YAHOOO!......SKYLINE to be badged as Nissan!

whats it change if it were badged a Infinity....just out of curiosoty since im not really firmiliar with Skylines......

 

Isn't the G35 coupe supposed to be the "US" version of the skyline? I guess the perk is that it will be 3 inches wider and slightly shorter. I wonder what the HP will be with the twin turbo 6 cylinder motor.

 

That will turn out to be a bad move for the USA market IMHO...It will be difficult to get buyers to pay $80k+ for a Nissan which a lot of Americans still think of as Datsun. The very reason Acura, Lexas and Infiniti exist is because Americans would not pay $20k+ for Hondas, Toyotas and Nissans back in the 80s. Nissan should change its desicion and sell Skylines as Infinitis in the USA market...like Honda did with selling the NSX as an Acura in the USA and as a Honda in the rest of the world...

 

i believe bmwm3 meant Skyline GTR, a very high performance cult car in Japan. The previous version was not imported officially into the US, but a few gray market outfits brought them in. The Skyline GTR is not to be confused with the Skyline, which in the US is badged as the Infiniti G35.

 

that's interesting news, never knew that! only time i've ever heard of Infiniti is from gran turismo back in '98, had no idea it's what yanks call nissan.

edit: just googled infiniti g35, that looks nothing like the aussie skyline (816 for sale here), looks more like a maxima or something.

 

Yeah, I'm aware of what the Skyline is...Seen one...I'd love to buy one(current skyline R32/33), but it's no fun when you can only look at it in the garage or only take it on the track.....This "new" one looks different, didn't they say that sticker should be around 70-90?

 

I believe they were referring to the Infiniti G35 coupe as the Nissan Skyline for the USA...www.infiniti.com

 

Cool... spend $50+k on a car only to get crappy service from the Nissan dealer. But I guess it's alright if Chevy has been doing it w/ the Corvette for decades now.

///Michael

 

the 2008 GT-R is NOT a "Skyline"..

The Skyline/G35 is the same model... the GT-R will be a completely new model built off a completely new chassis, and have nothing to do with the next generation Japanese "Skyline"/G35

 

In Japan there's a whole range of Skyline models, from very mild sedans to very wild coupes.

The Nissan Skyline sedan in Japan is basically the same as the Infiniti G35 sedan in America.

The base Nissan Skyline coupe in Japan is probably the same as the Infiniti G35 coupe in America.

The Nissan Skyline GT-R in Japan is the supercar that we're talking about, the one that will finally come to America.

 

I'm not so sure....

It seems everyone who owns an NSX in America replaces the Acura badge with a Honda badge. People seem to be really into a cars' true history. Some have even replaced the Infiniti badges on their G35s with Japanese Skyline Sedan badges.

Your argument may still hold for luxury sedans where its all about image, but the Skyline is a very hardcore sports car that will target enthusiasts who know what the deal is. I think the Skyline GT-R name is so well known by car enthusiasts that it won't matter which badge they put on it.

 

I've only seen one NSX with a Honda badge at an NSX Club meeting at Road Atlanta a few years ago. All others I've seen had the Acura badging. In fact, most of the time in the status driven USA it works the other way; like Dino owners putting Ferrari badges on their 308GT4s. As far as a GT-R being well known to car enthusiasts, I think you're correct. However, that is a small number of car buyers all of whom will not being buying a new GT-R. If Nissan plans to sell them at a similar volume as the 350ZX, at $75k+ it ain't going happen badged as a Nissan IMHO...we'll all see I suppose...

 

A Z06 is a hardcore sports car as well as the 911 GT-3, 360 Challenge Stradale, and Lotus Elise. Unless the GT-R has the same power/weight ratio as any of those cars and weighs less than 3100lbs, I wouldn't count on it being a hardcore sports car. My guess is that it'll be arriving with 450hp and weighing in at 3600lbs. And I'll be sorely disappointed if I'm right.

$50+k for a Nissan? Yeah, they tried that high-priced method once w/ the 300ZX TT in an attempt to dethrone the Corvette. That only got us a Z hiatus and look at how much more heritage the Z has in the U.S. over the GT-R.

///Michael