I wrote this article for the local paper. I didn't mention the GT because I didn't want to come across as tooting my own horn so to speak...
Teenage boys have life all figured out. Their filter of common sense and grasp of reality has yet to develop. The positive result of this is that they recognize things with beauty and brilliance without any thought of their negative sides. Their world then is another dimension, a world that those of us men in middle age only have a vague recollection.
Economic recession? Where is my I-Pod?
War in Iraq? Anyone seen my cell?
Presidential debate? Who’s left on Idol?
Do you really think they care about Angelina Jole’s role in world hunger or if Jessica Alba is a good actress? Of course not, teen boys pay attention to them for other reasons.
Their choice of cars shows the same trait.
What would they drive if given the choice of any car in the world?
Would it be a practical Volvo station wagon, a green Toyota Prius, or an economical Ford Fiesta? No, my guess is that a planet destroying Ferrari F-430 or a Dodge Viper SRT-10 fit the bill even though both are more expensive and complex than a Saturn 5 moon rocket and about as practical to own.
Nissan has recently placed a new entry into this land of make believe called the GTR. Every school-boy worth his salt knows that this is the Super-car for the 21st century. It is a limited edition all wheel drive sports car with a computer controlled suspension and drive train worthy of a Playstation 3. The track times of this car rival or beat almost any production car made at a price of only a small home (not a mansion like the million dollar Bugatti Veyron.)
This is not the first time Nissan (now a Mississippi company of sorts) has produced an exciting sports car that out performs cars many times its price. They first did it in 1971 with the first 240-Z. It too was an astonishing car. It was termed a “poor man’s Jag”, but unlike the British car, it actually worked. The biggest difference between the old Z and the GTR though is not the technology but the style of the cars. The old 240-Z was and is great looking and timeless, kind of like Marilyn Monroe. However the GTR, unlike the Italian supermodels… err I mean Italian supercars, just isn’t that pretty. Don’t get me wrong, it is attractive in an Uma Thurman kind of way but it looks ordinary. However, its out of this world performance gives it a free pass in the teenage Kingdom of Cool.
Of course the practicality of the GTR does leave something to be desired. I don’t think you really need a 480 horsepower twin turbo engine to go get a gallon of milk. That would be like forcing Paris Hilton to do your laundry. Even Nissan knows this is an exercise of fantasy and is even planning an electric car later this decade.
However, I don’t think you will be seeing any posters of any electric cars on the boys’ walls next to Angelina or Jessica any time soon. No, they will continue to dream of the Ferrari, the Viper or the GTR, things that make as much sense to them as Farrah Fawcett and the Porsche 917 made to me 35 years ago.
Oh and by the way, we had an energy crisis then too.
Teenage boys have life all figured out. Their filter of common sense and grasp of reality has yet to develop. The positive result of this is that they recognize things with beauty and brilliance without any thought of their negative sides. Their world then is another dimension, a world that those of us men in middle age only have a vague recollection.
Economic recession? Where is my I-Pod?
War in Iraq? Anyone seen my cell?
Presidential debate? Who’s left on Idol?
Do you really think they care about Angelina Jole’s role in world hunger or if Jessica Alba is a good actress? Of course not, teen boys pay attention to them for other reasons.
Their choice of cars shows the same trait.
What would they drive if given the choice of any car in the world?
Would it be a practical Volvo station wagon, a green Toyota Prius, or an economical Ford Fiesta? No, my guess is that a planet destroying Ferrari F-430 or a Dodge Viper SRT-10 fit the bill even though both are more expensive and complex than a Saturn 5 moon rocket and about as practical to own.
Nissan has recently placed a new entry into this land of make believe called the GTR. Every school-boy worth his salt knows that this is the Super-car for the 21st century. It is a limited edition all wheel drive sports car with a computer controlled suspension and drive train worthy of a Playstation 3. The track times of this car rival or beat almost any production car made at a price of only a small home (not a mansion like the million dollar Bugatti Veyron.)
This is not the first time Nissan (now a Mississippi company of sorts) has produced an exciting sports car that out performs cars many times its price. They first did it in 1971 with the first 240-Z. It too was an astonishing car. It was termed a “poor man’s Jag”, but unlike the British car, it actually worked. The biggest difference between the old Z and the GTR though is not the technology but the style of the cars. The old 240-Z was and is great looking and timeless, kind of like Marilyn Monroe. However the GTR, unlike the Italian supermodels… err I mean Italian supercars, just isn’t that pretty. Don’t get me wrong, it is attractive in an Uma Thurman kind of way but it looks ordinary. However, its out of this world performance gives it a free pass in the teenage Kingdom of Cool.
Of course the practicality of the GTR does leave something to be desired. I don’t think you really need a 480 horsepower twin turbo engine to go get a gallon of milk. That would be like forcing Paris Hilton to do your laundry. Even Nissan knows this is an exercise of fantasy and is even planning an electric car later this decade.
However, I don’t think you will be seeing any posters of any electric cars on the boys’ walls next to Angelina or Jessica any time soon. No, they will continue to dream of the Ferrari, the Viper or the GTR, things that make as much sense to them as Farrah Fawcett and the Porsche 917 made to me 35 years ago.
Oh and by the way, we had an energy crisis then too.
