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Originally Posted by OptionZero
Are the Titan/Armada sales leaders in their class?
if the answer is no, then you can't use it as a reason to support the theory that people will buy expensive nissans.
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OptionZero, I really don't see how you can be using this as an arguement to not badge the GTR as a Nissan. The market buying trucks in that class in the US are much more dyed-in-the-wool american brand loyal customers than the sports car market. Of course there are going to be more good-ol' boys buying fords and chevys than Nissans. Does this mean that everyone wants an american brand truck? of course not! Do people still buy the Titan and Armada? Yes. Just because a vehicle isn't a sales leader in it's class doesn't mean that it can't meet sales goals set by the manufacturer.
Mitsubishi and Subaru have proven that a healthy enthusiest market exists in the US. When the Evo came to the US there were naysayers ridiculing the fact that anyone would pay $30k for a Mitsubishi Lancer. This is amusing now, because according to the automotive press, the Evo is the only car that Mitsubishi is able to sell everyone it makes. You may be underestimating the market for the GTR. The Evo had relatively the same exposure to the market as the GTR has, which is to say exposure through videogames, videos, and magazines. Even without a dedicated marketing campaign, the Evo has managed to do very well. The same buyers who have purchased Evos and STi's have now come farther along in their careers, and most will probably have more disposable income to spend on the GTR. This healthy market should be large enough to support the GTR on it's own, without Nissan having to rely mostly on "image" sales, where people are buying the car to just look good (Percentage of automatic Corvettes sold, people?)
Infiniti relys more on an image/luxury market, and the GTR would be ill-suited to exist mainly as an image car, which it would have to partially become, simply for the fact that the edginess of it's performance would be comprimised to fit into the image that Infiniti would want a luxury sports car in their line to posess.
You have to realize that the playstation market/fanboys aren't going to be kids their whole lives, and that this market includes people well into their thirties at this point.