GD 55 / Cars of Guam (COGS) ep 3 - Godzilla





4/8/2022 - This car is so cool is gets both a COGs ep and a Guam Day (GD). If you haven't heard of the Skyline GTR before, let me tell you, you have missed out on a an amazing part of automotive history. This is an R32, built somewhere between 1989 and 1993. These vehicles were never designed to meet American road requirements, so these fall into that import law of the vehicle must be 25 years or older to register in the USA. One more sign of a cool Guam import culture from Japan, that's my learning of who live here on this vehicle. 

The R32 Skyline GTR was made famous for its racing prowess right at the turn of the decade in touring car races.  It excelled so well, it received the moniker "Godzilla" as it beat any other manufacturer in its class during this time. The heart of this race car starts with its 2.5L inline 6, twin turbocharged engine, that produced a spec rating of 276 hp. Where this gets interesting is the Japanese automakers had an agreement that they wouldn't produce anything above this spec, but under the hood with a slight tune, this engine was way more capable. To transfer the power to the ground, the GTR was equipped with a 4WD system and 4 wheel steer enabling great handing and cornerablility on the track. I will link the Wiki article in case you have more interest, what I read is this car held the Nurburgring during its production years. 

This production build looks brilliant in its indigo blue metallic paint job. It must either be really cared for, or has been immaculately restored and repainted on the island. Talking with a local neighbor, that also has a really cool modified Acura RSX type R as an aside, said that getting Japanese Parts was as easy as going to Japan from here and sending them back to Guam. The car has to be imported, but as of 2014 these are eligible for entry and registration. So caring for one of these "Godzillas" is a bit easier on this great Island. 

The value of these vehicles continues to skyrocket on the import market from my light searches. Lets be real, my search history now only shows ads in Japanese, so maybe not as light as I thought. This vehicle carries a ton of buzz as a fan favorite of the The Fast and the Furious movies, a feature car in many of the films. Prices can reach over a 100k. (crazy)

Im not sure how I would do with driving a right hand drive car, I know I have talked about this previously, lots of brain power to not hit that left side of the vehicle into oncoming traffic. Left hand turns would be difficult too. Sadly, there will be no Godzillas in Adams' Guam future (Joan being adamant (get it) , about that). Also, I think my Ford card would be clipped..... 

Additional info on the R32 Skyline:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Skyline
 

Comments

  1. Dave S.April 12, 2022 at 5:04 PM

    Nice. Back in 2019, there was a Skykine parked in the mechanic's lot across from DDL plated for Michigan and was in beautiful shape too. Driving RHD is no problem, and have done many times back in the day. Thanks FoMoCo. 😁 I like the ease of getting parts. Wish I could get parts for my German car that easily. Can't wait to see the next COGS. 👍🚘

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cars of Guam (COGs) - Ep 2 - New Vehicles

Image
  3/29/2022 - I know what you are thinking, if this ep is titled new vehicles, why of all the photos to choose from did you take a photo of a Prius? This one in fact as I stated from a previous post is our host families new car, and to drive for ride hail you need a fairly new car based on expectations of the stroll service.  The thing that has stood out to me here on Guam is most of the vehicles on the island are in US terms an import. Technically all things are imported on the island, as no vehicles are made here, but lets use the term "import" to mean external to the United States manufactures. This is a trend I see in both used and new vehicles, a large majority are from Japan. This has led me one to ask the question why is this the case, but also is there a way to get some data to back up what I am seeing? (what does a good engineer do to back up a claim, build a database) The next few images below are data tables, maybe less fun to read, but bear with me as I believe th...
Read more

Guam Day 46 - Shell Station Fill up + How To

Image
3/30/2022 - I overheard a funny conversation today at the local shell station, a couple of newbie Guam visitors pondered inside the station, "How do I fill up with gas?" The shell stations on the island are not self service at the pump, unlike the other stations on the island like the mobile, or super k. The only way to get gas at the Shell is to have an attendant pump the gas for you, and to do that you have to pay inside prior to having them pump the gas. In my mind this is a throwback type of experience, something not seen on the mainland for decades. Interestingly though, there is no way to know that this is how the station works without fumbling through it and having to go in and ask the attendant. Not great UX, but it is good service once you figure it out.  The other perk Joan and I have found for using Shell on the island are these discount cards. The grocery store chain Cost U Less, like a Costco, provides a stack of these cards to you every time you check out. Somet...
Read more