Simple fact is this, the Skyline progressed through the model years
gaining huge respect for its sporting capabilities. Not its wagons. When the 350GT came out they turned their back on that community with their only sport offering being a dressed up 350Z.
Never had the Skyline brand been nothing more then a dolled up Z. Thankfully they spared the GTR model name for that generation. But
the 350GT was still a regression from previous models and the Skyline name. The G isnt a Skyline, it just isnt. I could care less what badging Nissan put on the car. That car is just a dressed up Z.
V35=G
The V35 broke with Skyline tradition. There was no straight-6, no turbo, and no GT-R, a decision which extended to all later Skylines. The intention had been for the model to use a different name, a decision reversed by Renault/Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn.[26] who choose to gear the V35 towards the luxury-sport market. Billing the 350Z as a pure sports car,
They
geared that model toward the luxury sport model, in other words they made it luxurious, if the previous car was luxurious this wouldnt have been necessary, like I said the Skyline really wasnt a luxury brand.
Essentially what the Skyline encompassed died with the V35. They decided to make a new luxury model, but instead of giving it a new name they simply stole the Skyline name to ride to coat tails of its history. To keep the sport brand alive they had to then make the R35 its own model (GTR) and no longer give it the Skyline name.
imo, that means the G should be the piss on the grave of the Skyline name. Im glad at least the US got it as its own new model (G) biased off the Z (which it truly was).
I have nothing against the G, its a nice car. But to call it a Skyline was wrong. They just stole the brand name overseas to boost sales riding on the name plates history. Much like we had over here with the Charger nameplate.
