scathing

Most performance cars suffer major depreciation. They don't hold their value like European sedans, or even reasonably economical and reliable hatchbacks. I look at the extra depreciation on my sports coupe (over a regular sedan, had I bought one) as a part of my entertainment budget. I don't go out and get pissed. I don't do drugs. I hardly go to the movies, theatre, clubs, or whatever it is people who don't drive do in their spare time. I know guys who will spend $50+ every weekend on the piss down at the pub, not including cab fares home (lets say another $40, and round it off to $100). What if you go pilling and paying entry into a club every weekend? It probably costs as much (if not more)? At $100 a week, that's $5200 a year. And if you've got some kind of runabout, like a Corolla or Civic, while your depreciation won't be as bad as a 10 year old grey import its still there. So you're not that much worse off than being a "normal" person. You make your choices about the lifestyle you want to lead, and where your priorities lie.

Skoda build quality used to be shit too. As did Lamborghini's. That was until Volkswagen took over them, and enforced their quality control onto those companies. The Veyron is no different. Brand name history mean almost nothing these days in terms of quality. These days you can expect your Ferrari to spend less time in the workshop than on the road (unheard of back in the 80's), and a Mercedes Benz is no longer built to outlast the pyramids.

Yep. That's why I said nominally legal. At the very least, its left hand drive only option makes it non street legal. The Veyron is street legal in Europe. Will your 1000hp Skyline be? Will the engine be as flexible? Will it be as drivable around town as it is flat out?Will it meet European emissions tests? And I think that its very possible for cars to be stable at 400km/hr and 10cm off the ground, if the aero and suspension is done correctly. It used to be improbable that cars could be stable at 200km/hr - most modern sports cars will do that easily. Just because you don't think its possible doesn't mean its not so. Its possible you have a small mind.

CAMS are notoriously inconsistent when it comes to answering their mail. When I applied for my L2S I got it back in 2 weeks. I know some guys who had to wait 3 months. After multiple calls, including a "we never got your forms" that they miraculously found later, it was a complete pain.

Will whatever you build be nominally street legal? Will it run on standard pump fuel? Will it be stable at 400km/hr? Will it be able to be able to do it all day (assuming you can afford to refuel it), in the middle of the desert? Will the car's handling be progressive and benign enough to cope with a range of potential driver skill? Are you building it from a Skyline base car, and therefore restricted in the shape (and therefore aerodynamics) that you are not permitted to modify extensively? Can you do me a production run, with a consistent build quality across every car and a full warranty? The Veyron does all these things. Anyone who thinks that the Veyron is anything less than a masterpiece of engineering has no idea how much effort it takes to build any car that will go as fast as the Veyron does consistently, let alone to production quality.

The standard Ferrari Enzo not good enough for you? Why not have it customised by Pininfarina. And an interview with the owner.

Its badged as a Nissan Skyline. I don't think Infiniti is available anywhere but the US.

I'd be considering the "or something". Have a chat with Otomoto - to my knowledge they're the official Bee*R importers in Australia, and I know their R32 sedan has the B5's on them.

Skylines down here are a dime a dozen, but in the US they've got novelty value. Thanks to Gran Turismo everyone knows about the Skyline GT-R in the US, but you pretty much never see them anywhere. I've seen quite a few V35 Skyliness badged down here as Infinitis (even though they're RHD), once again because its "different".

Those are hot rims.

The general rule of thumb is that you lose around 5% power going from petrol to LPG. Not sure if its the same for turbo cars, since most people who do it tend to run NA engines. If it burns cooler at a higher octane, you can always offset this by running more boost.

Not all of them. http://www.350z-tech.com/forums/index.php?...c=15200&st= (Most people voted to put Skyline badges on the G35)

I've bought a couple of sets of tyres off them (their wheels aren't my thing). These days I try to borrow a mate's beat-up old van and pick the tyres up, to be fitted elsewhere. They couldn't balance a wheel or align the suspension to save their lives, so I don't want to get browbeaten into paying them to do something I know they can't do adequately. The other problem is they lie. You ask them if they got tyres in a certain size and they'll say yes, but if you show up there's no guarantee they will have them. The tyres are shit cheap, which is the only reason why I go.

When is Nissan going to release their ad mentioning how the VQ has been in the "Top 10 engines" awards over a decade.

The other thing is that they actually pay import duties and GST on goods. And when I say "they", I of course mean "you". Certain other brokers, who will remain nameless, do their best to avoid you having to pay said monies so the perceived cost is less and so their business increases. That's why they can afford to sell you stuff so much cheaper than PowerPlay, because they don't have the same "overheads". The responsibility for meeting Customs requirements is up to you. You can try blame the broker for not telling you or including it in the purchase cost, but ultimately when the taxman goes hunting you will be the target. Whether they will prosecute you for evading to payment of duties on top of making you pay what is owed to the government is something I am not quite as familiar with. You take your chances....

Its a nice engine. Its got a great midrange and if you put decent pipes on the intake and exhaust you can get a reasonable top-end as well. A lot of the interviews I've seen with American tuners say its designed well in terms of efficiency and flow. The only thing that really lets it down is the relatively weak bottom end from the factory. The most powerful VQ I've heard about is in a 350Z funny car that makes 1700hp. I was watching a BMI recently, and they drove one of the 350Zs they prepped for Pikes Peak that runs a stock RB26DETT with a full ATTESSA drivetrain. The driver was bitching about its lack of torque.

And part 2: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=64...34507&q=bmi

Lookee what I found: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=76...89965&q=bmi I was wondering why no-one had linked to it.

This will further convince Jeremy Clarkson that the VQ is a Renault engine. Great.

Got types to go with those brands?

They'll probably find the Porsche the more rounded car, or have better "feel" or something. I just want to know, when they both come out, how fast both of them go around the Nurburgring in full production trim. No mods at all. I even want the spare tyre (or can of goop) in the boot, and the service manual in the glovebox. Preferably with the same driver, and someone that knows the 'ring.....like Sabine Schmidt (who owes her financial allegance to BMW, not Porsche or Nissan) so improved track knowledge for the "second" car she drives, personal bias, and other factors can be ruled out. So no more "but that R33 was running slicks, non-standard boost etc" caveats like the first production car to crack 8 mins record.

Some people are complete f**kwits. Unfortunately some of these people band together and start clubs and forums. I remember the first Cruise for a Cure I went on (back when it was still the LS1 Forums arranging it). During the presentations, there were a couple of condescending remarks about the "slow 4 cylinder" imports. Nothing nasty, since they weren't unhappy that we showed up, but still that misplaced superiority complex guys cars that just discovered IRS across the range seem to have. All I could think was, "We might be slow, but we weren't the pussies that stayed on the Princes Highway instead of going through the Nasho as the cruise was originally advertised". There are plenty of decent Supra owners out there. Unfortunately, they get lost in the noise. Just like the guys on ns.com - there are some decent Silvia owners there, but you'd never know it from all the children chucking their toys out of the pram.

They didn't call him Crash McRae for nothing. That guy has written off more WRX's than the entire Lebanese population of Sydney.

The cabin section is all-Camry too, in my eyes. When I saw pics of the SS-V on Holden's web site, I almost mistook it for a Camry Sportivo. The C pillar and shutline on the trailing edge of the rear doors especially. But the squared headlight and tail light arrays, and the slope of the front bonnet, from the side-on shot look like a BA Falcon's (which is more what I was focusing on since The Baron was talking about the front and rear overhangs). If I took the detail out to leave just solid black and looked at it in silhouette, I would have issues separating the two.