Car and Driver makes the GT-R look bad?

[Bru]

From the CarDomain Blog:

This Is Why We Sucked: Car and Driver Does a Bunch of Crying About Skyline GT-R's One Lap Performance

Tony Swan of Car and Driver, who ran the Nissan GT-R in this year's One Lap of America, has apparently gotten a lot of static about finishing "only" 11th in the overall standings and feels understandably prevailed upon to justify the much-hyped supercar's performance. But oddly, the article that appears for this purpose on the Car and Driver website mostly just comes across as a load of whiny diapers. Though he blames everything from tires to computer technology, much of the apologia centers on the "fateful" autocross challenge at BeaveRun, where Tony got confused and went off course, resulting in a DNF and a minor tantrum by the driver, who reportedly stormed off in a huff, gunning the GT-R through a paddock populated by spectators. Probably not his proudest moment, but in the ensuing drama, it nonetheless became the spearhead for a movement to award a bunch of "bonus points" to those who failed to negotiate the autocross course successfully. Fortunately, common sense eventually prevailed, with the organizers confirming that a DNF is a DNF and that it wasn't in the spirit of the event to compensate teams for poor performance. Seems perfectly reasonable, though Tony apparently has a different sense of how it all went down. It's clear that he's endeavoring to be candid and honest about what happened, but having a GT-R fall on its face in multiple events turns out to be not the easiest thing to explain away. Read Tony's article here to decide for yourself if he gives a satisfactory defense of the GT-R's finish.

The Article: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews..._lap_of_america_we_race_a_nissan_gt_r_feature

Click to read more...

 

[Mook]

i JUST finished reading that..weeeeeeeeird...these guys sound like they've never been on a road course or track, ever....its funny that in their very own magazine they were nailing mid 11 1/4 mile times and 3.2 0-60s

 

[Bru]

I know, WTF?

Did you catch the line about the dragstrip,

"I should also report that my elapsed time in the quarter-mile run—12.8 seconds—was more than a second slower than expectations. This was due to my inability to make the launch control work in a drag-strip environment, which entails creeping up to the staging lights at the starting line."

He's trying to blame the poor times on the "drag strip environment" which is only one of the most focused-upon specs in their magazine and road tests, and he doesn't know what to do? weak.

 

[Bru]

Comment from the blog: "why does this idiot work for a car magazine if he really was a big enough dick to go racing through the pits they should fire him he should go work for pampers monthly"

 

[fretburnr]

Once again proof: having a great car does not make you a great driver.

Even if it's loaded with electronics and an automatic trans to make it easier, a mediocre pilot still gets mediocre results.

 

[Bru]

Crap in = crap out

 

[Stink Star]

i could kind of see where he is coming from with the drag strip comment... anybody here who has ever been to the drag strip knows that you prettymuch just stage up and go....the whole process from pulling up to the 2nd staging light to the green light is mabye what? 3 or 4 seconds... if you have to pull up and worry about flipping this switch and holding that switch to engage the launch mode, i could see that being a serious problem in a realistic drag strip enviornment.... if you are just making a solo run, then who cares? just take all the time you want, but if you are racing heads up its a different story

 

[Poopshinanigans]

This is odd being that Tony Swam knows his way around race tracks. But he is also old and as we all know old age + technology= crapped depends. He probably couldn't figure it all out to make the most of it.

 

[bluzohh6]

gtr is crap the magazines lie

 

[K0R3AN]

haha. i'll just pretend like i didn't read that, and continue to pursue purchasing this car... when i have the money.