There is something to be said about Halo cars – they provide street cred to a manufacturer and its fans, bragging rights about ‘Ring Times’ and opportunities galore to exploit young impressionable minds via social media outlets. Nissan has the behemoth GT-R, Toyota has that curious carbon creation, the Lexus LF-A, Chevy has the Corvette ZR1 and Honda had the NSX which was quite the marvel of engineering and handling for its time. Currently though, Honda has no halo car, although rumors and hushed whispers indicate that something is coming.
First some recent facts:
- Honda makes a strong statement at the Tokyo Auto Salon by launching its Earth Dreams Technology and promising to be the leader in efficiency within the next three years. One of the announced drivetrains is a large 3.5 L V6 engine coupled with an SH-AWD hybrid system with electric motors powering the rear wheels promising V8 performance coupled with I4 efficiency.
- Top Gear Magazine in a recent article quotes Honda’s design manager emphasizing their need for a halo car and indicating that they are considering building the EV-STER or a new NSX.
A Kei car like the EV-STER may not quite meet the safety standards required for global sales. Hence, as repetitive as this may sound, it does appear that a supercar is possibly being considered, that is expected to restore the faded halo and reestablish Honda’s engineering worth. The question though is whether a halo car needs to be something that can only be afforded by what the Occupy movement would term the “One Percent.”
There is no denying that the aura of the NSX, especially when you consider the pedigree of people tied into its development (Shigeru Uehara, Ayrton Senna, Bobby Rahal, Satoru Nakajima, etc.), did a lot for Honda and established them as a force to be reckoned with. Here was a car that could compete with the best exotics of the time and yet display perfect road manners unlike its temperamental peers. But when you look at the cold hard facts, the NSX sold less than 20,000 units over its 15-year production run gradually losing ground to its competitors who caught up with it and left it behind. Today it is a car desired largely by Hondaphiles and its lack of development did it no favors. That said, is there a need for Honda to build a car like that unless they are willing to commit a full team and resources to constantly keep updating the car and aggressively marketing it along the lines of Nissan and the GT-R?
Further, while the NSX was a major engineering achievement, it did not quite majorly influence the design of Honda vehicles that came after it. If anything, it was a singular albeit a standalone achievement in a roster of mostly FWD cars and Utility vehicles (although it must be given credit for inspiring the McLaren F1). Would it make business sense for Honda to develop something that represents the pinnacle of auto engineering and yet not be able to derive any side benefits from the program that could filter down to the rest of its lineup? Perhaps it is best that they set the NSX name to rest and avoid the kind of mistaken comparison that yielded sorry results when they compared the CR-Z to the CRX-Si. It’s not like the ultra-rich (the aforementioned “One percent”) are lacking options when it comes to purchasing an exotic fire-breathing performance car and the chances are that, unless the NSX redux is truly earth shattering, they will not show up in droves with checkbooks in tow.
How then does Honda go about building their Halo? The answer, it appears, lies in the scores of fans and enthusiasts that have cut their teeth driving CRX-Sis, S2000s, B-swap Civics and the like. These are the people clamoring for performance and that wear dreary looks of disappointment on their face when they walk into a Honda dealership. These are people that endure jibes and mild abuse for driving a slow Honda, but never give up the good fight on track. These are the ones hoping and praying for signs of life and they deserve the halo effect.
So build that turbocharged CR-Z, make the Civic Si sharper looking and make its suspension firmer than the previous generation. Release the HPD parts catalog for the Honda Fit B-Spec racecar to your regular customers and allow them full liberty to customize their car so it can be used by weekend warriors on a limited budget. Most importantly, build another S2000 or something like the S2000. With sales of over 100,000 units over a 10-year run, the S2000 has presence on several continents and is no doubt keeping the Honda passion burning within several of its owners. The NSX was a one-off, but the “S” cars are tradition at Honda right from the early years of the S600 and the S800. The same design manager mentioned above also told Top Gear “A new S2000 is a difficult car for us to do, because of its front-engined, rear-drive platform”. Let me remind him that the lack of driveshaft technology never prevented Honda from building a RWD S600. At that time, Honda looked to its motorcycle division and came up with a sealed chain drive to each rear wheel.
To restore its halo (a.k.a. Mojo) and to keep it glowing, Honda does not need another expensive project. All it needs is to inject a dose of performance in its products and watch as its loyal customers return to the fold enhancing the halo effect throughout the community.
