To NICO's UK members:

[r34 gtr]

Do you exist?

I have been in the UK for five days and I have yet to see one single Nissan sports car of ANY kind. No S-chassis, no Z's, no GTRs (thats r-xx, etc.) no NOTHING. I have primarily been in Birmingham, but I have driven as far south as London one day, and Oxford another.

I have seen no less than 30 Porsche 993s, 10 Ferraris (308, 355, 360, 430, 599, 612), several Lancer Evos, Aston Martin DB9s and one Vanquish, countless Civic Type-Rs, Subaru 22B Impreza (and a whole lot of STIs), and some TVRs including one Tuscan speed 6 (which is the most beautiful car I have ever seen in person)...

But not ONE SINGLE NISSAN.

I would seriously punch a child in the face (surprising how willing I am to do this) for a look at a R32 GTR in person. Is it so much to ask? Maybe an S13 so I can BS with the owner about the 'ol CA18. It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult to find one. Its not like they are in short supply. Its not like the Speed Six, where they made a small handful.

I am here for another two days. If you are in Birmingham, I am in Bourneville, right near the green and the Cadbury factory (yes I have taken the tour...again). Please show an ignorant (and bored!!) American your car!

P.S. Ill post pictures of the TVR Tuscan when I am back in the states, keep your panties on.

[infinitgkid]

I thought Europeans all drove BMWs, Benzs, Ferraris, and Aston Martins...

Am I wrong?

[RCA]

Subaru 22B Impreza

[r34 gtr]

gkid, yes, everyone does drive a BMW or Audi. It is kind of ridiculous.

I have been on the lookout for the smallest displacement badge on the back of cars. Where in the states everyone advertises "5.0" and whatnot, here cars will advertise "1.2" and "1.4."

So far the winner is a VW Polo "1.0" which I thought was a hilarious spectacle to advertise. WHOA WATCH OUT: ONE TIRE FIRES AHEAD. Yeah right.

[lino]

Surely you must have seen a Nissan Micra. There are a ton of them there. Other than the Micra only expect to see the odd Primera, Almera, and some Qashqai. Nissans are not that popular considering all the other alternatives they have especially from Renault, Peugeot and Ford. If you really want to see a Nissan before you leave just go to the Bullring and hang out in the parking lot. Guaranteed you'll see one within 10 minutes.

[flohtingPoint]

A lot of the EU crowd for S-series cars are at SXOC.

[r34 gtr]

Lino,

been at the Bullring twice. Once for quite a while. It is where I saw the 612, 3 F430s, and the TVR Tuscan. Still no Nissan sports cars.

There are no less than 400,000 Nissan Micras here. Have seen a few Primeras, Qashqais, and Almeras, but they are not sports cars now are they? There has been no shortage of Nissans whatsoever, but a complete lack of anything FR or 4WD and sporty.

I saw an X-trail with the SR20VET today. Cant remember the trim, but it was 2.0 turbo intercooler'd out. Kinda cool, but still not the right criteria.

As far as cool cars go, today I saw (actually drove right behind) a Ferrari 456, a hot pink Ford Escort Cosworth (the awesome one from 1995), a Ford RS200 which is currently parked down the road (want to touch!!) and a Fiat 500 Abarth, which is even cooler than I had hoped. Too bad I could never get an Abarth 500 into the states.

Saw half a dozen more CTRs today. Everyone and their mom has one apparently. I have stopped caring. Rode around for a few hours in my Aunt's EG Civig SIR, neat, but still meh.

FP,

I would log on to SXOC, but it really seems like cheating doesn't it? I also don't really feel comfortable asking around there as I only have a handful of posts, though I have been a member since '02.

Don't you live in Krautland? Thats not too far, just drive on over.

[flohtingPoint]

FP,

I would log on to SXOC, but it really seems like cheating doesn't it? I also don't really feel comfortable asking around there as I only have a handful of posts, though I have been a member since '02.

Don't you live in Krautland? Thats not too far, just drive on over.

LOL! Yea, it was odd when I made an acct there in 03/04ish timeframe, it did feel a bit like cheating, but I needed CA18 resources and it's one of the best places to get parts.

I lived there at one time, yes, but once I got out of the USAF in 07, I moved back to the states and live in the DC area now =(. I am thinking of taking one of the many job offers I have for over there though. I really miss Hockenheimring.

[r34 gtr]

I can't believe this got demoted to the second page in less than a day. I guess we have no UK members after all.

Saw a really slick TME Evo VI with all kinds of rally armor gear last night.

I also drove around in a (get this) Diesel, 5spd, Dodge caravan. I was under the impression those were all automatic and driven by mouth-breathing neck-bearded Americans. Guess not!

Finally saw a Z33 in the jewlery quarter last night. Not really what I had in mind.

Had dinner at a nice restaurant called the Vault with some family friends. I had a great time thanks to two beautiful ladies who I am positive will never read this. Thanks Sophie and Emily for the company!

I was really jealous of Sophie's car, as she drives a new Fiat 500 with all the Italian stripes and whatnot. Sharp and adorable it most certainly is.

This is my last day here, and unfortunately I still have yet to see anything badged "skyline" or "GTR." Not holding out much hope there.

[RCA]

Pictures or it never happened...

