http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/launch-party-is-over-for-nissan-gt-r/?ei=5070&emc=eta1
As Exhibit A, I give you the Nissan GT-R and its soon-to-be-discontinued launch control feature: A bunch of people bought GT-Rs and fried their transmissions using launch control. Said customers then hit Nissan with warranty claims, at which point Nissan took its toy and went home. Thus the 2009 GT-R will be the only vintage of the car with the factory-sanctioned ability to perform a high-r.p.m. clutch drop from a standstill. I’m not sure whether that will make 2009 GT-Rs more valuable on the used-car market, or less.
Its interesting to note that Ferrari and BMW had already removed launch control in their US versions, seems like Nissan learnt it the hard way.