Like it or not we are officially in a new era where the new black is orange. We officially have a new president. Excuse us for reaching into the depths of politics but there are some important issues that concern even the most passionate sports cars enthusiasts. Donald J. Trump made one very disturbing statement just before entering the white house. He stated that there is an idea of creating and raising the import tariffs of up to almost 35% to force both foreign and domestic companies to build and assemble here in the U.S.
There is an index table "Kogod Made In America Index" which shows and measures exactly
how many processes go into making of a car, how much was made here and how much of it outside of the US. It also show which cars are barely making a dime and are already in hardship.
Based on the data provided, only speculations can be made. Although one thing is for sure, sports cars will feel the hit first as opposed to family sedans and compact suv vehicles . So lets have a look at what will happen if Trump introduces the 35% tariff.
THE GTR
Lets face it, this would be it. Losing the GTR over to import taxes is going to be the breaking point of every car guy there is. No more Nissan's flagship, no more Godzilla on the U.S. roads. We can only imagine what wonders of technology the next generations of the blood thirsty fire-breathing monster will bring to the shores of the speed hungry enthusiasts calling themselves by the name of Americans!
Seriously, lets put the fairly tails aside - although Nissan had a spectacular year, making up in every segment especially family sedans and compact suv they struggled at selling their top performance car. According to their statistics the GT-R sales dropped 36.6% in 2016 in comparison to the previous 2015.
Lets face it the Nissan GTR stayed relatively unchanged since production began in 2007. Although the car had seen many modifications and updates, the price dramatically increases over time, turning off buyers (remember the GTR is the cheap super car alternative). The car doesn't have the best auto insurance either. In addition to this, the Kogod index states that only 1% of the car can be build and assembled in the US, which means that the taxes will hit with full their impact, making sure the GT-R is banished from the shores of the United States of America.
I heard New Zealand was a good place to start from scratch. Anyway, lets continue with the next few endangered sports cars .
