When legislators in the United Kingdom decided to introduce its Cash for Clunkers program, it was widely suggested that older, fuel-guzzling vehicles would be removed from the road in favor of the latest crop of clean, green, fuel efficient cars and trucks. As is often the case, reality isn't so cut-and-dry.

According to Auto Trader UK, two of the first new vehicles purchased under the UK's new scrapping scheme were Nissan GT-Rs. Much has been written about Godzilla's ability to navigate the famed Nurburgring in Germany, but those stories never described the giant-killing GT-R as eco-friendly. What gives?

It seems that the rulebook in Merry ole' England doesn't include provisions limiting the scrapping program to vehicles with low carbon emissions. Most other countries with scrapping programs – including the proposed plan in the U.S., in case you were wondering – require the new vehicle to be significantly more fuel efficient than the car that's being scrapped.

In related news, at least one enthusiast's plans to trade in a slightly used '99 Oldsmobile Alero for a shiny new Nissan GT-R have summarily been placed on the back burner. Tip o' the cap to Keith and Demstel!

[Source: Auto Trader UK]

Beginning June 1, NISMO will begin taking pre-orders on a new ECU and Transmission Control Module (TCM) for the standard GT-R and its SpecV sibling. According to Nissan's motorsports arm, the ECU increases maximum boost pressure by 0.1 bar (1.5 psi) to crank-up low-end torque and enhance throttle response. The TCM tweaks supposedly deliver quicker downshifts and the speed limiter on the street (i.e. when not running on a GPS-approved race track) has been raised to 320 km/h – or just one tick shy of 200 mph.

But as you'd expect, there's a hitch. Aside from the sizeable buy-in (294,000 yen, or just over $3,000 US), NISMO will only rent the duo of upgraded controllers for a 24-month term. After which, you either return the ECU and TCM units or shell out an additional $329 per year to keep them on board. Both modules are covered by NISMO's warranty and deliveries begin on June 24.



[Source: GTRBlog]

It took two years to build it in reality, ten seconds of montage to put it together on screen, and about ten minutes to steal it. In a rare automotive example of life imitating art imitating life, the Nissan Skyline that Paul Walker drove in the latest Fast & Furious movie was stolen from its storage facility in Los Angeles.

Although dressed up to look like a full-on R34 GT-R for the movie, the car underneath was actually a lower-spec GT-S. Reports indicate that thieves, evidently knowing the car was inside, broke through a metal door and ripped off that specific car, leaving the rest but sideswiping a Studebaker and a Porsche Boxster on the way out. And to make matters worse, the car, valued at around $75,000, wasn't even insured. Considering the movie grossed $72.5 million in opening-weekend box office sales alone, we doubt the seventy-five grand will be terribly missed.

[Sources: Jalopnik and Inside Line]

Here's your chance to put Godzilla in your driveway for a discount! Of course, this GT-R that's headed for the block at Matley's Richmond Auto Auction today in Virginia will likely not go for much of a discount. Barring a transmission that's been launch-controlled into oblivion, this 3,011-mile repo-special appears virtually showroom-fresh. Carfax says this car is a clean, one-owner affair, and the auction company hasn't put it in the "inoperative vehicle" group, so we're guessing it's another case of financial over-reach brought back down to reality. If it were us, we'd be hiding this thing in a garage more secret and secure than Dick Cheney's undisclosed location while we sold an organ or two on the black market to pay its bills. You've got a spare kidney, but it's not like the GTR comes along every day. If you've actually got the finances to purchase a GT-R and think this one may be a bargain, you'll have to move fast – the auction is today. As long as you can make one or two payments before you start selling off pieces of yourself, you'll be fine. This tip comes to us from our friends at Hemmings, who also hooked us up with the Carfax, posted after the jump. Thanks David!



[Source: Richmond Auto Auction]

Greetings from Joliet, Illinois, home of the Autobahn Country Club. We're on board with Brock Yates' One Lap of America, one of America's toughest motorsports challenges. Over the course of eight days, 63 drivers of all talent and experience levels will take to a range of motorsports facilities across the country in a wide variety of machinery. There's something for everyone here, from mainstream American performance iron (a passel of Chevrolet Corvettes and Camaros, along with a Mustang or two) to niche exotics (Ultima, Lotus Exige) to Japanese cars (including a nifty Mitsubishi Galant VR4), a gaggle of Porsches, and more BMW M cars than you can shake a stick at. Heck, there's even a GMC Jimmy, a stunning Nissan Altima Hybrid SEMA entrant and a Fifties rat rod.

In truth, we One Lappers assembled yesterday in breezy, chilly South Bend, Indiana at Tire Rack's massive facilities. The competitors met up to receive a driver's meeting, technical inspection, and a full slate of sponsorship decals, along with the usual final tunings and bench racing sessions. The actual racing didn't start until earlier this morning, however, where the competitors made use of the retail giant's 200-foot skidpad – with the sprinklers on. You can read all about what happened over Motor Trend (they're one of the event's main sponsors), but suffice it to say that one of the two Nissan GT-R entrants (not pictured) at this year's event stunned the assembled throngs by recording 0.953G, a handsome figure considering the soaked tarmac.