[r34 gtr]

Duuuude keep your panties on! I have to wait until I get into the states to post pictures you jerk. Im using an iPhone. Kinda hard to do all that.

Checked SXOC and found to my horror that there was a Midlands S-chassis meet yesterday that of course I missed. Go figure.

I made the mistake of reading a used car mag. I cried. $3000 for a GC8 WRX wagon with 58k miles? Sure! '04 Porsche Boxster S 3.2 for $11k? You betcha.

Granted insurance on those cars is likely more than the cars themselves. Insurance here suuuuuucks.

[pandjh(uk)]

I thought Europeans all drove BMWs, Benzs, Ferraris, and Aston Martins...

Am I wrong?

Yep - there's plenty of us over here in Qashqai's, we don't all own soccer clubs u know

[PEZi]

several Lancer Evos

they gotz teh good ones over there

[skydragoness]

I also drove around in a (get this) Diesel, 5spd, Dodge caravan. I was under the impression those were all automatic and driven by mouth-breathing neck-bearded Americans. Guess not!

@ Mouth-breathing

I made the mistake of reading a used car mag. I cried. $3000 for a GC8 WRX wagon with 58k miles? Sure!

OH GOD. I love the GF8's with all my heart. *sniff* Well despite the fact I sold my GF4 2 weeks ago...

[r34 gtr]

Okay, twist my arm, here are some pictures of my trip:

A CAT!! her name is Topsy, and she is waay old.



My great aunt's back yard. Golf course grass grows naturally there. Crazy.



This pretty much sums up my trip. Old British people.



Inside of the "cathedral" in B'Ham. Youth choir singing. They were very good! I ducked out fast though because really, I don't feel comfortable in church.



Louis Vuitton store! I wanted a wallet, but at ~300 I was not in a position to buy. Damn yous!!



Then I went to Blenheim palace for my one day out. It was outrageous! We really have nothing in the US to compete with this kind of s***. Its like the Biltmore estate times a million. Eat your heart out Rockefeller, this place was built with more underhandedness than you could possibly fathom.



The organ. It was massive, as you would expect. There was a guy playing it too! The room it is in was used as a makeshift hospital in WWI. The organ music kept them company I guess!



Private chapel in the right wing:



Organ in the chapel:



Better (bot not great) shot of the sculptures above the altar in the chapel:



O HAI!



The cascades:

[r34 gtr]

On to some stuff you might be more interested in. No the quality of the pictures doesn't get any better.

Orange Tango! Its like an orange/aspartame explosion in your brain.



Lancer Evolution X, but not your average one. This one is fast.



I was actually trying to get a picture of the lead car, but my camera blows. We ran across a midlands 993 owners meet. There were at least 100 of them. My fav Porsche 911 by far.



New CTR! I saw tons, but this one was ESPECIALLY dirty. Had to!







MEOW!!

[r34 gtr]

This guy's dreads were HUUGE!! If you look closely, you can see them hanging out the bottom of his sweater!



The bull from outside the Bullring, only made of jelly beans. Diabetes? Yes please! They have a Krispy Kreme factory too. Needless to say I was in the right place!



Paul's Boutique! For the finest in men's clothing, call Paul's Boutique, that's Paul's Boutique, and they're in Brooklyn. Not quite.



Citroen Diane. My dad's first car (not this one in particular). She won't win too many races!



Wait, what is THAT?!



Oooooh god. You folks got a towel I can borrow?



The guy was pulling out and saw me enthusiastically snapping pictures, so he dispensed with the formalities and kept revving it for me. He then drag launched it when the light turned green. Thanks guy! You and your car rule!



That's all Ive got for now. I need to go to bed!

[Xdisaster240sX]

I was there for 2 years. The only cars I saw were a couple skylines and another S13 besides mine. I miss England sooo much.

I woke up next to this every morning.

[crakin]

you need to hook me up with a vaca. So's I can hunt down nissans for you. I wont charge anything...maybe a ricola or two

tuscan speed six-

[r34 gtr]

Yeah, just for comparison:

The day I got back from La Inglaterra, as those Spaniards call it, I went gun shootin' out in the middle of nowhere Alabama. I mean, honest to god middle of nowhere.

I saw TWO (2) badass looking Z32 TTs at separate houses about 15 miles apart on my drive to the range (1hr and change). TWO! That's 200% more than I saw in ALL of England.

[sx moneypit]

Great pics! The teal green car in the last photo looks like some kind of Dodge Viper concoction .

[numbnuts240]

Great pics! The teal green car in the last photo looks like some kind of Dodge Viper concoction .

you've never seen "swordfish" or played gran turismo? 3.6-4.0L 350-400hp L6, no traction control, no abs, no airbags....

[r34 gtr]

Yeah I would much rather have a TVR Tuscan speed 6 than a viper. Just personal preference though. Those lines! You just can't get that kind of sexiness elsewhere!

[sx moneypit]

you've never seen "swordfish" or played gran turismo? 3.6-4.0L 350-400hp L6, no traction control, no abs, no airbags....

Man, i didn't even think of TVR!Duh.

[r34 gtr]

BTW, The "Tuscan Challenge" in GT3 was always such a pain in the a**.

[numbnuts240]

i never completed that challenge, or the game for that matter. racing games are fun and all, but once they require more than 5 laps, i tend to get bored really quickly.