East Bay Real Estate

Jim Walberg had the Nissan GT-R show up at his house last week!

OK, so, you remember my article late last year about the San Francisco Auto Show at the Moscone Center when the Nissan GT-R road ready race car was unveiled by Wally Burchfield - the Western U.S. Vice President for Nissan.  Well, Wally showed up at my house last week and asked if I would like to go for a ride.  I let him know that I was about to sit down for dinner, and maybe we could go for a ride the next day.  He said, “No, I think you will want to go for a ride right now because I drove up to your house with the Nissan GT-R and I would like to have you enjoy a test drive.”  So, dinner was immediately postponed.  In spite of oil prices people are standing in BIG lines to buy this car!

I walked out to my driveway and I was blown away that this amazing race car that Nissan has now built for consumers was sitting right in front of my house.  You need to promise not to tell the police, but I suggested we drive out to Highland Road, off Camino Tassajara and see what it could do on this road of curves and bumps.  Oh, my gosh, what a ride we had.  The GT-R never had it’s rear end loosen up, it never left the road in spite of the bumps, and we never got out of 4^th gear with two more gears to go.  Wally let me know that the car actually tops out at 198 MPH, and goes from 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds!  Holy Moly, what a car they have built for the road!!!

Wally had the car because of the annual Z Rally that was at Blackhawk Plaza.  He parked it at the Blackhawk Car Museum for the day and then brought it out for the Z Rally - sponsored by Z Owners Of Northern California.  So, I stopped by the Z Rally on Saturday, took some photos and spoke with several of the ZONC members - Stuart and Sandra Gates, and Lee Woolfolk, to see what their impressions were of the race car that is now available for street driving - at a minimum cost of $70,000 with only 2,000 being sold in the U.S this year.  Because of the small amount of cars being delivered to the U.S. the price is rising over the $100,000 mark.  Wally took some of them for test drives.  Here is one of the quotes of the passengers - Lee Woolfolk, “Hi Wally, I was very impressed by the way the GTR launched when the accelerator petal is floored.  The rear tires gave a little hint of wheel spin and we were off. The computer does a fantastic job of channeling the excess power to the front wheels. Stuart and I both drive Twin Turbo 300 ZX’s, mine is modified with slightly larger turbo’s and when they come on boost I get instant wheel spin in the lower gears making it harder to control. This car seems so much easier to drive at the limit and anywhere in between.  Handling and engine info is in a league all its own. Very impressive car and well worth the money. Nissan scored a home run! Now how can I put one in my garage!!!

Wally also gave me the marketing memo on the GT-R, “Nissan created the all-new Nissan GT-R, which offers advanced high performance for secure and enjoyable driving by minimizing the effects of climatic, road condition or driving technique limitations. The Nissan GT-R offers ultimate performance for virtually every driving situation - whether it be the Nurburgring circuit, to snow, rain or urban areas - all manageable by the GT-R driver through advanced technology and driving dynamics.

“The Nissan GT-R’s unique characteristics are instilled not just in the vehicle’s design, but also through a specialized production process. Carbon fiber, aluminum and steel components are assembled with a special high-precision process, which includes a series of vibration tests. Engines and transmissions are assembled by a single craftsman in a “clean room” environment and upon completion, every GT-R undergoes a battery of comprehensive tests to ensure the proper operation of all vehicle components.”

You also may remember that Wally was the one that gave me the scoop on the Nissan Rogue that came out last year.  It is so fun to have clients who are involved in fun companies.  Nissan is on a roll with it’s amazing high performance, fuel efficient, and just plain fun cars.  Check out your local Nissan dealers for more information.

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