This year, competitors will travel some 3,265 miles between today and next Saturday before circling back to South Bend next Saturday. Along the way, the racers will take part in an autocross event at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky, then roll to Greenbrier, Tennessee to take on the Highland Rim Speedway oval. After that, it's off to Alabama's Talladega Gran Prix on Monday, with a long haul (over 600 miles) down to Florida's legendary Sebring International Raceway. After that, it's time for a bracket drag racing session at Gainesville Raceway, and then on to Daytona International Speedway. Come Thursday, there's a tidy 440 mile run to Kershaw, South Carolina, home of Carolina Motor Sports Park, and from there, the racers slip over to BMW Performance Center in Spartanburg. Doubtlessly looking a bit worse for the wear, the survivors will then motor 560+ miles to Pennsylvania's Beaverun Motorsports Complex. The bedraggled racers then make the final 240-mile transit back to South Bend for a final (hopefully) dry skidpad event and a final banquet and trophy award ceremony.

With just 60+ cars in the field this year (as opposed to the 80+ vehicles in years past), it's clearly a down year in terms of attendance – a development readily attributable to the economy (it's admittedly hard to ignore to overlook the substantial cost associated with mounting an entry). However, there are some ace new competitors here and a lot of interesting machinery. Further, with the absence of five-time reigning champion Mark Davia and his Porsche 996 twin-turbo (whose wife is expecting), there's sure to be a new winner this year.

Full Disclosure: Yours truly is part of one of the two timing and scoring crews (I have been participating as such since 1999), so while I will do my best to bring AB'ers closer to the action, as a crew member, I will only attend a bit more than half of the events as we hopscotch the country in order to get ahead of the competitors and prepare the timing equipment and post the scores ahead of their arrival. As such, it is recommended that you check out Motor Trend and the official One Lap Of America website for the rules and the latest updates on the races.

Well, the cars on the false grid are set to go green, so I'm gone... until next time, please check out the massive gallery of 70+ high-res images below featuring most of the competitors.

One way to win races is to bury the pedal and never lift. It would appear Nissan may be following the same plan with the development of its GT-R. Rather than sit around and let the car's development go cold, Nissan is continuing to refine its bargain supercar slayer.

Nürburgring watchers have noticed a seemingly base model GT-R lapping the track lately. There's camo on the front and rear fascias – somewhat strange for a car that's been released for public consumption – so the folks at gtrblog took a closer look.

While it may look innocuous enough, the latest GT-R o be snapped on its German vacation has aerodynamic pieces that are subtly different, leading gtrblog to come to the conclusion that this is probably thee 2011 version of Nissan's Godzilla. Thanks for the tip, Jim!


[Source: gtrblog.com]

The Battle for top honors at the Nordschleife continues, with yet another revised 'Ring time for the Nissan GT-R. After a second day of testing, Nissan claims that the 2010 model hacked off nearly a second from its time on Wednesday, delivering an unofficial lap of 7:26.7 – a mere four-tenths of second behind the Corvette ZR1's official time and just over a second slower than the Ferrari Enzo. As always, unofficial times should be taken with the appropriate amount of NaCl, and the way things are going, we expect Porsche (or GM) to fire back, at which point Nissan may finally release the GT-R SpecV's lap time.

[Source: GTRBlog | Image: Kislik]

We suppose it was inevitable. At some point just about every kind of car is the unwilling recipient of Lambo doors, and the Nissan GT-R is no exception. German company LSD announced a new vertical door system to transform Nissan's supercar into a winged Godzilla, available for a mere 1,949 euro. The kit includes a guided roller system that connects to the stock mounting point and a buffer system to prevent the doors from being opened too wide or from dropping down. According to LSD, the system also makes the GT-R an "absolute looker" and offers "more safety and more precise opening and closing of the door." More details can be found in the press release after the jump.




[Source: LSD]

Enough is never enough. Not when you're talking supercars and Nürburgring lap times. As if enough jaws weren't dropped when Nissan posted their fantastic initial time of 7:29 around the vaunted Nordschleife (besting Porsche's best), the automaker's engineers went back to the garage looking for a little extra for 2010. They came back with a slightly updated version, with five extra horsepower and revised dual-clutch transmission with updated launch control, plus a bigger fuel tank, new tires and a retuned suspension. So what effect would these modifications have on the GT-R's 'Ring run? About a second and a half off the record, which now stands for the Japanese supercar at an awe-inspiring 7:27.56.

According to Nissan, the time was posted using a 2010 GT-R with the optional V-Spec wheels and tires, driven by former F1 tester Toshio Suzuki. Fantastic as that time is, it's still another second short of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1's 7:26.4 (to say nothing of the Dodge Viper ACR's 7:22.1), so Nissan will be back at it. And without the dirt and dust which the Japanese team says was coating the track to impede its lap time, they figure they just might find enough extra speed to claim the record. Details in the press release after the jump.



[Source: Nissan]

Any hope of a Nissan GT-R-powered flagship from Infiniti have been officially dashed. According to Brian Carolin, Nissan's Senior Veep of Sales and Marketing, "It's fair to say that there's nothing in the product plan for a flagship right now. It's just not a priority in today's climate."

Rumors of a new sedan packing the GT-R's twin-turbocharged V6 and all-wheel drive system have been circulating for over a year, and when the Infiniti Essence concept debuted at the Geneva Motor Show this year, speculation began anew. The initial thought was Infiniti would bring a flagship coupe to market in favor of a sedan, but now, both plans have been shelved due to the current economic crisis and the subsequent downward spiral of luxury vehicle sales.

Carolin told Inside Line that dealers would have fallen all over each other for a new flagship last year, but "now it's way down on their wish list."

[Source: InsideLine | Image: Holiday Auto]