Nissan faces uphill drive with new sports car

Once, while traveling out of town in a $120,000 V-12 BMW test car whose transmission became schizophrenic on a holiday weekend, the dealer I limped in to offered to give me the new one like it on his lot as a make-good. That’s service. And it is the kind of treatment Porsche 911, Audi R8, Lamborghini Gallardo, Aston Martin Vantage and Ferrari F430 customers expect.

Not to worry, says Nissan. People buy $90,000 Vipers and $75,000 Corvettes in dingy Dodge and crummy Chevy showrooms every day. At $70,000 the 473-horsepower GT-R represents such a performance bargain customers will overlook the differences between a Nissan dealer and a Porsche showroom, contends Bosley.

Maybe, but here’s the thing — the Italian marble-floored waiting room in the service area and deferential treatment by the dealer are part of the package these customers are buying. Without those trimmings, they aren’t getting the full fantasy experience they paid for. Charities don’t auction dates with celebrity impersonators, they auction dates with celebrities. Customers want to be somebody important, even if they are only important to their car dealer.

And sure, Corvette and Viper owners deal with these very issues. But those guys are a different psychographic than the import supercar drivers. Many buyers of domestic sports cars were blue collar at some point in time. Maybe now they own the landscaping business rather than planting trees themselves, but they still identify with the blue collar employees at the Chevy and Dodge dealers.

A guy on the way to buy a Gallardo isn’t going to be impressed with the 50 Nissan Versa economy cars lined up in front of the dealer when he stops to check out the GT-R, and he’s not going to identify with the dealer’s staff.

While the company hasn’t finalized the plans, Nissan will sell GT-Rs only though those dealers who decide to meet the strict requirements for supporting the car properly, reports Bosley.

“We want this customer to have a special experience when they come in,” he said, as the goal is for top managers to greet and work with GT-R customers. “We want to make sure we have very experienced people in the dealership dealing with these people.”

The company should go further, insisting that only genuine sports car nuts and expert drivers sell the GT-R, said Phillipi, suggesting Nissan makes sure everybody working the floor spends one or two days in the Skip Barber (racing) school.

Initially, at least, the car’s specifications will sell all of the GT-Rs Nissan can build. The company can build as many as 1,000 each month, but the global demand for an all-wheel-drive twin-turbo 473 horsepower supercar for about $70,000 will surely exceed supply initially.

But to sustain sales Nissan will need to win over its Porsche-driving target customers. The German car giant tells enthusiasts that there is no substitute, and BMW claims to be the Ultimate Driving Machine. Nissan will need to not only decide what Nissan ownership means, but also convince consumers to buy into that philosophy, or the GT-R risks following the Subaru SVX, Acura NSX, Toyota Supra twin-turbo and Mazda RX-7 twin-turbo into history as expensive Japanese supercars with too little heritage to drive sales among image-conscious customers who can afford the authentic old-world article.

MORE FROM AUTOS

Autos Section Front

The best and worst used cars you can buy Review: Audi R8, precision meets flair Motor Trend names Ram truck of the year GM, Chrysler used bailout funds for daily costs GM continues shake up of top management Auto industry turns to Europe for direction Volkswagen to buy 20 percent of Suzuki Congress tries to broker auto dealerships deal Mercury tops list in customer satisfaction Jaguar named top luxury brand for satisfaction Autos Section Front   Add Autos headlines to your news reader: