Palo Alto Concours D'elegance 2010

Sunday, June 27th was the forty-fourth annual Palo Alto Concours D’elegance. It was another scorching hot event just like last year, covered in my column from July 3rd, 2009. And again, for $20 prior to the show date, it’s a bargain. Besides that, seeing five street cars I’ve never seen in person is very memorable as well. In my opinion the hot sunshine made the colors even more vibrant.

This year Cadillac and Mercedes Benz were the featured marques which is a great combination. There is a tremendous amount of history between the two, but there were standouts past and present. The Gullwing Mercedes are timeless classics. 1930’s era V-16 Cadillacs have a certain magic about them as do many Concours quality cars from that era. And yes, the first view in person of the new SLS was a treat. It seems small compared to the McLaren parked next to it and the rear styling is a little weak in my opinion.

There were dealers and manufacturers that had their own cars on display too. Sure enough, the CTS Coupe was there with big doors, big butt, and unique styling. I don’t think silver is a good color for it due to the slab sides. The interior is quite nice however.

A white Lotus Evora was also present and looked quite stunning and more polished than the Tesla. A comparison is warranted since the body and chassis is from an extensively re-worked and lengthened Lotus.

Aston Martin had their Rapide 4-door. Dennis Dardinelli, craftsman of dardanellidesign.com exclaimed, “That’s bitchin!” upon approaching it. It really is a stunner with sports car styling. A big V-12 engine producing 470hp with a 6-speed automatic means adequate power. It’s quite a bit slower than the Porsche Panamera Turbo, but looks far better from any angle.

The Fisker Karma stole the show in my opinion. This 4-door plug-in hybrid has curves that are nearly R-rated. It made the Aston Martin Rapide look tame. Interestingly, Henrik Fisker used to be the stylist at Aston Martin and for less than one-half the price of the Rapide, this car could change everything. Its interior nearly matches the exterior. Charging is done via plug-in or by a GM source 2.0 liter 4-cylinder turbo. This thing re-defines 4-door styling and must be seen in person to appreciate. Fisker could sell these as rolling chassis for those wanting internal combustion performance and still do well.

Other highlights include retired race cars in the “Gallery of Greats”, the “Green Cars” exhibit which had only two entrants worthy of the parking on the grass at this event (see above) plus a Tesla Roadster Sport. Other displays included motorcycles with sidecars including a wheelchair bound special, ever-present and gorgeous Ferraris, Emergency and Police vehicles, and a boat display with some wood boats.

This is show is one of the best, covered parking for many, excellent staff and vehicle variety, food and professionalism. The not-so-hot parts were the corral for non-judged cars was particularly weak versus past years, easily eclipsed by the cars for sale. Some of the vehicles were parked too close together, almost discouraging looking inside and behind them. Those views should not be missed either.

Be sure to check out their website for all the information you could possibly want about the show and put the future shows on your calendar.

Nissan GT-R Review and Test Drive - Driving the Beast: Part 2 of 2

Click here for Part 1: Background and Interior Impressions

Driving The Beast:
It whirs and clicks. “Mechanical” is the description that comes to mind over and over. You hear the whirring of the engine and robotic clicks of the dual clutch transmission behind you. I found it pretty cool, conveying its operations although the owner was talking about adding sound insulation.

Almost mind blowing was the way it rockets out of turns with no drama. It was simply uncanny and obscene how early and how hard it could accelerate right after the apex. No hint of oversteer or drift. At full throttle in the less aggressive drive mode setting, the shifts feel like it’s from an automatic transmission.

It’s very large yet the impression given in the turns is that it cannot be rocked when parked if you push it from the side. It’s as if the suspension tolerances are so tight that there is no slop in lateral movement. The ride is quite firm in the sport mode and the pogo effect can be faintly detected but isn’t intrusive. When hitting bumps, it’s as if they are minimized in height and duration and the tire is immediately back to the level surface. Just like any other car, yet seemingly far more responsive.

The steering wheel is small and reminded me of the Lotus Elise I drove with less feedback but very quick ratio. There are plenty of controls on the wheel as well. Despite its feel and not being used to the car and keeping its size in mind, I used the center lane as my reference point, never the right side.

In automatic mode driving in traffic works nicely. Downshifting is fun but the throttle blips are quiet with the stock exhaust and intake. One thing to keep in mind, never manually downshift from 2nd to 1st when coming to a stop – it’s a jerky transition like a sloppily driven manual if timed incorrectly.

The Rest:
Doing a walk around for photos at the summit of Skyline and Highway 9, the owner’s assertion that it’s a “Dude Magnet” was proven. A couple of admirers walked over to check it out and compliment it. After sitting in it and now taking a look at it, it’s like an Infiniti G37 Coupe on growth hormone. Or perhaps steroids, take your pick. It is quite purposeful in design, more militant and not curvy or particularly sexy. It looks good in white and ominous in black.

