How do they make the GTR so cheap?!
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I'd venture to guess that none of you have worked in a mass manufacturing facility.
Ever see a machine that makes bolts?
Bolts cost less than nothing to make, but retail for 1000%.
A panhard rod that retails for $85 costs the manufacturer $1.
Ever see a machine that makes bolts?
Bolts cost less than nothing to make, but retail for 1000%.
A panhard rod that retails for $85 costs the manufacturer $1.
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Do you people think that it being Japanese built kept the price down as well?
But according to Top Gear, the motor and tranny is indeed built in a climate controlled room and is hand built. And the body isn't simply a G35 body, the lines and creases of the car was designed to funnel into the GTR's rear spoiler. So yeah, it may look like a G35, but it certainly has some technical tweaks in it. Plus the wheels were custom built as well...
But if you calculate everything for dollar for dollar amounts, it doesn't seem that the GTR is a very profitable venture.
But according to Top Gear, the motor and tranny is indeed built in a climate controlled room and is hand built. And the body isn't simply a G35 body, the lines and creases of the car was designed to funnel into the GTR's rear spoiler. So yeah, it may look like a G35, but it certainly has some technical tweaks in it. Plus the wheels were custom built as well...
But if you calculate everything for dollar for dollar amounts, it doesn't seem that the GTR is a very profitable venture.
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you have clearly enver owned a bimmer....
my 95 m3 was lightyears ahead of any other car i have owned in many ways. everything is really nicely thoughtout on those cars, down to organizing ignition wires and other minute details. all the little things like noise dampening in the wheel well(which my bugeye lacks) add up. weather or not it is worth it to you is up to you to decide, but take it from me, the quality is excellent. i have also had really good customer service in the dealerships. (they treat return customers well, dont know so much about potential customers)
my 95 m3 was lightyears ahead of any other car i have owned in many ways. everything is really nicely thoughtout on those cars, down to organizing ignition wires and other minute details. all the little things like noise dampening in the wheel well(which my bugeye lacks) add up. weather or not it is worth it to you is up to you to decide, but take it from me, the quality is excellent. i have also had really good customer service in the dealerships. (they treat return customers well, dont know so much about potential customers)
i'm not say they are not good cars. i'm saying for the money, there are other cars similar and better equipped for the same price. now, why people buy the base model bmw vs buying the top of the line competitor? you can say it's build quality, you can say it depends on the person, you can say whatever you want. but it's the name that sells the car.
example, hundai's optima, it's a nice car, comes with loads of stuff and build quality is pretty good but if it was priced like a BMW, would people buy it? no. why? because the hundai name is seen as a low company.
another example, the NSX [and other japanese sports cars (supra, 3000gt, rx7)], awesome cars, looks great, why didn't it sell well? most people don't want a 100k japanese/honda sports car. why? because it's the name. and also most people buy them kinda cars to be cool and get looks. if other people don't know what it is, then the person that owns it isn't going to look cool.
and we do own a bmw, thank you very much.
Last edited by RU-X; Dec 3, 2008 at 05:53 PM.
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Oh... bolts may be cheap but the machinery is not. They can charge more because not to many folks have the machinery in their garage to make perfect bolts in mass.
supply demand. name recognition. finish product.
It's like sports cards. It cost them an extra penny to make the insert cards but they make less of them and they're "inserts" therefore they're worth more than "regular" cards.
No one would pay $200k for a nissan regardless of its performance but someone will pay $300k for a ferrari regardless of its performance.
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GTR... built on a conveyor belt right along the G35 and G37s. Built in 200 minutes. About 12,000 units a year.
Most super cars are built in the hundred (enzo, GT3 RS, etc) or possibly 1 to 2000 range. Much more is hand built. Plants specialize in building certain parts of the process. Take the Scaglietti for example... it gets a computerized 450 point inspection on the body to make sure its perfect. BEFORE paint. All Ferraris get a 2 year unlimited mileage complete bumper to bumper warranty.
Most super cars are built in the hundred (enzo, GT3 RS, etc) or possibly 1 to 2000 range. Much more is hand built. Plants specialize in building certain parts of the process. Take the Scaglietti for example... it gets a computerized 450 point inspection on the body to make sure its perfect. BEFORE paint. All Ferraris get a 2 year unlimited mileage complete bumper to bumper warranty.
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i'm not say they are not good cars. i'm saying for the money, there are other cars similar and better equipped for the same price. now, why people buy the base model bmw vs buying the top of the line competitor? you can say it's build quality, you can say it depends on the person, you can say whatever you want. but it's the name that sells the car.
example, hundai's optima, it's a nice car, comes with loads of stuff and build quality is pretty good but if it was priced like a BMW, would people buy it? no. why? because the hundai name is seen as a low company.
another example, the NSX [and other japanese sports cars (supra, 3000gt, rx7)], awesome cars, looks great, why didn't it sell well? most people don't want a 100k japanese/honda sports car. why? because it's the name. and also most people buy them kinda cars to be cool and get looks. if other people don't know what it is, then the person that owns it isn't going to look cool.
and we do own a bmw, thank you very much.
example, hundai's optima, it's a nice car, comes with loads of stuff and build quality is pretty good but if it was priced like a BMW, would people buy it? no. why? because the hundai name is seen as a low company.
another example, the NSX [and other japanese sports cars (supra, 3000gt, rx7)], awesome cars, looks great, why didn't it sell well? most people don't want a 100k japanese/honda sports car. why? because it's the name. and also most people buy them kinda cars to be cool and get looks. if other people don't know what it is, then the person that owns it isn't going to look cool.
and we do own a bmw, thank you very much.
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The GT-R is a flagship car = no need to make much profit on the actual sale
The car is meant to promote the Nissan brand which is much more beneficial to Nissan than margin good profit margins on the GT-R itself.
It's also my understanding that the GT-R has a unique chassis that doesn't share anything with the FM platform (G35/350Z). This was something I read 3 years ago, but I've seen nothing else since then to prove otherwise.
The car is meant to promote the Nissan brand which is much more beneficial to Nissan than margin good profit margins on the GT-R itself.
It's also my understanding that the GT-R has a unique chassis that doesn't share anything with the FM platform (G35/350Z). This was something I read 3 years ago, but I've seen nothing else since then to prove otherwise.
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The GT-R is a flagship car = no need to make much profit on the actual sale
The car is meant to promote the Nissan brand which is much more beneficial to Nissan than margin good profit margins on the GT-R itself.
It's also my understanding that the GT-R has a unique chassis that doesn't share anything with the FM platform (G35/350Z). This was something I read 3 years ago, but I've seen nothing else since then to prove otherwise.
The car is meant to promote the Nissan brand which is much more beneficial to Nissan than margin good profit margins on the GT-R itself.
It's also my understanding that the GT-R has a unique chassis that doesn't share anything with the FM platform (G35/350Z). This was something I read 3 years ago, but I've seen nothing else since then to prove otherwise.
