Nissan GT-R is impressive, but for $77,000 it should be perfect

— -- You want to love the 2009 Nissan GT-R supercar because it's just so wickedly fast, especially for the price, and filled with the kind of gadgets a factory never has given driving enthusiasts — G meters, for instance, so you can tell how forcefully you're cornering, braking, accelerating.

And how can you fail to be impressed by its engine — never mind the awesome power — that is hand-built, Nissan says, in an environmentally controlled clean room by a single technician? Or the optional Super Silver paint: seven coats, baked five times, hand-rubbed.

Or the six-speed automatic that's tuned to shift as fast as a Formula 1 racer?

That's the kind of stuff that warms the ol' cockles.

But, lordy, what a harsh personality the GT-R has.

The people who know and love the GT-R — a passionate cabal — surely will say that anybody not sharing their enthusiasm "doesn't get it." GT-R did, after all, win Motor Trend magazine's 2009 Car of the Year, though it wasn't a finalist in the respected North American Car of the Year balloting by auto journalists representing dozens of publications. Main braggin' point: It outperforms cars priced tens of thousands of dollars more.

Very impressive. No question.

But, c'mon, for a starting price of about $77,000, shouldn't the power-window switches and the inside door handles be easy to reach? Shouldn't the high-falutin' dual-clutch transmission engage more gently than a whack in the back by a Caterpillar D9? Or the shift lever move toward the words "manual" and "automatic" to choose your mode instead of going one way only? Shouldn't the outside door handles be easier to grab and yank?

Can't there be some technology in this high-tech showpiece that gives those who live where there are real roads with real bumps a smoother ride than the so-called comfort setting on the adjustable suspension? ("Comfort is a relative term, isn't it," acknowledges Nissan's U.S. product chief Larry Dominique.) High performance is no excuse for lack of utility and ergonomic elegance.