The G37 Coupe comparison brings up an interesting point. I feel this car should have been sold as an Infiniti. It is more suited to the Infiniti brand. Lexus has race cars, why shouldn’t Infiniti have a performance flagship? The 370Z should carry that banner with Nissan.

Those vents in the middle of the hood are not fake. They actually direct air downward towards the turbos to keep them cool. In fact, even in the heat and fairly aggressive driving the coolant temp stayed around 183 degrees. I found this quite interesting in this day of 200+ degree emission compliant thermostats. And the transmission oil temps never climbed either.

I asked to him to “pop the hatch” assuming the shape dictated a hatchback. I was wrong, it’s a trunk. Oddly shaped, it reminded me of the Camaro. It’s seems rather deep but doesn’t go very far back towards the rear seats.

The GT-R isn’t a sports car although it performs like one. It’s really a Grand Tourer. I would say it makes a better daily driver than the non-twin clutch Porsche 911 Twin Turbo. It is quieter, seems to have more cargo capacity and utilitarian. However it isn’t as intimate or as exotic. The 911 Twin Turbo may not show well vs. the Italian exotics, but it is sexier looking than the GT-R. I would reserve judgment about the dual- clutch 911 TT though. That transmission and the recent suspension revisions would put it back in 1st place in my mind.

So was launch control ever used? No, he has never used launch control. In my estimate, that means consistent low 1.9x 60fts at the drag strip rather than 1.8s. Not really a big deal.

Will it turn a 7:29 at the infamous Nurburgring in Germany? Well, it will definitely beat a non-PDK transmission 911 Twin Turbo. It should be noted that Randy Pobst ran a low 1:40.453 at Laguna Seca when testing with Motor Trend. Compare that to some other cars at Fastlaps.com and the pecking order seems representative.

It’s an amazing car, and perhaps it doesn’t have a soul as some say. What it does have, if one were attribute an organic quality, is personality.

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Have a question about cars you would like answered? Want to know about performance, racing, modifying, shopping, makes, models, events, etc. Reach me here: AskRobAboutCars@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer your question and publish it here on Examiner.com!

Nissan GT-R Review and Test Drive: Part 1 of 2

Click here for Part 2 of 2: Driving the Beast

There were quite a few surprises driving the awesome and controversial Nissan GT-R. Having the opportunity to drive one on a twisty mountain road favored by motorcyclists was a thrill. It’s very “mechanical”, quite large and my impression more of a competitor to the Audi R8 than the Porsche 911 Twin Turbo.

Background: This 2010 model has about 2000 miles on it. The MSRP was over $80,000. It features a 6-speed dual clutch paddle-shift rear transaxle. The 3.8 liter twin-turbo V-6 produces 485 hp at 6400rpm and 434 ft. lbs of torque at 3200 rpm. Known for consistent deep 3-second 0-60mph blasts and high 11-second quarter mile times, the biggest controversy was the factory reported Nurburgring time of 7:29, beating far lighter, 600 hp plus cars like the Porsche Carrera GT and Pagani Zonda F.

The owner has had some notable cars in the past and is no stranger to track days. Cars like a track prepped Acura NSX, two E46 BMW M3s, and an ’04 Porsche 911 GT3. Currently besides the Nissan is a ’08 Porsche Cayman. He knows his cars.

Interior Impressions:
The first thing noticed is the deep, very supportive seats although I found myself sitting rather high up; almost oddly so for a performance car. The seats have an intuitive rotating and sliding control for electric motor adjustments. The door armrest and side panel is deeply padded and very comfortable. Looking outward, the visibility is very good, partially due to the high seating position. Even the race car in Speed GT seems to have a very high seating position. However due to the width and design, despite the overall visibility it’s hard to place the outer edge of the car during my brief time with it.

The rear seats are deep, but not a lot of leg room. It’s really more of a 3-seater like many smaller 2+2 coupes. The legroom is behind the passenger but the driver’s seat once adjusted pretty much eliminates a 4th passenger option.

Gauges are always welcome and the driver configurable display is a real treat. Information in the custom configuration set by the owner was showing boost level, engine oil temp, oil pressure, coolant temp, transmission oil temp and transmission oil pressure. It would take time to get used to reading them quickly but it’s great to have that information.

Telescoping steering is intuitively found but the tilt function is not. Believe it or not, a look at the owner’s manual was needed. Turns out the levers are next to each other. Go figure.

Now it was time to drive it, detailed in Part 2 of 2.

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Have a question about cars you would like answered? Want to know about performance, racing, modifying, shopping, makes, models, events, etc. Reach me here: AskRobAboutCars@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer your question and publish it here on Examiner.com!