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?
Ah, but even here they understand the reality of the needs of day-to-day driving by mere mortals. Notice how the speedo hash marks represent increments of 5 km/h until 90 km/h is reached, after which the increment changes to 10 km/h. Since speedos haven't been cable-driven for several years now, this is technically a no-brainer.
Civilians don't spend very much time in those rarified upper reaches. But even when they do, speed doesn't increase nearly as quickly, so the numerals can be closer together. The lower end of this Audi's scale, where CommuterMan spends much of his time, is more spread out and more easily readable. And the most common speeds are right there at the top, where they are easily seen with a slight downward glance from the road.
Oh, but I forgot. The GT-R has a genuine digital speed readout that saves the day, so they don't have to bother with any of that stuff, right? Stands to reason.
Wrong. CommuterMan rests his case. The GT-R's speed-o-meter is just for show.
On the bright side, at least the tach gets front-and-center placement. And did I mention the GT-R is stupid-fast?
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 4,359...4,360...4,361...62...65...99 miles
huyracing says:
07:26 PM, 08/14/08
Fast cars annoy me for daily driving. You always want to get on the throttle to enjoy the car. Then there is always someone who thinks they are faster than you and attempt to race you, so you want to teach them a lesson!
Problem is... you can't! Cops would love to arrest you and impound your car for doubling/ tripling the speed limit OR for racing OR for accelerating fast OR for doing burn-outs. And its not exactly safe anyways...
So what are you to do? Slug around all day, despite the fact that you know you can momentarily stop Earth's rotation with a few inches more of throttle. You go home. Repeat.
OR you go out and break the law to enjoy your car and risk losing everything. All because the laws over here don't allow you to enjoy your fast cars AND they don't offer affordable local legal alternatives to satiate our collective needs for speed.
firstwagon says:
07:53 PM, 08/14/08
Huyracing
I agree completely. A decade ago I worked as a salesman for Mazda. I loved driving Miatas but then one day we got a 1 year old Vette in on a trade. I was thrilled and quickly managed to get it as my demo. After a week though, I found the car more frustrating then fun. At legal speeds it wasn't any fun at all and it was so fast that you could get to "lose your licence" speeds in a few seconds.
I swapped it to another salesman (who dug the image more then the performance) for the British Racing Green Miata he was driving and never looked back.
The Miata is a blast to drive at legal speeds and when you push it, more fun at 80 mph then a Vette is at 120.
I see no reason to buy a car like the GT-R in North American other then to impress your friends with your new toy.
stovt001 says:
08:26 PM, 08/14/08
But then you get to open track days or the Silver State Challenge and suddenly it all makes sense.
firstwagon says:
08:30 PM, 08/14/08
But I live in British Columbia and we have nothing like that around here.
Even if we did it would be like owning a full size pick up for the once or twice a year it would be nice to have. Just rent something.
dougtheeng says:
06:11 AM, 08/15/08
I agree with firstwagon's Miata sentiments: MINI Cooper - fun at any speed.
Then again, I suppose if you can afford a GT-R for the occasional track day / gumball 3000, you can afford a MC for every day driving.
edubya says:
09:24 AM, 08/15/08
Before I even read the blog entry I thought, "How strange that the speedo needle would spend most of its time pointing down, even during fast highway cruising." As with any car's quirk, I assume an owner would quickly grow accustomed to this oddity, but it all seems unnecessary.
Ditto the remarks about getting a car that's fun at legal speeds. My 02 Camry is a blast to drive around town. I'm thinking about getting driving gloves to complete the experience.
athens says:
09:39 AM, 08/15/08
Journalists using "baller slang" like "sick" to connote "incredibly good" or "awesome" leaves a lot to be desired from 40 something readers like myself.
For a moment there I really thought your GT-R needed a doctor.
athens says:
09:48 AM, 08/15/08
I seriously hope you were doing 180 mph on a closed course.
Unless you are mimicking the Greek auto journalists that took a Euro M6 onto the Attiki Odos public motorway, outside Athens, in the middle of the night to hit 340 kph (210 mph) see youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp7dIBJNb2g
Afterwards the police paid a little visit to these guys.
lvranger says:
10:08 AM, 08/15/08
^^^ I seriously think you need to take a reading comprehension course and a second look at the pictures. :-)
lazyhater says:
10:32 AM, 08/15/08
Nissan did uneven spacing on the R34 GTR tachometer, so they are fully aware of the idea, just choose to not apply it to the R35.
http://www.sol.co.uk/h/hugh/Speedo/11KRPM_UK_Speedo_small.jpg
Dan Edmunds says:
11:04 AM, 08/15/08
Athens: a) FWIW, I'm probably older than you; b) This is a blog, dawg; c) There was a point when my dad complained that "awesome", especially when preceded by "totally", was surfer or valley girl slang; d) It's 180 km/h, which is about 112 mph; e) The photo was taken on a trip to Germany, on the autobahn, hence the km/h speedo.
