Ultimate GT-R Road Trip: Why should we visit you?

I'm moving to California tomorrow.

Scott,
  
PLEASE come to my house. Phoenix metro is the most auto-centered place between Detroit and L.A. I live only 30 minutes from Firebird International Raceway (and all its "road race" tracks. I'm about an hour from Phoenix International Raceway.
  
I am only 5 minutes away from the GM Desert Proving grounds, and within a hour or so of Chrysler, Ford and Nissan's test tracks. I have seen and lusted after the GT-R both in pictures and in person, as I saw a taped up, left-hand drive "tester" driving in rush hour traffic on I-10.
  
Scottsdale is both the perfect backdrop, and place to "be seen" in the GT-R, both at the weekly Pavilions car show AND cruising downtown Scottsdale with its $30k millionaires.
  
The freeways out in my neck of the Valley of the Sun are deserted enough to co-star in the movie "The Kingdom" and the famous "219 mph in a Lambo" clip.
  
My garage fridge is full of frozen pizzas, beer and homemade limoncello. Finally, I have duct tape and my late father's tools to undo anything "untoward" that happens to Godzilla.

I thought I'd join in but hell, I'll meet you at the above posters house for the free pizza and beer.

ummm..... Okay why did I move from Arizona again??

You're 6 months too late for me: I was in S.Calif but now in Oregon, with great mountains and other cool stuff. But no doubt that's too far away.
 
Perhaps you'll be able to let the local driver take a crack at the straightline part of that racetrack (as GM did for us with their Corvettes at their (now defunct) Traving Auto Show a few years back)?

You should visit our house. It's located in Huntington Harbor on Trinidad island. It's one of the smaller homes on the island, but there are lots of opportunities for beautiful photo shots near the water, parks, and multi-million dollar custom homes. It's also within 5 minutes or so of PCH and some great beaches.
 
Odds are good that there will be some high-dollar cars (Ferrari, Z06, Bentley, Porsche) for photo ops as well. The weather is about as good as it gets anywhere in the world.
 
The road you take to get here is a big, long straight-away that is fun to race down (not that you would do something illegal). Also, you could take a pic next to my '93 VR-4, which is in many ways a spiritual predecessor to the current GT-R (twin-turbo six, AWD, 2+2 coupe, high-tech for its day).

I live just off of Hollywood Way in Burbank/Sun Valley, and Jay Leno cruises around a lot. Basically, cool people drive around my house, so it only makes sense that you would be part of that group. Besides that, I have the La Tuna Canyon Road, Glenoaks Blvd, and a couple other great streets to either sample the twisties or be admired by many people.

i'm thinking abbotsford b.c. would be a good place to go

now you did it scott. good job. you have everyone frothing at the mouth and the gt-r is the piece of meat that they're ready to pounce on... how about just going to the bob's big boy in burbank... or some obscenely huge place that has a large parking area... i'm hearing voices again and they're saying, "if you bring it, they will come..."

Ah that sucks you're only going to be in SW USA. Any chance of a Canada road trip anytime, specifically Ontario? Lol.

Now all the long-time Straightline readers/first-time "commenters" will come out from the woodwork. :o)
 
It'll be cool to see how this pans out. Too bad I'll be out of town this week. :(

Where do I need to move to be in with a chance for a visit :-) I'm in Utah and as with my proposed route which took you up through Nevada, Utah and back to Reno, I might not be too far out of your way. Aside from my wife being stunned if you visited, and my children agape at a Batman car with jet-packs (long story) appearing on their doorstep, I've waited 16-years and traveled 12,000 miles to sit in a GT-R (another long story which involves Targa Tasmania), but I'd go with Miller Motorsports Track too (http://www.millermotorsportspark.com), I'm close to it as well, at least on your way if you follow my proposed route :-)
I am looking forward to your road-trip photos, I'm sure they will be stunning, you just need those Sierra Nevada mountains as a fitting backdrop.

You should visit me. I know how to take my clothes off, and run them over with the car.
 
Besides that stuff, I know where I can find a nice little twin fogger nitrous setup. Jet it up for about 50-75 per side. 11.5 @ 120...nah 10.5 @ 130. Maybe 10.1@135 Doesn't that sound like fun ? It sounds like fun to me. Nissan might not think its funny, when you return it smoking a little, but just tell them you got it like that.

