SPEED channel Launches Nissan's GT Academy

When you think of Nissan and GT Academy, most may think of Nissan’s super car, the GT-R.  In this case, the GT stands for Gran Turismo, the acclaimed racing simulator video game series on the Sony Playstation platform.  Nissan GT Academy is a collaboration between Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) and Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA) and Polyphony Digital Inc. to make one Gran Turismo gamer enthusiasts into a professional race car drive for Nissan Motorsports.


GT Academy starts its search for Nissan’s newest race car driver at a national tournament in Florida. There were 54,000 registered contestants competing to be part of the sweet 16 finalists.  After the three day tournament ended, the top 16 contestants were then flown to the wold renowned,  Silverstone Racing Complex in England where they would soon learn that this one week contest would not be just about racing cars.


Without giving away too many spoilers, the 16 drivers entered in to what they thought was more of a “boot camp” than a racing contest.   As the drivers walked into their dorm building for the week, they realized they were about to live in very close quarters with one another as their beds laid side-by-side.  During their first challenge, the contestants were given the opportunity to race around the south Silverstone International Circuit.  To their surprise, they were not racing with cars or anything on wheels; They had to race the track by foot.


The judges explained that they will be putting the contestants under pressure and in uncomfortable situations so they can really find out who is most committed, who breaks the least under pressure, and who will ultimately rise to the top as Nissan’s newest addition to their racing team.


After watching the first episode of  Nissan’s GT Academy, which can be viewed here, there is still plenty of racing that is featured on this must watch mini-series.  At North Country Nissan of Saint Albans, VT, we are very exited to follow Nissan’s GT Academy.  We live and breath everything Nissan. Whether it is New Nissans or Pre-Owned, or Nissan Motorsports; we love it!  This isn’t your average cookie cutter reality TV show that has no substance.  The show features contestants with great stories, thrilling race contests and electrifying endurance contests.  


If you want to discuss this ground-breaking reality TV show, join the conversation on our Facebook page. If you’re in the greater Burlington, VT area and thinking about buying a Nissan, we would be excited to show you why Nissans stand above all other manufactures.  Be sure to subscribe to the North Country Nissan Blog and stay updated on everything Nissan!






Seth Whiting
Paquin’s Auto Park







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Nissan Rises to The Top for Motor Trend Magazine’s “World’s Biggest Drag Race”

Eleven of the most luxurious sports cars in the world faced each other in Motor Trend Magazine’s "World's Biggest Drag Race." Amongst the competing speed machines was the 2012 Nissan GT-R, Porsche 911, Corvette Z06, Ford Mustang Boss 302, Ferrari 458 Italia, and Audi R8 GT.  The winner: Nissan GT-R with 1/4 mile in 11.2 seconds.

Nissan’s success was perceived to be quite peculiar in comparison to the other world-class vehicles in the competition. The GT-R did not rank first in horsepower and had a whopping 27 ponies fewer than the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG which ranked first in most horsepower. The GT-R only ranked sixth in top speed at 121.8 MPH and was 99lbs heavier than the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG which ranked second heaviest vehicle. The Nissan GT-R was not the strongest, not the speediest, and it was by far, the heaviest vehicle in the competition.  Even it’s toughest competitor, Farari, after studying it in their testing lab, could not give reason as to why their rival was so surprisingly fast.

Despite not having the most bronze, the key to the Nissan GT-R’s success was in its brains.  Nissan has created a super car that  contains two clutches that require no clutch pedal.  The paddle-shifted 6 speed sequential dual clutch transmission allows the driver to shift gears in 0.2 seconds while in R-Mode.  Nissan has designed this dual clutch transmission to pre-select the next gear before the driver shifts to ensure an immediate shift.  Nissan’s industry leading technology provided the GT-R with the top acceleration that reigned over its competition.

Now if you weren’t surprised already, the $89,950 Nissan GT-R was followed by the second place $225,325 Ferrari 458 Italia and the third place $198,600 Audi R8 GT.  “In all fairness, if we were running for pink slips, we would have had to bring at least two GT-Rs to match the cost of the competitors,” stated Brian Carolin, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing, Nissan North America, Inc.  This story not only gives Nissan reason to brag about it’s victory, but it also gives Nissan bragging rights for being one of the least expensive super cars to win the  “World’s Biggest Drag Race.”

At North Country Nissan in Saint Albans, VT, we are excited for the Nissan GT-R’s big win.  We applaud Nissan for providing it’s customers with world-class performance while staying affordable at the same time. This success for Nissan only adds to the many reasons why they continue to be a leader in the car industry and why we are so enthusiastic about the Nissan brand.  

If you’re in the greater Burlington area, Franklin County, or in Plattsburgh, NY, we would love to share this enthusiasm with you. Be sure to like us on Facebook, Subscribe to our blog, visit our website, and visit us at our dealership. We would be happy to see you!


Until we meet again,

Seth Whiting
Paquin’s Auto Park
SethWhitingCars@gmail.com

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Welcome to our New Blog!

Welcome to the North Country Nissan Blog!  This blog is being started to keep you informed and up to date on everything related to our dealership and the Nissan brand.

For so long, the car industry has been in the hands of the dealership.  Without the modern technology that we have today, dealerships were able to play games with the uninformed customer.  This resulted in a miserable car shopping experience for the buyer.  We understand that the car industry is rapidly changing and it has now become a buyers' market.  Our customers can now easily receive quotes and find out the availability for any specific vehicle from any Nissan dealership in the area in a matter of minutes without stepping foot on a car lot.

That is why we have designed this website to better suit our past, present, and future customers’ needs and shopping experiences.  Our goal at North Country Nissan in Saint Albans, VT is to exceed our customer’s expectations by giving them the best shopping experience possible.  As a business we are here to make money; that is why we believe it is more profitable to be honest with our customers and have repeat business than to play games and never see our customers again.

Our job here is to serve you!  We don’t want to just sell you any car; we want to sell you the car that best suits your needs. We believe that an informed customer makes our job much easier to serve.  So go ahead and search our new and used inventory and look through everything we have to offer on our website.  Our goal is to be Franklin County's loyal automotive dealership that provides our customers with excellent sales, parts and service for many years to come. The only way we can achieve this goal is to continue to provide our customers with the best customer service experience possible.  

Be sure to stay informed on our website and stay up to date on our specials. Also, like us on our Facebook page or visit us at our dealership in Saint Albans.  We would be happy to see you!




Until next time,



Seth Whiting
Paquin’s Auto Park
SethWhitingCars@gmail.com