I’m willing to bet that in time more S2000 owners will likely lean towards the Toyobaru or the offerings from Hyundai, than get a second mortgage and splurge on the next NSX. The ball is in your court, Honda.
What do you think? Would Honda benefit more from the NSX or from a bottoms-up approach to building a halo?
RELATED LINKS:
Top Gear – Honda will build a new NSX supercar
Temple of VTEC – Honda Announces Revolutionary Next-Generation “Earth Dreams Technology”
Honda HSV 10 GT image courtesy of Mori via Wikipedia, EV-Ster image courtesy of Honda, Other images courtesy of HPD, krazik, supercarhall, Team Suzuka & Wikipedia
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on Dec 9th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
NSX with hybrid drive train!! whats the point? It will weigh a ton and stil not compare with the GT-R or 911.
mebbe it will work if thye price it under $50K :shrug:
on Dec 9th, 2011 at 6:15 pm
The NSX was never really left behind as far as a driver’s car. The driving experience has gotten more synthetic over the last decade and no “halo car” has really addressed that. Maybe the LF-A was close, but who will ever know with that MSRP? The appeal of the NSX is that it proved in the 280ps era that high-tech approaches like turbos, AWD, and exotic differentials are in fact, inferior to tried and true high chassis, suspension, and engine performance. Instead of trying to make a halo car a fast road car, they tried to make a road car with the approach you take with a racing car. That is why when all the dust settled on the 280ps era, after all the manufacturers had all their chances with all their different approaches, the NSX won with the fastest time at Nordschlife. With Keinosuke Taki at the helm, I am not worried about HSV chassis performance. But making a product with racecar DNA is not easy because the affluent consumer is not really a hardcore driving enthusiast, and their demands are tugging the line of compromise towards refined road manners rather than top notch response and dynamics. I hope Honda will decide that those kinds of customers are already well served by cars like the GT-R and go all-in for the purist, but I know the money issues make it hard.
on Dec 9th, 2011 at 6:52 pm
See, from an economic standpoint: If Nissan can r&d and manufacture the 370z + GT-R, and Toyota can r&d the LFA + BRZ within the time frame that they have, Honda can definitely r&d a new halo + mid-range sports car. Yea Toyota is the powerhouse, slapped in the face by its quality assurance disasters, but it still is achieving greatness. Honda can definitely do the same. I’m actually glad Honda’s waiting. It just shows how patient they are in waiting for when the time is optimal economically.
on Dec 10th, 2011 at 7:55 am
I would argue that groundbreaking technologies introduced in the 1991 NSX did indeed make it to Honda’s production vehicles: namely electric power steering and VTEC.
on Dec 10th, 2011 at 11:29 am
A real NSX replacement with hybrid engine? I think the electronic parts should be left out, too much complication and weight. For Acura, they really need a real RL that is more like a Lexus LS in size, put a V8 turbodiesel and use that for SUV/SUT also, which makes it more useable by Honda vehicles. This will sell way more than a halo car, and maybe they could then afford to bring out a real Halo later (which won’t make money).
For the regular people, they really need a good coupe, along the Prelude or Integra lines, but offer engine options. S replacement would be nice, but it won’t be as popular as a 2+2, as nearly all manufacturers have decent success with sporty coupes. Never offered a turbo in the US on a coupe, they should offer it. Seems that the German companies offer so many engine options, although cost is comparatively more. Right now Honda appears to be focusing on business success more than “fun” vehicles. A good 2+2 can be fun and successful.
on Dec 10th, 2011 at 2:07 pm
OMG, earth dreams, eco friendly shit… do we need that? I think not!
on Dec 10th, 2011 at 6:58 pm
^ you gotta remember, honda is a VERY eco friendly minded company. for the most part, economy and earth friendliness has been designed into their cars for quite some time. the honda america facility in ohio is an extremely eco-friendly designed facility meeting LEED certification and what not – you can read up on their facility here in the USA to see how serious they are about alternative energy and so fourth. for them to push into the ‘earth dreams’ and whatever hybrid technology to propel them into more earth conscious is only a natural step for them…
also, you gotta remember honda prides itself for being an extremely conservative company as a whole. yes, car companies have so called halo cars to keep consumers keen and their brand name in people’s heads, BUT honda is a very conservative and will proceed to do business in a very calculated, conservative, and flat manner
on Dec 10th, 2011 at 7:51 pm
Honda, please let toyota keep the hybrid crap for their halo cars and get back to making real enthusiast’s cars for your halo cars. Stand out and be counted. As usual, marketers and bean counters run companies these days…and we all know accountants are boring by nature. Boring people make boring cars.
