The grass must be greener. Why are we so many of us obsessed with exclusiveness? Perhaps it makes us feel special. I’ve heard countless times that I don’t want to buy Car X because I’ll see it at every stoplight.
Even I have said such a phrase before. Honestly, do we die a little on the inside every time you see an S2000? I would certainly hope not. I often put the top back and go for late night cruises. That is probably why I have way more miles on my S2000 than the average person.
Anyhow, I ended up in a very ritzy neighborhood. Every house had a big gate and at least a six car garage. Yeah, these folks are definitely high rollers. I got quite inspired just looking but vowed I wouldn’t need that much space unless I had 10 kids. To my surprise I counted 5 Cadillac Escalades and two Range Rovers on the same street. Keep in mind that there were only 10 houses on this entire street.
Are these people mad?!? Why are they all driving the same car? I don’t know what was in their garages, but still. It’s okay to switch up. Throw in a Tahoe, Cayenne, X5, or something. It didn’t seem to bother them up on the upper end of the price stratosphere. I thought to myself “All that cash and no imagination.” By the time I got home I thought, “a good car is a good car.” It shouldn’t really matter too much. Of course some of you may feel differently. Lucky for us our S2000’s are good cars and kind of exclusive.
Honda sold over 66,000 cars in the U.S. in ten years. I know that it sounds like a lot. The Honda Accord sells over 60k every three months. The fact is that the streets simply aren’t exactly flooded with them unless you live in the Sun Belt. We can think of our exclusivity as icing on the cake. Not the whole bloody thing.
- onehots2k
NOTE: S2KI welcomes the opinions of its members on the S2000 and on all topics related to the S. Should you feel the creative urge to pen a few words then by all means do so and PM Energetic, Aashish2 or Onehots2k OR send us links to what you would like us to write about and we will feature you (or your community) on the S2KI Home Page.
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on Apr 22nd, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Agreed!!! I feel like a million bucks when I drive around w/ the top down here in Indiana where s2k sightings are few and far between other than our little club we have.
on Apr 22nd, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Ofcourse the S is exclusive. It is so exclusive that except for an avid true car nut, most would not even know the rare sight they are seeing as the S accelerates forward from the rear view mirror, alongside and off into the distance. Pretty sure 7 out of 10 people wonder what it is.
Is it a bird, is it a plane, its a Honda :O
on Apr 22nd, 2010 at 7:13 pm
directed to A2… i had 2 people ask me what mine was this morning at stoplights lol. no badges are on my car except the honda badge on the rear but still… just headin to class with the top down not driving hard at all, just cruising along, and an elderly man was super impressed with it and wanted to know what country he had to go to to get one… i just told him right down the road to the left at the honda dealership and pulled off at green. he looked excited lol… like he wanted to take a loan out that second =)
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 3:48 am
I do like the lines of the car and I think it will age well. It still gets compliments on a design that really hasn’t changed since they first came out almost 10 years ago. Also, not a lot of people know what they are… I wonder if Honda would have sold more of them if they had marketed them better??? Anyway, I wish there were more out there. I’m a practical guy and the more s2k’s on the road the more affordable and accessible the parts will be for them over the long run… IMHO.
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 6:13 am
The other day me and a challenger were “playing”. When I say playing I mean, hard acceleration to the speed limit or a little above (like 50-55 in a 45). Not doing anything crazy. My asura exhaust’s tone makes it sound pretty boxer like. He was clueless about what kind of car it was, and asked me what kind of engine was in it. When I told him it was an I-4, his facial expression turned into a massive “ugh wtf?!?”. I gave him a compliment on his challenger and we went on our way. I just enjoy that whether people know it’s a Honda or not we don’t get put into that “Honda” stereotype category. It seems that people respect the car even if your driving spiritedly. I’ve never got one of those “Ugh your flying around in a civic you jackass” (I won’t lie, I get mad everytime I see a DA Integra flying through lanes on the freeway). Regardless if I see one, or 10 in a single day I feel like I’m in a seperate league, but not in a douchebag way.
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 8:17 am
At least once a month, I get the same: in a parking lot, or at a red light, or at the gas station, someone comes up and says “What a nice car, but what exactly is it?” So yes, I feel exclusive.
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 8:23 am
It was one of the main selling points for me when I bought my S.
I initially was looking at the new Eclipse’s back in ’05 but
after some research I discovered I could have a convertible,
a roadster and a car you don’t see 50 times a day for just a
little more than the Eclipse…and the rest is history.
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 10:18 am
^^We’ve all had similar experiences. Too sweet!
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 11:41 am
Haha, I’m sitting here reading this at work and all it makes me want to do is go fly home at 8k on the dash. Also definitely agree with everything White Flash said. Come on quitting time!
on Apr 23rd, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Exclusivity was not the principle reason for my purchase of the s2000, but it was certainly a nice added bonus and surprise.
Let’s not kid ourselves, the only reason this car is so exclusive is because of the manual transmission. The car was priced reasonably enough to compete with the boxsters and z4s that if an automatic had been offered, more certainly than not, well over 300k s2000s could have been sold in the US alone.
And for that decision of Honda to produce only a manual gearbox, I solute them.
on Apr 24th, 2010 at 9:45 am
I love seeing other S2000s out and about, it’s always the high point of my drive and I wish it happened more often.
on Apr 24th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
I hear ya Dopey Wan. It’s always a plus too seeing a good looking girl driving an S around. You don’t have to worry about her not knowing how to handle a car. More props to all you ladies out there driving the S like there’s no tomorrow. (Safely of course).
on Apr 26th, 2010 at 8:13 am
Dopey, I agree with this very much: “Let’s not kid ourselves, the only reason this car is so exclusive is because of the manual transmission.”
In fact, I had to learn how to drive the stick at the age of 34 before I could buy the S2000.
on Apr 26th, 2010 at 11:58 am
It was part of why I got mine, no lie. I had the choice of a 350Z and the s2k, and the exact thought I had was ” f the 350 everyone and their mom has one of those”. I have re-badged my s2k to the ricks S badges and that messes with people even more now lol. I get at the very least one a week asking what it is, I live in san antonio so there are always people from all over visiting for air force graduations, and I cant roll anywhere without getting asked.
on Apr 26th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
Love it when I see other S drivers. I usually flash ‘em or give ‘em a wave. I live in the metro NY area and drive into the city 3-4x a week and have only seen about 5-6 different S2Ks. Strangely enough, they’re all different colors too…
1 NFR, Berlina, Silverstone, Spa, Suzuka..
!
..and i’m in a GPW
Exclusive? Most def.
on Apr 30th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
People respect the S2000 because it hasn’t been conformed to the general public. It’s a true performance machine intended for purists. “Purists” being people that appreciate the physics that are engineered into the S. Optimized power to weight ratio, Reduced rotating, and reciprocating mass, reduced size, perfected weight distribution, perfected suspension geometry, ridiculously rigid x bone unibody that is reinforced & gusseted, wide power band, maximized power to displacement ratio, close ratio gear box, and on an on. All of these concepts seem foreign in most other sports cars, and few take performance to such a refined level.
In my own words. “its as close as you can come to driving a F1 car on the streets”
Pete-
on May 3rd, 2010 at 1:14 am
When i drive my S i feel as though I’m part of Honda’s elite, I live in Sunny Miami and trust me i say that few people here knows what the S is, I get thumbs up all day everyday. Miami is one of the leaders when it comes to the sale of exotic cars and when i take a ride down South Beach or Bal Harbor top down, i feel as though im in the center of attention with all eyes on me and the sun as my spot light.