I've always said that C&D is BMW Fan-Boy Central. Need any further confirmation of this after this test? Not only winning, but winning by 15 points??? I mean...penalizing the GT-R 5 points because of it's back seats? And a further 1 point because there were no "manufacturers rebates"?? Nevermind that it beat or dominated both cars in nearly every single performance category. And another thing...who cares if the Z06 got beat by the 911 in a different test? Z06 should have been there for this test. It's a player in this category.
By using the criteria they used to score the victory for the M3, the IS-F, the C63 and the RS4 would have all "won" this test. As would other, cheaper cars. I mean...they weren't really using performance to determine the winner. Heck...a 135i or a G35 MAY have been able to win this test.
And as far as cost....the GT-R costs what...about $7,000 more than an M3? For all that extra performance? Enough said.
Here's a letter I received from someone today:
Dear Nissan,
We want to apologize for not having the GT-R win our last comparison. Please don't feel bad. The GT-R really is a great car but since BMW is secretly our parent company, they demanded that their M3 win another comparison. Actually, we are contractually obligated to have a BMW win at least four comparisons a year.
We did give Nissan the inside back cover and wrote a nice one-year update on the Altima. There are also a couple of complimentary articles about the Infiniti G35xS and the FX50S. Oh and by the way, that FX50S is an impressive ride but you really need to do something about the silly "bionic cheetah" moniker that you've attached to it.
We feel badly about placing the GT-R behind the slower M3. Even though it is slower in the quarter mile, 0-60 and around a track, it does have a bigger back seat and more useable trunk space.
And speaking of a bigger back seat and more useable trunk space, your GT-R totally demolished the Porsche 911 Turbo which is a worthless car. By "worthless" we mean it is an okay enough car, but Porsche doesn't spend enough money advertising in our magazine. When was the last time you saw a two-page ad for a 911 or an inside cover ad for the Boxster? I wish we could stop covering their lame cars altogether, but they've weaseled themselves into an important position in the automotive industry with all of their performance, history and heritage so we can't ignore them.
Enough about the third-place finisher, the over-powered 911 Turbo. We are here to apologize for that second place finish to the M3. If we were really honest, the M3 wouldn't have been in the comparison. They are in totally different classes.
This article is the first in a new series with cars competing out of their class. We think our advertisers will love this new marketing plan. It will give prestige to the lower end cars. Next month we will have a Nissan Rogue beating the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S. Just think how Nissan salesmen all over the country will be able to promote it as the "SUV that beat the Porsche Cayenne!"
The month after that, the Nissan Sentra will win our small car comparison vs. the Lotus Exige. Of course we need to keep our journalistic integrity so it will be the base Exige vs the Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V. The little Lotus won't stand a chance. I mean have you seen the back seat in an Exige? No, you haven't, because there isn't one. The trunk? Tiny! Rear doors? Nada!
The Sentra is obviously the superior car. A lot of automotive reporting outlets don't have the courage to compare an Exige to a Sentra, but we think it is time the world learns how good the Sentra is — or at least the SE-R Spec V version of the Sentra.
If you think about it, this will work out better for Nissan in the long run. The GT-R can withstand a second place finish to the benchmark BMW M3. Sorry, we are also contractually obligated to put the word "benchmark" at least once every time we write about BMW, and technically we are writing about them. Anyway, the first year of the GT-R is sold out, so a second place finish in our magazine isn't going to hurt GT-R sales.
Just think what the upcoming articles are going to do for your sales figures. You will have the GT-R to attract people to your dealerships. Moreover, once people are in your dealerships, you can show off the important things about cars, things like cup holders, trunk capacity and rear seat legroom. Ironically, those same features you have in other cars are what made the GT-R lose to the BMW M3 (and BMW's partial ownership in our little car rag).
In summary, we are truly sorry for the second place finish to the M3. We wanted to write it as a tie, but the Germans have no sense of humor and wouldn't allow it. We don't want this article to damage our relationship with Nissan. Please keep sending us GT-Rs; the Americans will keep buying it regardless of what we say.
Sincerely,
Car and Driver Magazine