darcy
on Dec 11th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
That first red car shown at the top really looks like a modern morphing of a S2k/NSX. Really cool! Give us one of those!
on Dec 12th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
I just want Honda to be true to itself. NSX, S’ cars, Type R’s, Civic Si, Prelude’s, man I know it’s in there, we know it’s in there. I know that performance is an integral part of Honda’s DNA. And although traits may miss a generation, we’re only asking to see what we already to know to be true in manifestation. It’s sad to see people who are passionate and hopeful of Honda to only be disappointed year after year.
on Dec 12th, 2011 at 3:25 pm
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-57341615-48/acura-announces-new-nsx-concept-for-detroit/?part=rss&subj=crave&tag=title&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cnet%2FpRza+%28Crave%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
on Dec 12th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
When Honda makes the sports cars, making profit was not the most important priority. s2000 was a good example. It is a purists’ car without compromise. Honda made almost the same car for the 10 years without adding things which can make it popular. I think Honda pause to produce halo car for good reason.
on Dec 12th, 2011 at 8:21 pm
I don’t know. I never really thought an auto manufacturer needed a “halo” car to be successful. I think what’s really important is for the manufacturer to design and build cars that excite and stimulate their customers but at the same time are within reach of those customers.
Take a look, for example, at Acura. Not too many years ago Acura was a hot line. Not because of the NSX, but rather because of cars like the RSX (especially the type S) and the TL. Once Acura discontinued the RSX there was no reason for anyone under the age of 35 to go into an Acura showroom. And once they restyled the TL with the front fang, they lost whatever following they had. None of this had anything to do with a “halo” car and everything to do with producing affordable cars that excited the customer. The TSX is nice, we own one, but it really doesn’t seem too much different than a Camry.
Look too at Honda. They had an Si that was fun to drive and an S2000 that was outstanding and exciting and within reach of their customer. The Civic was a great value and the Accord which was the smart everypersons car. The Accord grew big and fat, the Civic fell behind the other cars in it’s class in terms of value, the Si was toned down and the S2000 discontinued. Now the Honda line has cooled down.
A “halo” car is fine for bragging rites, but that’s as far as it goes. If you want to heat up your line produce exciting cars that people can afford and they’ll fly out of the showroom.
on Dec 12th, 2011 at 10:38 pm
S2000 was Honda’s “halo” car in the United States. NSX was sold under the Acura brand, so it was never a “Honda” in the States. Get your facts right!
on Dec 13th, 2011 at 6:40 am
@Top Secret – you do reelize NSX was Honda all over the world except in US
on Jan 3rd, 2012 at 5:52 am
It wouldn’t have been very difficult for Honda to make a car like the Nissan GTR or the Lexus LFA.I am sure they could have come up with some thing better if they wanted too.The HSV -010 just shows that.But as mentioned in this article Honda is a very conservative company which always tries hard to make the economically right decisions but at the same time it will go ahead with its own beliefs and be the pioneer when it comes to technology.
I liked what Takanobu Ito said, that Honda aims not just for best driving performance but also for best fuel economy and environmental friendliness. I am not surprised that their next sports car is going to be a Hybrid.
I am sure the long wait is going to be worth it.The new NSX to be revealed in Detroit in a few days is going to put Nissan and Toyota to shame and leave them behind in the race for High Performance Hybrid Sports Cars.
Also one should keep in mind that the Development of the Electric SH-AWD system must have been one of the most challenging job at Honda’s R&D Center and the long wait must be for improving and making the system more reliable and effective.
I must say, the following paragraph written in this article is so true.
“These are the people clamoring for performance and that wear dreary looks of disappointment on their face when they walk into a Honda dealership. These are people that endure jibes and mild abuse for driving a slow Honda, but never give up the good fight on track. These are the ones hoping and praying for signs of life and they deserve the halo effect.”
I feel pain when every time I enter a Honda showroom and there’s not a single sports car they have in their lineup. I had a tough time reminding people who didn’t know about Honda’s racing heritage, that Honda is not just another normal car manufacturer but can beat the shit out of big companies when it comes to sports cars.
Very well written aashish2.