Fifth Gear R35 Review

The British have seen it, driven it, and spoken. Apparently, they liked it.

Nissan Studies GT-R-Based Four Door

A senior Nissan source has confirmed the company is studying the possibility of producing a high-performance four-door sedan based on the exotic Nissan GT-R hardware. The source suggested the car may be sold as an Infiniti.

Producing a four-door GT-R is certainly feasible, though it wouldn't be cheap. Although the GT-R coupe is based on Nissan's flexible FM (front midship) platform, it is what one analyst calls "a major deviation" from that platform's architecture, to the point where it's known internally as PM (premium midship).

The PM platform could be stretched to allow an extra set of doors and useable rear passenger space, while keeping the existing suspension pickup points, powertrain mountings, and other sheetmetal. This would enable the four-door to share a lot of the GT-R's mechanical hardware, including the 480-horsepower twin-turbo 3.8-liter VR38 V-6 engine, all wheel drive, and the rear-mounted six-speed DSG-style auto-clutch transmission.

However a sedan version would require a new bodyside, plus expensive revisions to the carbon fiber intensive front structure, so while Nissan could save some money through component sharing with the GT-R, it's likely that a sedan variant would cost $3000 to $5000 more. One alternative would be to make the car with a conventional steel body (it would add weight, but Nissan would want the GT-R coupe to remain its performance flagship anyway).

The drawings here are purely illustrative; it's unlikely Nissan would retain too many GT-R cues on an Infiniti-badged car. Nissan knows a four-door GT-R would have about as much credibility in Japan as a four-door Corvette would here in the U.S. Furthermore, American and European buyers likely would balk at the idea of paying $85,000 for a sedan with Nissan badges. Making the car an Infiniti could help solve both problems, and it would give the brand the halo vehicle it lacks.

A high-tech, high-performance Infiniti sedan also could serve as a halo car for the expansion of Nissan's luxury brand into Europe, China, Japan, and other world markets. After dithering for a decade or more, Toyota has finally made Lexus a global brand, and its new IS-F sedan signals an entry into the premium high-performance segment dominated by Mercedes-Benz's AMG and BMW's M cars.

The significance of both moves won't have been lost on Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn.

Source: MotorTrend

Meeting up with friends feels great

Having met my friends from Perth, Edmund, Yeeshuang & Daniel, I really felt great. Most of them I can only probably meet once a year. Its a pity that Yunyen was in such a rush to return to Perth. Missed her during her vacation back here during Chinese New Year. Well, there will be other chances. All the best over there! Still haven met Dave yet though. He is probably busy.

Speaking of which, I haven meet any of my much older friends. Friends I had made before flying to Perth 3 years ago. Hope they haven forgotten me. Most of them are either still in University or already working. Time flies. I haven met older friends from Perth as well, those from Year 1 and 2. Hmmm... guess there is still time. Now I have to concentrate on getting my career started. Being a NEET is neat... ONLY if you are rich. Being a broke NEET is excruciating. I need money! I need to get myself an iPhone, a new desktop, Ultra-portable laptop, a PSP or PS3. And an RX8! ARGH! I am such a materialistic person. tsk tsk...

Speaking of RX-8, this year, the 8 gets a face lift. I am still deciding if I like the new or old look. But here are some pictures for you to decide yourself. The below pictures are fitted with Mazdaspeed Kit.

Awaiting Odex's answer

This article here in Straits Times caught my attention. Below is a direct quote. Will we get a reply from them? Lets wait and see.

Will Odex return money they demanded from alleged downloaders?

ACCORDING to Justice Woo Bih Li, Odex had no right to sue anime downloaders under Singapore's Copyright Act (ST, Jan 29) nor obtain the names of the alleged downloaders' (ST, Jan 30).

This is because Odex is neither a copyright owner nor an exclusive licensee for the anime involved.

This judgment implies that Odex's previous bold claims of having the authority to pursue, catch or even punish downloaders have been all false. In fact, Odex's actions may very well be illegal if this issue is pursued. Also, this gives rise to a critical implication.

The implication is that Odex has no right to even demand money from downloaders at all, unless they have downloaded Gundam Seed.

We all know about the large sum of money that Odex demanded from the alleged downloaders throughout last year. However, we haven't really heard much from Odex regarding the whereabouts of the money since Aug 31, 2007, have we?

Hence, I pose the million-dollar question to Odex: Is Odex going to continue to hoard all those ill-gotten profits they demanded from the alleged downloaders? Or will Odex honestly and dutifully return all the money?

It also just struck me that the methods which Odex employed in demanding money from downloaders share uncanny similarities with the methods that were employed by the phone scam artists last October, where victims were tricked into thinking that they had to pay up or face criminal charges although the scam artists did not have any legal authority to do so.

Reflecting on this entire fiasco, I strongly feel that laws should be put in place to prevent the repeat of a fiasco where unethical firms or individuals gain money through crafty means, such as the use of ingenious threats which take advantage of the people's lack of legal knowledge.

Otherwise, Singapore may very well become the environment where audacious crooks, who employ such methods, will breed and thrive in.