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First U.S. 2009 Nissan GT-R Owner Takes Delivery
UNIVERSAL CITY, California — After years of prolonged and feverish anticipation, Nissan's "R35" GT-R finally goes on sale to the general public here in North America this morning, Monday, July 7, 2008. If, however, you're hoping to rush down to your local dealer and be the first civilian to get a factory-certified, American-market GT-R, forget it. Daryl Alison already picked his up at 12:01 a.m. pacific time from Universal City Nissan in Los Angeles.
Yup, that's right, the same Daryl Alison who brought the first Japanese-spec R35 into the country almost five months ago (and let Inside Line test it on two chassis dynos) is now the first person with a GT-R in North America that also carries a Nissan factory warranty. Some guys really deserve to be resented.
"I got on the waiting list 10 months ago," Alison told us while he awaited the 12:01 a.m. ceremony Nissan North America had arranged at Universal City Nissan to commemorate the handing over of the car's keys and title. "And [dealership owner] Mike Sage is a friend of mine. I had loaned him the JspecConnect.com R35 to display in his showroom and we do some track stuff together." And, Mike Sage explained, "Daryl was the guy highest on the list who had his financing all together."
What Alison paid for this GT-R remains a secret between him and Universal City Nissan.
Universal City Nissan was a natural to deliver the first GT-R since it's the largest volume Nissan dealer in the country and the largest retailer of 350Z sports cars. It's also the dealership with the largest number of orders in hand for the GT-R and the largest allotment of GT-Rs coming in — about 25 (they're all pre-sold). In fact the dealership expects to deliver at least another three GT-Rs on Tuesday morning. Sage will also deliver additional GT-Rs through his West Covina Nissan and Glendale Nissan stores.
For an impromptu event held late at night before a workday, the turnout for the key and title ceremony was big enough to border on astonishing. About 40 hard-core GT-R fanatics were on hand to simply ogle the first DOT-certified GT-R to escape from Nissan. It was a chance to be a part of automotive history, even if it's destined to relatively obscure history.
Or maybe they just all wanted to meet the lovely Ashley Van Dyke, who was on hand to officially hand over the keys. More than a pretty face (she has nice legs too), Van Dyke has rallied a Nismo 350Z that she acquired through Universal City Nissan.
So what are Alison's plans for this GT-R? It is, after all, his third R35 after the two JDM versions he assembled through his Kaizen Industries.
"First of all I'm going to drive it home," Alison told us. "Then I'm going to put some miles on it. Then it will probably be modified. But I'm thinking about the collector value."
Value, schmalue. Modify it. Then call us.
What this means to you: Daryl Alison has everyone covered on GT-R firsts. Now let's see who takes the lead on making the GT-R even quicker and faster. — John Pearley Huffman, Contributor
Yup, that's right, the same Daryl Alison who brought the first Japanese-spec R35 into the country almost five months ago (and let Inside Line test it on two chassis dynos) is now the first person with a GT-R in North America that also carries a Nissan factory warranty. Some guys really deserve to be resented.
"I got on the waiting list 10 months ago," Alison told us while he awaited the 12:01 a.m. ceremony Nissan North America had arranged at Universal City Nissan to commemorate the handing over of the car's keys and title. "And [dealership owner] Mike Sage is a friend of mine. I had loaned him the JspecConnect.com R35 to display in his showroom and we do some track stuff together." And, Mike Sage explained, "Daryl was the guy highest on the list who had his financing all together."
What Alison paid for this GT-R remains a secret between him and Universal City Nissan.
Universal City Nissan was a natural to deliver the first GT-R since it's the largest volume Nissan dealer in the country and the largest retailer of 350Z sports cars. It's also the dealership with the largest number of orders in hand for the GT-R and the largest allotment of GT-Rs coming in — about 25 (they're all pre-sold). In fact the dealership expects to deliver at least another three GT-Rs on Tuesday morning. Sage will also deliver additional GT-Rs through his West Covina Nissan and Glendale Nissan stores.
For an impromptu event held late at night before a workday, the turnout for the key and title ceremony was big enough to border on astonishing. About 40 hard-core GT-R fanatics were on hand to simply ogle the first DOT-certified GT-R to escape from Nissan. It was a chance to be a part of automotive history, even if it's destined to relatively obscure history.
Or maybe they just all wanted to meet the lovely Ashley Van Dyke, who was on hand to officially hand over the keys. More than a pretty face (she has nice legs too), Van Dyke has rallied a Nismo 350Z that she acquired through Universal City Nissan.
So what are Alison's plans for this GT-R? It is, after all, his third R35 after the two JDM versions he assembled through his Kaizen Industries.
"First of all I'm going to drive it home," Alison told us. "Then I'm going to put some miles on it. Then it will probably be modified. But I'm thinking about the collector value."
Value, schmalue. Modify it. Then call us.
What this means to you: Daryl Alison has everyone covered on GT-R firsts. Now let's see who takes the lead on making the GT-R even quicker and faster. — John Pearley Huffman, Contributor
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