dcrooke

http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/co.../culture-clash

I don't buy their desultory rag, but I was in an airport the other day and saw a GT-R on the cover, and so I thumbed through it, and was incensed to find that they put the GT-R last among inferior and overpriced machinery. I bought the magazine just so I could read it in detail and pick apart their "analysis".

Below is the response I sent them today, just for amusement of all here. Needless to say, they won't publish anything that shows up their obvious bias, but I thought you'd get a laugh ....

----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Dave Crooke
To: Letters to the Editor: Road and Track <RTLettersOnline@hfmus.com>
Subject: Not Hampered By Data


The quote is from my wife's favorite professor. I have a few points in response to your recent comparo of the 911 turbo, ZR-1 and GT-R.

1. What was the objective? You say "ultimate comparo", but against what standard?

2. If I did the math right, the GT-R was relegated to 3rd place behind the ZR-1 due to (e.g.) insufficient trunk space. Seriously?

3. Given that you totally ignored price, you should have had the king of the "budget" supercar category in there ... an Audi R8.

4. Given that, for most of us, price matters, you should have been honest and given the laurels to the Nissan. I would (and did) choose a (used) GT-R over the other two anyway, but candidly I couldn't have afforded a ZR-1 or a 911 turbo, nor the R8 that I might have considered. Why not test the GT-R against a 911S and a Z06 and make it more fair?

5. The GT-R placed first in the performance tests. It would also have placed first against an R8.

6. The GT-R is not a track car, it's a World Rally Car in a tuxedo. Repeat the test on a closed road asphalt stage where there is more to do behind the wheel, and no kitty litter to catch your mistakes, and see which one has the best "driver involvement" :-) I've seen the Top Gear ZR-1 vs R8 test [link], and the ZR-1 looked downright annoying to drive for more than 10 minutes.

7. If you still think the new 911 turbo is that good, I have one word for you, and it's German: Nordschleife. Invite the boys from Stuttgart to their own hallowed ground, and see if they can wring a 7:27 out of it.

Disclaimer: I have an elderly modded A6 2.7T as my daily driver, and on long trips, we take the wife's E430, so the GT-R's uncivilized noise level on the highway never bothers me. I would never park the GT-R at the local supermarket, or let the dog in it with muddy paws. All 3 of our cars were bought used, and all 3 cars combined cost less to own than a current model ZR-1, new or used, and none has a crappy Cavalier interior and stereo :-)

I know you won't print this, but I do have fun at the thought of you rationalizing it around the office :-)

Enjoy,

Dave Crooke
Austin, Texas

CR8-10_GTR

Hey thanks for sharing this, I love their description of "thrilling rush" for the 911 and "sheer frightfulness" of the ZR1, what a joke. I sure as heck don't get anything less on my GTR. And the steering control of the GTR makes it "easier" to control? That was the whole point. After seeing the close numbers on the track and prices of each, I really don't understand why they don't rate GTR number 1 for performance vs. dollar value. I'd like to see them compare 0-60 times...