Even for track days, a speedo is near useless. I never looked at mine during my showroom stock days.
The track day arguement doesn't wash. In competition the tach is almighty. Real race cars don't even have speedometers. You use the tach to make sure you shift at the proper point, of course. Because they are usually more finely hashed, and because you really want to know how hard your engine is pulling, tachs are a more relevant way of determining how well you are doing: "How many R's were you pulling going into turn nine?" "About 7,200. I really got a good exit out of five." [Bonus points: Guess the track where this exchange makes sense.]
Besides, the only number that really matters in that environment is the lap time, in seconds. (Aside: I hate when TV broadcasters translate lap times into MPH. I'm talking to you, ABC.)
athens says:
11:20 AM, 08/15/08
A caption for the second photo to identify "this is taken of an Audi speedo in Germany, on the Autobahn" would have been helpful.
America recorded 40,000 + highway deaths last year. That is more than 10 times the number killed in the Twin Towers attack in 2001. In a land where drivers constantly overestimate the capabilities of their machines and their own abilities to properly control them there is hardly the need for an Autobahn.
Interestingly enough, this summer I drove a 20 mile winding corniche high above the sea shore in Greece in a rented Peugeot 207 (all of 90 hp on 195 mm tire width). With just a little effort I was able to keep up with a new Miata in the twisties. Though we never exceeded 40 mph nor crossed into opposite lanes it was certainly more entertaining than my daily commute in my Infiniti G35 coupe(here in Chicago).
athens says:
11:26 AM, 08/15/08
LBJ was in office barely half a year. If you can beat that I say [to you] hat's off to one "sick" (cool) "old" "dude".
crowb says:
11:53 AM, 08/15/08
Athens, try to keep things in iambic pentameter only, please. Barbarian.
;)
sgude says:
12:35 PM, 08/15/08
Athens -- get out much? Lighten up; it's a blog, dawg.
f1mom says:
02:06 PM, 08/15/08
Athens: He's got you beat. Dan was born 3 days before Kennedy was elected. But he doesn't look a day over Nixon.
BTW: Since I'm old as well, what, exactly, is a "baller?"
athens says:
04:10 PM, 08/15/08
f1mom:
According to the younger clients in my criminal law practice a "baller" is someone who wishes to emulate an NBA basketball player, or rather lead the conspicuous, attention grabbing lifestyle that NBA players have a reputation for leading.
Even at my youthful age, it took me a while to absorb that one.
07mx5 says:
09:26 PM, 08/15/08
firstwagon:
i totally agree with you on the around town fun-to-drive factor in a miata, i drive one myself. Unfortunately, i moved to Del Rio, TX where the speed limits are an agonizing 30mph, cops are strict and in abundance because it's a border town, and on-base driving (i'm in the air force) makes me wanna poke my eyes out. good news is i lifted my mpg from 25 to 28 because i'm limping around at 30mph in 4th gear. It's sad, i'm in a zippy little sports car, and i'm driving in a town where my speedo is just as useless as the GTR's speedo on california freewyas.
http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/PastVehicles/2006MazdaMX-5Miata/
there's a pic of mx5 speedo from 2/13/07 entry.
c5z06 says:
05:36 AM, 08/19/08
The speedometer used on the Corvette is multi-segmented. It uses a wider scale up to 100 mph, which is about 2/3 of the way around the dial. Then the other 100 mph takes up the other 1/3. It makes it nice for normal driving. Here's an example from the ZR1.
http://z.about.com/d/cars/1/7/s/7/1/09zr1_ip.jpg
benson2175 says:
09:24 AM, 08/19/08
@ Firstwagon and others
I own a Miata and for the very reason you cite. It's fun at any speed. I used to own an Acura Legend coupe with the 5speed. By today's standards not a very fast and powerful car but it was. It was frustrating to drive because if you went hard on the throttle you'd be doing 140kph very quickly and I also live in British Columbia where the average freeway speed limit is 90kph.
However this weekend I took a trip to Vancouver Island to Tofino. The road there is a glorious strip of winding two lane perfect for the Miata. But there was traffic. How I longed for more power to pass that traffic with ease. Instead I often was stuck behind a big camper and didn't have the get up and go to climb a hill and pass at the same time. But for most occasions the Miata rocks.
nismoz says:
04:30 PM, 01/19/10
All you have never even taking a car to its limits. I bet none of you have passed the 120mph mark. And this is because old people have almost no interest in cars. You have all the money and yet no interest. The miata is a lame excuse for a sports car. With barely any acceleration at all. If you want some fun look into a manual.
nismoz says:
04:31 PM, 01/19/10
All you have never even taking a car to its limits. I bet none of you have passed the 120mph mark. And this is because old people have almost no interest in cars. You have all the money and yet no interest. The miata is a lame excuse for a sports car. With barely any acceleration at all. If you want some fun look into a manual.