GTP Cool Wall: 1997-1998 Nissan R390 GT1 Road Car

[SlipZtrEm]

I suppose I'm not so great at predicting what the average person would think, or how they would judge a car. But I'm still a little confused. You say we're supposed to imagine how people would react, but you also say it's uncool because you judge the car on how rare it is? Would the average person really care at all if a car was rare, so long as they at least saw it at all? As far as I'm concerned rarity just reduces the sample size of people who get to judge the car, it doesn't change their judgement.

Chances are people might not think it's cool or uncool on immediate view: probably because they'd have no idea what it is. Show them the interior, the badge on the front, and the price, and they'll likely make a decision. It wouldn't do well on the cafe test, either. I can't picture someone parking this up and getting out looking half as cool as if they had just done the same in an E-Type, old Aston, or 250 Lusso, I know that much.

The Walmart argument makes no sense to me. Nissan has made sports cars for their entire history. The GT-R is an icon which is well known to the general public. No one judges the GT-R poorly because Nissan also makes the Micra. Just like no one judges the Mustang poorly because they also make the Focus and Mondeo, thus preventing them from accepting the Ford GT as a real performance car. Just like nobody laughs off the NSX because it's made by the same people that make the Civic and Accord. Maybe if it was a Kia you'd have a more valid point.

Nissan has made sports cars for its entire history, sort of. They're not a sports car company, for sure, and a great many of their best performance cars are unknown to the general population here, because they were never sold here. The GT-R sells a few thousand a year in North America (if that, these days), and the only acknowledgements I've ever heard relating to it from non-car people tend to be centered around the heavy handed design or the fact it's a six-digit Datsun.

Lastly, the car looks like a race car. There aren't many cars like that. For that fact alone I really have to imagine the average person would at least be impressed by the way it looks driving down the street (let's assume there's no speed bumps around). It's eye catching, unusual, and in my opinion, not ugly. Would people roll their eyes and move on? Probably. But they do that with anything that looks vaguely expensive, and it's more a judgement of the person than the car.

There aren't many cars like that on the street because you look like a right canoe driving around in a race car.

I don't know really. I guess I just can't picture the extreme negative reaction you imagine, because these people who supposedly don't care about cars apparently care a lot about what brand it's from and how well it raced. Just doesn't seem realistic to me.

If you don't believe brands play a huge, huge part in perception, head to your local Apple store.

 

[mustafur]

You guys are too indepth, going indepth is seriously uncool.

The brand may make a part of it, but the car itself is still.more important.

 

[dylansan]

Honestly, well said Slip. I'm just looking for some consistency and you seem to have found it.

Chances are people might not think it's cool or uncool on immediate view: probably because they'd have no idea what it is. Show them the interior, the badge on the front, and the price, and they'll likely make a decision. It wouldn't do well on the cafe test, either. I can't picture someone parking this up and getting out looking half as cool as if they had just done the same in an E-Type, old Aston, or 250 Lusso, I know that much.

So they wouldn't care about its performance, nor would they care about its race losses. That sounds more like what I'd expect from people.

Nissan has made sports cars for its entire history, sort of. They're not a sports car company, for sure, and a great many of their best performance cars are unknown to the general population here, because they were never sold here. The GT-R sells a few thousand a year in North America (if that, these days), and the only acknowledgements I've ever heard relating to it from non-car people tend to be centered around the heavy handed design or the fact it's a six-digit Datsun.

I haven't had that experience, but I would think the GT-R and Z would at least improve the Nissan image in some way, rather than being entirely dragged down by the rest of their lineup.

There aren't many cars like that on the street because you look like a right canoe driving around in a race car.

I can't help but feel the central seat in the F1 is somehow more reminiscent of a canoe. Though I can't find any videos of people stepping out of one at a cafe, I did find this... (3:35)

If you don't believe brands play a huge, huge part in perception, head to your local Apple store.

It certainly does, but if I were to place Nissan on this scale I would put it squarely on "Meh" with Mitsubishi and Toyota below it in Uncool territory, and Hyundai and Buick in SU land. Nissan's commuter cars just aren't as well known as the Civic or Corolla, so I think people tend not to form strong opinions about them, especially now with the GT-R.

You guys are too indepth, going indepth is seriously uncool.

Good thing we're not up for a vote then.

Discussion is interesting. Not cool. But who cares.

 

[LivingWithGames]

It's what we call a joke.

The fact is that this car needs to be explained to 99% of people and that's not cool. The explanation itself is seriously uncool. It's based on a failed racing car, a super car made by Nissan, and most of its following know it from a video game.

A McLaren F1 is more well known and can be explained like this "It was made to be the ultimate sports car using the cutting edge of technology and it was the fastest car in the world for years and the driver sits in the middle. Neat huh?"

And me that I voted cool before. I, for once, agree with you.

 

[Xilor]

Looks as if Nissan took a McLaren F1 and made it worse.

It might have been mildly cool had Nissan actually put it in production, as it would have been the fastest Japanese car ever produced at the time if I'm not mistaken? But they haven't so I'll go with Uncool.

 

[All Your Base]

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