You should come visit me. Although I highly recommend getting with cumadogg, even though I have no idea who he is…doing a mach up high speed chase with a GT-R would be sweet and sounds like a blast. It looks like you need to stay on the West Coast as you only have three days and well start in LA and end in Reno. The GT-R is an amazing car that I only wish to drive. Plus I'd love to drive to my friends places and show off. Haha. I mean who doesn't wanna show off that they are driving a GT-R? I have a highly modified MazdaSpeed3, so I'm a fan of fast cars and amazing imports. I love taking my car to the track. And the best thing is I have 3 track near me. I live 25-30 minutes away from Infineon Raceway in Northern California, so you can use my house as a rest stop before tearing it up at the track. Also after visiting me you can then go to another Inside Line fan near Thunderhill to the East. And from Thunder Hills you can take 80 up into the Sierras and end up in Reno. But before visiting me for some fun at Infineon go check out the famous Mazda Laguna Seca. So come stop by Martinez California. We can take the GT-R to Infineon, there are some great back roads we can take to get to the track. Of course these roads would add an extra 20 minutes to get to the race park but who cares you got a GT-R! Hope to see you guys around and visit.

I just read the other post that says that the trip will be 3/26-3/29. To add to my earlier post, it turns out that Firebird has Friday night street drags on 3/28. Street drags are awesome, and always include a couple Evo's, WRX's and some weekend warrior strip cars. I've even seen an all-electric rail run in the 11's out there and a father and son competing with each other in an AMG S and SL respectively. Could be fun! Oh, and they sell beer while the drags are running!
 
The route back up north through Sedona (AZ-89A) is beautiful and includes plenty of mountain roads with switchbacks, elevation changes and unbelievable scenery.

Could be too late but here goes the pitch. 40'something with petrol-head past in the UK, including a stunning silver V-Spec R33 GTR with close to 400hp.
  
I'm a CA based Brit who still still dreams of the unique blend of giant killer, smooth cruiser, grocery run qualities that my Skyline had. I sold it on a whim for a VX220 before moving over to US. I am not a crazy car thrasher or an inexperienced over-exuberant youth, but I do long for the annual run down to Le Mans, inclusive of mach XX on a certain toll roads.
  
Now I am a 40'something dad and living with the family 7 seater and a sensible Audi, I will probably never drive a car at 170mph again.
   
I still remember what it was like to drive the back roads from Cambridgeshire into Suffolk just for the hell of it on a Sunday AM. I also know that fast fun may rear it's head again as my 2.5 year old already knows most of his super cars, knows the badges of his favourites and can tell where the engine is in most important cars (in the rear for 911 of course).
  
Visit Redwood shores on the SF peninsula, we have plenty of flash motors around, and my wife cook stunning Korean & Japanese, but most of all; you will make a young and an older man very happy :-)

phillipmiasma has a great array of reasons why his recommendation is ideal. =)

Scott - Can you please find it in your heart to let me and my buddy get a look at the car in Santa Monica before your journey? (I am on my knees begging right now). Lunch at Boa or Sushi Roku? I will invite very attractive females to accompany us? Do you like blondes or brunettes?

Why me?
(1) I just got engaged and the GT-R was the first thing on our registry! Then I woke up.
(2) Check the viewing statistics: My eyeballs are glued to Insideline/Straightline every free moment. That's loyalty!
(3) I live at the perfect waypoint for your visit: San Francisco's Nob Hill. Can we get air over a hill like Steve McQueen? Probably not, but certainly a nice block to drive around.
(4)A funny and potentially unrelated story: My brother-in-law used to work at lowermybills.com, and I went to visit him one day. My jaw hit the floor when I saw that your offices were right next to his. I walked in and offered my services, "If you guys every want to write a piece about nanotechnology appearing in cars, that's my field, and I'd love to contribute." Your jaws dropped to the floor and everyone just left, not knowing what to say.
    
But in all seriousness, I hope you guys liked the suggestions I made for the driving route (another poster suggested adding Dragon's Tail - great idea!). I'm super super excited to read your rolling review. If there was any chance I could meet you in the flesh and sit behind the wheel, I would be bouncing off the rev limiter in my head. Just thinking about it gave me chills and a big smile.
  
So come on over!

come to jersey! Im sure you coudl find race tracks by Pennsylvania and upstate NY and Vermont! Plus you get a long drive all the way to the other side of the country!

Cerritos, CA 90703
 
I never drove a car with incredible brute force, and I never saw any GTR in person before either. It would be great to drive one in person and talk to you guys about cars, even for a little bit. My city is small, clean and peaceful, it needs a wakeup! Cerritos isn't far, please come by our town if you can!

Please come to Austin, TX! We have more curvy roads heading around to Mt. Bonnell and out towards Lago Vista than you can shake a stick at. Won't quite have the sights of the PCH, but TX Hill Country is where it is.
 
Plus, head down to 6th Street for an evening. You'll have the best time of your life.

San Francisco, CA!!! 94116!!!
 
Quiet neighborhood, smooth roads, near a park with a basketball court filled with teens that adore imports, and we have a Japanese toilet for you to use!

Slickersdrip - You aren't kidding. West Austin has the finest roads I've ever experienced. And that's saying a lot.
 
Devil's Backbone
HWY 620
Beecave Rd (2244)
HWY 2222
Capitol of Texas Highway
HWY 12
HWY 71
 
I'm sure I'm missing a few. Here's a vid of some of the things Austin has to offer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loo9jQDYzcI
(the best part is 2:55-3:40)

Hey I came to the unveiling of the red and silver car all the way from Moreno Valley! The least you could do is spend a day with me in Moreno Valley at the Nissan Dealership so I can get some street credit! I am working on putting together a car show there! Call me up if you are willing to come on out! 909-843-7453...Kev

Please come to East Long Beach CA, the good area! If you do, you'll give someone the chance to drive a car he could never afford, with a dream come true. My white 350Zis the little sister to the GT-R. The GT-R would look great next to my BMW K1200R Sport as a backdrop. Free Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach VIP PASSES!! COME ON ! Plus Im a cop so how can you get in trouble:)

Just three words, baby:
 
Maryland Blue Crabs

You should visit me so I can compare the GT-R against the Mercedes AMG's I drive every day as the AMG specialist at my dealership. Plus, my house is right next to Yosemite and that place makes for some spectacular backdrops. I also know the deserted roads where I take my clients on "hot demo drives" in the AMG's. Over 170 in the CLK63 Black Series on a freshly paved straight road with no traffic... Enticing enough?

You should visit me because I got pulled over yesterday for expired tags, they sat me on the curb and went through my entire car front to back looking for illegal stuff. For expired tags?
  
He also told me he followed me because I pulled my car (87 Celica) into a nice neighborhood. How messed up is that?
  
Anyway, I can't drive my car to work because they told me they'll impound it if they see me again. So a GT-R would be a way to get to the office in style. My commute is 20 miles up Pacific Coast Highway from Dana Point to Newport Beach. Nice stretch of road that is.
  
Oh, and my refrigerator broke, so you can't empty it. For the love of Godzilla, change my luck!

I hope it's not too late to ask...beg...give you my soul for a chance like this!
 
Come visit Washington D.C. one day so you can experience the GT-R's all wheel drive turbo power in some of the worst DC traffic ever!

You should come to Chicago for lots of reasons.
First because you miss your best and favorite intern ever (Austin).
Second, you guys "forgot" to at least email me when you were in town for the Chicago Auto Show.
Third, and most importantly, I left the greatest job ever working with you guys to be tortured indefinitely by studying.
Seriously, please come here. I've been going through withdrawal for too long. I need my car fix.
Say hi to everyone for me.

2 reasons.. 1.My car has been broken down with the number 3 cylinder blown,and me not having the means to fix it at the moment,sure could use a way to get to work :) and 2. I have never got to drive anything i would consider an actual performance vehicle...my current car is a 93 accord and you all can just see me bracing for the g's in that one..but i'm in Oklahoma City so stop by if im on the way.

Santa Fe NM
 
Come to Santa Fe NM through route 66 so we could really test this car through the winding mountain roads. There is also a nice stretch of road from Albuquerque to Grants that we could test the top speed on. There is nothing but desert through there. I'll even treat you to some great Southwestern food. You won't regret it!
 
p.s. I also know a guy with a Ferrari 430 that would probably be willing to come play with us.

Come visit me at work in Houston, TX. I work right down the street from a toll road and we can beat on the car there. During the day, there is hardly anyone on it. I frequently do 115+ in my '06 GS300. There is the occasional police officer out there so we will have to be careful. I can send you guys a video of the toll road during the day.

You should come to my house in Switzerland. :p
I would offer you some nice chocolate and show you some really nice streets where to push the throttle withouth concerning about police.....
What do you think?

If you guys end up getting an LT GT-R, you definately need to partake in the Gumball.