Autoblog

1. The NSX is dead

Posted at 11:37AM on Apr 17th 2008 by Jason

2. What happened with design? The original model though Ferrari like was a distinctive low production model. This new one looks like anything else on the road. Maybe it's time to just call it quits.

Posted at 9:24AM on Apr 18th 2008 by Dave

3. Technically, it won't be a Honda product. It'll be an Acura globally. And I'll say here what I said on TOV:

The Corvette is not a bad design necessarily. But considering how beautiful and graceful Japanese design can be (think caligraphy, origami, sand gardens, etc) I definitely think it's a waste of potential. German design is classy and generally very upscale looking (think Audi R8), British design is some of the best, period (Aston Martin, Bentley's interiors), Italian's do beautiful sports cars better than anybody (Pinanfarina's Maserati Birdcage Concept, Alfa's 8C), but looking at Mazda's Nagare, Ryuga, etc, concepts, Japanese vehicles really can stand out without being derivative of the Europeans.

Asking people to pay for an Acura that looks like a Chevy when there's an Aston Martin product or Maserati product in a similar price/performance range? Regardless of whether Honda's name is behind it, as pretentious as buyers in that segment can be and if the new TSX and RL are any indicators, I can't see many people swaying in Acura's favor. But I guess we shall see what happens.

Posted at 11:39AM on Apr 17th 2008 by Red

4. In the haze of nearly 20 years many of you may have forgetten that when the NSX first came out, it was generally seen, stylewise, as a Ferrari ripoff. Particularly from the front, where it strongly evokes the 348. Hardly an original example of "graceful Japanese design" evoking caligraphy, origami, or sand gardens.

Posted at 8:26PM on Apr 17th 2008 by 500

5. C'mon, slap some headlights on that thing and send it into production! :D

Posted at 11:40AM on Apr 17th 2008 by Trent

6. And bumpers, and doorhandles, and a production-feasible interior, and...........

[In other words, this is a "concept" car. That shouldn't be a new concept (pun intended) to you. It's not a production mock-up.]

Posted at 1:28PM on Apr 17th 2008 by 416Hammy

7. Joke:
1. something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement, as a witticism, a short and amusing anecdote, or a prankish act: He tells very funny jokes. She played a joke on him.

Posted at 4:01PM on Apr 17th 2008 by Trent

8. congrats honda on the decision to go RWD on multiple models!! you're only (look at watch) 25 years late!!

my high school calculus teacher used to say "better never than late..."

Posted at 11:40AM on Apr 17th 2008 by Tsunami Racer

9. What we have to remember is that, despite some very good sales, Honda is a small company. Smaller than Nissan/Renault, FIAT, PSA or Mitsubishi. Much, much smaller than Ford, Toyota, Daimler, VW or GM.

They can't really afford to engineer more than a few platforms, and they really can't make them terribly different from each other. They're about the size of BMW, who also has a serious lack of diversity in their product line: all rear-drivers (excepting the Mini) with little base engineering differences. The difference is that Honda's cars are mostly front-drive (excepting the S2000) and are more mass-market (with the lower profit margins that entails).

It's the reason that Acura struggles as a marque of gussied-up Accords: Honda is not Toyota; they do not have the capital to engineer a speciality platform and move it in the volume necessary to offset the cost. What they do, they do very well, and criticising them for working within their financial limitations really isn't fair.

You may as well as BMW or Porsche (unless they buy VW) to sell a Civic-class car at a Civic price (and no, the 1-Series does not count; it's too small inside, to expensive to make and much too heavy). They're simply not set up to offer that breadth of product.

Posted at 12:35PM on Apr 17th 2008 by psarhjinian

10. oh trust me, having been on the inside for several years at the big H (not hyundai), i can tell you they have plenty of $$$ to develop a RWD sedan.

they were just arrogant about it because unlike a big marketing/sales based company like Toyota, Honda is an engineering/manufacturing driven company. if their engineers said, "no need for RWD V8, we can accomplish just as well with AWD and a 300HP V6", that's what they set out as a challenge. problem was, while the engineers were busy impressing themselves with variable timing-this and super handling-that, the market was calling for a RWD sedan with available V8.

if they can spend $$$ on developing a stupid "awesome-o" robot and even private jets, they've got money to make a RWD V8 sedan. it's not money they lack; it's sales and marketing driven savvy they're deficient on.

Posted at 1:09PM on Apr 17th 2008 by Tsunami Racer

11. rwd? honda motorcycles since day 1!

Posted at 1:14PM on Apr 17th 2008 by Evander O.

12. What happened to the HSC Concept? I loved that thing.

Posted at 11:42AM on Apr 17th 2008 by Seoultrain

13. ferrari laughed at it for being on estrogen, game over.

Posted at 12:04PM on Apr 17th 2008 by SenSpeed

14. Who cares what ferrari thinks. I thought HSC was great, too. Definitely better than the thing picured above.

Posted at 12:10PM on Apr 17th 2008 by John R

15. Ferrari ought not to laugh.

The first NSX scared the bejeezus out of the Italians, and probably furrowed some brows as Porsche as well. It wasn't quite as extreme, but it cost a lot less and wasn't a complete maintenance princess. Remeber late 80s/early 90s Ferraris? Remember "Oil changes every 1000km, and even then you're spending more time in the shop than out". The NSX was a supercar that could be treated like an Accord, and it (as well as the Corvette) were serious game-changers.

I think people forget that the NSX was released in 1991. They're comparing it to models released in the last years of it's life, which isn't exactly fair. Honda's mistake was not (by choice or not) failing to keep the pressure on.

Posted at 12:39PM on Apr 17th 2008 by psarhjinian

16. I completely agree... that car was gorgeous. With the right underpinnings it would have made a perfect NSX successor.

Posted at 1:41PM on Apr 17th 2008 by Leaf

17. I still wish it was gonna be mid engined. Oh, well...

Posted at 11:43AM on Apr 17th 2008 by Franz

18. It can be front mid-engined

Posted at 12:07PM on Apr 17th 2008 by Nick

19. all it needs now is Acura's ugly bucked teeth grill and its SH-"F"WD

Posted at 11:44AM on Apr 17th 2008 by SenSpeed

20. can`t wait to see this car...if it ever comes. Honda keeps promising and under delivering. The NSX will have a tough time to compete with the GT-R. Will this NSX have better performance than the GT-R and at what price? The RL is a luxury car joke. The TSX is from the Honda Brand. Only the TL manages to distinguish its itself as a nice design with Acura flavor...but with an Honda Accord platform!. What the hell is taking Honda so LONG to bring us a true luxury line up for Acura!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who is running the show over there. Does anyone have a clue?

Posted at 11:49AM on Apr 17th 2008 by dreamtech