What's up with the Nissan Skyline?

Question

the Nissan Skyline GT-R is recognized as the top dog in the world of import car culture...ever since 2Fast 2Furious, I've been in love with the R-34...it reminds me of a late 60's/early 70's muscle car but I've never seen on the streets of Maryland or Virginia...then I found out that the car is'nt sold in the US and the R-34 model is banned from street use in the States..Why is that?......


I remember reading in a tuner magazine about a business in Southern California that was illegally importing R32, R33, and even R34 Skylines...some of them were even stolen from Japan and Europe due to the rarity of these cars...I've noticed that in some tuner magazines that there are U.S. owners are profiled with R33's....so I assume, those cars are street legal....why can't the R34 be governed and neutered like every other car...is the engine design or exhaust lay out different?...also, I've seen Infintiti G35 coupes in magazines with Nissan GT-R badges like Skylines. real or custom?

Please serious answers only..preferably from Californians into the the tuner scene because the two idiots below should be deleted for that nonsense....

Answer 1

The Skyline GT-R's are awesome cars, no matter what model it was. There are a few of them here stateside but they are few and far between. There was a company called MotoRex in Cali that was importing and selling used and new Skylines. They did everything to make it legal to drive one in the US. They did in fact get in trouble and subsequently shut down becasue they were supposedly stealing parts and cars and shipping them here to be sold.

You could get a Skyline here if your pockets are deep enough. It is considered a gray market car and Federal law states that every US citizen is allowed to import one gray market car stateside in their lifetime (they did this for the troops that were buying cars overseas). now making it street legal is another story altogether, you would have to essentially detune the car so it could meet whatever emmisions standards your state has.

The main reason (that I've heard) the GT-R's were never made available in the US is because they could not be set up for left hand drive without serious mods to the turbo set-up.

The Infiniti G35 (coupe and sedan) is known as a Skyline in Japan, although there is no GT-R model currently available. The next GT-R will be available in '08 and it WILL be sold in the US most likely badged as an Infiniti GT-R.

I hope that answers your question, and by the way you don't have to be from California to know this stuff, I'm from KY. I'm a diehard Nissan fan and read everything I can get my hands on about Nissan cars.

Answer 2

The Skyline has been a very famous and important model for the Japanese Sports Cars for many years (Fast and the Furious was not even in a script yet).

It was never sold in the US because of the emissions problem (it would not meet the minimum standards required by DOT). To import it, you would have to go through many problems, and would have to modify the car to be able to be “street legal”. Or you could do like many did, and just import it without the government knowing it, and see if you are lucky enough to stay away from trouble.

If you wanted a Nissan sports car here in the US, you would have only two options: the 300ZX for their top model and the 240SX for their low model. This was for almost 20 years, from the 80’s to the end of the 90’s. Sales dropped so much at the end of the decade that the 300ZX was discontinued in 1996, but was kept in Japan until 1999 when it was completely discontinued. Note that the ‘99 300ZX model was redesigned with new HID Headlights, Side Skirts, Front bumper, and Rear Spoiler.

About the G35, it is the Skyline in Japan. Nissan deiced to have the 350Z as their sports car, and the Skyline as their 2+2 sports car back in 2002. They basically share everything, from engine, to partial frame, etc, etc, with some touch ups and some adjustments to make them seem “different” somehow besides the fact that one is 2 seat and the other 4 seats.

Here in the US, Infinity adopted the Skyline as their sport cars or “Luxury” coupe, but named it G35 for obvious reasons 9they don’t want to deal with the Skyline name and/or the fact that it would be a Nissan and not Infinity even when they are the same company).

Now, officially, if you go to Nissan website, they have a reference for the GT-R as a future car that will be available some time in 2008. Nissan Japan had this confirmed almost a year ago. It is now just a matter of waiting to see it. But be aware, the price tag is estimated to be in the $70K or so if no change in their plans.

At this point, I would guess they will keep the G35 as a Infinity luxury coupe, the 350Z as their low end sports car, and the GT-R as their top of the line sports car. We’ll see it soon.

Answer 3

1) The GTR R32, R33, and R34 has been the Holy Grail of imports way before the F&F movies.

2) Motorex actually had cut corners to legalize the Skylines they were importing. That's why they were shut down and the owner thrown in jail.

3) There's actually two R34s for sale on Ebay right now in the US. One has been registered already so it's street legal in the US, the other one, not sure since the buyer did not say.

4) It's illegal just because it doesn't meet the US DOT and NHTSA standards.

5) The G35 is the Japanese version of the GTR right now but it's nothing like the old mystique of the R23, R33,and R34

Answer 4

Well, the G35 is pretty much a Skyline, in Lexus clothing, Same engine Mostly the same chassis. There are rumors that the new Skyline is coming to the states in the future. The car can be purchased form Japan and imported, but you have to put up the grip for having it "neutered" as you put it. It has to meet Cali emmission specs before you could take it home. Check out http://www.japan-partner.com and you'll get an Idea of the shipping costs, and get to check out some Skylines.

Answer 5

its all marketing. i mean if they sold the g35 as a nissan in the states it would obviously cost less so they made it an infiniti to make some more money. But a g35 is a skyline basically, except for the right hand drive same everything.

Answer 6

I believe the G35 is basically the 350Z (as brand in the UK) as a 4 seater, so it really isn't the same pedigree as the GTR34 as far as the SKYLINE marque goes, IMHO - The 34 was a true beast!

People are importing them to the UK and trying to sell them as the next Skyline... Not so. The next skyline is comparable to a Porsche 911 turbo in performance figures and will cost around £60,000 (British Stirling) - about half the porsche price.

Answer 7

Get the Lexus G35, not as much power or ability to mod but still basically the same thing.

The car is banned because of emissions. You can have them converted in California or Canada but it will cost you about $120,000 for the boat trip over, the car, the reduction of the engine and emissions. After it is all done... you ain't got jack.

Answer 8

I've got a '82 Chevy Chevette. Got 4 spark-o-matic 6"x9" speakers and a Jensen Tape deck. Chrome roof rack and 13" wire wheel covers. Put a cherry bomb glass pack on it and flipped the air cleaner cover. It's a super sweet ride. Only has a few rust spots. Pimp My Ride said it was too nice to pimp!

Answer 9

I heard it's coming in at spring 2008

Answer 10

I have Saturn Coupe SC1, it's pretty sweet. drum brakes in the back, stock stereo, 4 speakers