CNET 2008 Cartech Award Winner is...

The votes are in and the 2009 Nissan GT-R has won the 2008 Cartech car of the year award. It also won the "Worth losing your license" category. We will add this award to the awards the GT-R has won this year. Not a bad year for the GT-R.

In December we invited you to vote for the 2008 Tech Car of the Year from our five nominees. Well, no upset this year, as our staff judges agreed with the voting public, the 2009 Nissan GT-R is our Tech Car of the Year. Nissan has been putting top-notch cabin tech into its Infiniti models, and applied the same gear to the GT-R. But that's only the beginning, as you can almost feel the circuitry running through the GT-R's advanced suspensions and road-holding systems. Likewise, the engine is a pretty impressive piece of engineering, bringing in supercar acceleration from a V-6, not to mention the new double-clutch gearbox.

The GT-R has some faults, such as the overly stiff ride, which isn't really mitigated by the Comfort setting for the suspension. And we had some staff disagreement about that double-clutch gearbox: Brian Cooley found problems with using it in traffic, while Wayne Cunningham felt it worked very smoothly. But we couldn't deny the tech tour de force that the Nissan GT-R represents.

Amongst the other nominees, we all liked the creature comforts found in the Lincoln MKS, such as THX audio and gas prices fed right into the navigation system, but it lacked the under-the-hood tech of the GT-R. Ford may redeem itself with an upcoming twin turbo V-6 for the MKS. The BMW M3, especially with its double clutch gearbox, is very, very good, but it needed the cabin tech update it's getting in 2009. The Infiniti EX35 has some impressive new tech, and the Dodge Ram is surprisingly gadget-filled for a pick-up, but none of these cars quite came up to the level of the Nissan GT-R.

Worth losing your license

2009 Nissan GT-R

Runner up: 2008 Audi R8

With some cars, speed limits will make you cry. With its advanced driving gear, the Nissan GT-R is perfectly safe at 100 mph, but the authorities think in terms of lowest common denominator, so winding country highways get plastered with 55 mph speed limit signs. You will be more than tempted by the Nissan GT-R, its spectacular acceleration alone inviting a firm foot on the gas. But better check how many points you have on the license before crossing that line. The Audi R8, with its hard-core sports car looks, will likewise have you edging ever faster, until flashing red lights in the rear view mirror demand a sheepish pull over to the side of the road.

Source: CNET