8 category.

LP: A base GT-R is already an insanely affordable beast that the automotive world has never seen in a production car. We should expect a huge number of tuners to create solutions for the weight problem. Carbon panels wouldn’t be out of the question a year from now.

12/22, 10:02 AM

posted by:

CA36GTP

ZR-1 is rumored to be 3 seconds flat to 60mph. Of course, I’ll wait until we get some real road tests out there to confirm it, just as I take the 3.3 second GT-R with a grain of salt.

12/22, 10:22 AM

posted by:

Blakkarr

CA36GTP,

Thanks I was trying to say that. Just kept missing the point so I quit trying.

12/22, 11:40 AM

posted by:

Veda

CA36GTP: Edmunds did a 3.3 with a borrowed production GT-R from an actual owner in Japan. It’s in the new article they have posted on their site.

12/22, 4:31 PM

posted by:

Blakkarr

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/do/vdp/articleId=124017/pageNumber=1

Just read it. This system will not make it to America. Launch Control of this type is illegal in the US. Federal Law. I’ll buy that 3.3 Sec. But Units sold in America won’t have the Launch Control system. Again if you could then the Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and other hot European exotics would be sold in the US with them.

I know the Lambo “Mercy” Will do 3.2 sec or less with Launch Control So I’ll take that time for the GT-R owing to it’s gearing for sprinting while the Lambo is geared for top speed.

With such a system I’d be willing to bet you could shave a Z06 Launch down to 3.3 seconds or lower as well. Sprint times using Launch Control are cool but invalid to American Customers. We won’t get that system. Do it again without the LC and show me the times.

Warning: The ZR-1 won’t have LC.

12/22, 5:04 PM

posted by:

LP640

^the 3.3 secs was proved.
a tiptronic / e-gear system also improves acceleration times.

12/23, 12:29 PM

posted by:

Pintac87

The word around the campfire from the Skyline fanbois is that the portly (3800 lbs!) GT-R will do 0-60 faster than Chuck Norris, will lap the Nurburgring in under 5 minutes, top speed will be just subsonic, fuel consumption is better than a Prius and it has more interior room than a Rolls Royce!!eleven!1!!one!

Once the Nissan PR campaign is over, we’ll be able to see the numbers from an actual US spec production car we’ll see how much is BS and how much is actual fact. Until then, it’s nut swinging at its best.

12/23, 1:38 PM

posted by:

LP640

^spoken like a true retard. And i suppose the ZR1 will fly to the end of the galaxy and back whilst giving you brains at the same time quicker than you can say “i need a ****ing life” ya dumb hick

12/23, 5:08 PM

posted by:

Pintac87

LimpPenis 640, got a little sand in your vagina today? Did I say anything about the ZR1? No, but only because the internet BS rumor mill has not gotten to top speed with it yet. I’m sure it will and it too will be glorified and named the fastest and the best before anyone even drives a production one. For the record, I’d take a Z06 any day over the new ZR1 – too much bling (the hideous see-through hood takes cheesy to a whole new level) and pocket the difference. The truth of the matter is that the GT-R has a bunch of Playstation geeks worshipping the very ground its overhyped fat ass sits on without having any actual proof of what it can and cannot do. All I’m saying is: wait until a real production model (not a ringer or pre-production model) is properly tested to see if it lives up to the hype. If it truly does deliver what Nissan’s PR machine has been saying then I’ll be the first to admit that it’s the second coming automotively speaking. Until then, it’s nothing but hype. Now take a chill pill and don’t take everything personally.

12/24, 1:27 AM

posted by:

G

Apparently someone didn’t read the articles…

12/24, 8:15 AM

posted by:

1c3d0g

ROFL…Pintac87! :lol: Got a little sand…hahahaha… :-D

12/24, 11:06 AM

posted by:

LP640

Pintac87 the thing you cant get into your micrscopic brain is that this was all tested on an actual prodcution model and in case you didnt know, the GTR is already on sale in Japan, dumbass

12/24, 3:05 PM

posted by:

Pintac87

So the Japanese model has the exact same specs as the US model? Really? I’ve got some swampland to sell you then. Take a chill pill already, why do you defend this car as if it were your own mother? I’ve got news for you: for as long as magazines have tested cars, automakers have provided ringers to make their performance numbers look better than reality. Yeah, the car is for sale in Japan, I get it (Jesus Christ on a pogo stick, everyone gets it) but it’s not a US specification vehicle. Until, and I cannot emphasize this point enough, I see a test in the United States of a car picked at random from a dealer’s lot that delivers on this promise, I will simply think it’s typical automaker PR. Nissan is not alone in this, all automakers do it. Relax already, maybe the GT-R will live up to the hype – and it certainly has the technology and power to do it – but until then take a more educated and sensible approach and stop the blind worship of this thing.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Bitching Kwanzaa and a Festive Festivus to you all.

01/07, 1:05 PM

posted by:

jackjimturkey

Z06ified: ” I’ll buy a used one in 3 years for $45k.”
That’s one way to go. I think i want mine new, though.

CTS DRIVER: all the european countries I’ve been to drive on the right.

Veda “A base GT-R is already an insanely affordable beast that the automotive world has never seen in a production car.”
None I can think of offhand, anyway.

Pintac87 good post at 3:05p on the 24th.

 
 
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