I dont know why you guys defending the cars looks. Looks are oppinion, thats it. Stop reminding me the car looks good.

Fact is for equal/ or less money you get better performance (be it skidpad, Accel., Braking) in other cars.

Like the attention you get in an NSX? Um...newsflash.... I can spot a viper coming from 1 mile away. Like a rare car? Drive a marauder or gto... There rare for the same reasons. Over priced for what they offered.

Even though steve C usually annoys me( not disrespect meant, you just do), his point is often overlooked. You dont have to tell me that a 15 year old model still works well today. Most cars would still work "well" today, except they were updated.

Great car, just not worth the dough. End of story.

 

I can understand people buying a car on emotional appeal. Everyone does it to some degree. But even though I like the NSX generally, if I had the money to buy one in my hand right now, I'd probably buy something else, or a small collection of other cars I wanted (used of course). For me, though I honestly have never driven one, the NSX, from a numbers standpoint, would not sell me.

 

People - the list price is irrelevant. Dealers are pricing these things much much much lower.

Which would you rather have for the same price, same year? 996 C4 or NSX. I chose the NSX; most do not, but I do not for 1 second believe that the C4 outperforms an NSX, aside from having a more attractive interior. I can do some small updates to my cars interior which will go a long way.

The list price is a joke, but it is irrelevant.

And who cares when it was designed and I didnt care that its a Honda. I liked it the most and it was competitively priced against cars in its segment (IMO).

 

The C4 was two generations ago, and in fact the ZR1 did outperform the NSX in that day too. Since then, the C5 and now C6 don't simply outperform the NSX in every measure of performance, they blow it away.

 

Please state what I've said that doesn't make sense to you, otherwise your opinion is moot.

 

So now you're arguing about the steering wheel.

Change it.

The fact that the interior of the NSX is straight out of the Honda Accord isn't any better.

And for the price that they ask for... well that is the point everyone is trying to debate on.

 

The Vette's interior has, since the 70s, always been its worst aspect. Too many bin parts, too much plastic, not enough proper design. Part of the reason for this is that the crowd that buys the Vette is infinitely more diverse than that which buys the NSX. The Vette has everyone from little kids to baby boomers to mid-life crises sufferers to retirees to racecar drivers willing to plunk down money for it.

The NSX has a decidedly different fanbase comprised not only of those with more cash, but also very specific tastes. The Vette is much more of an everyman's car.

Not to generalize, but the kind of people I usually see driving fast factory Hondas are mechanical engineers, or work in aerospace or something. A lot of them also drive an Insight or a Hybrid as their daily driver. Just my experience.

The Vette has always performed well, it just hasn't always looked as good as it could. I'd still take one though.

 

Notice that he said most cars, not most sports cars.

So, a few things that jump to mind are:

- 4 channel ABS - many still just use 2 or 3 channel ABS
- Aluminum chassis - only on high(er) dollar cars
- Titanium connecting rods - very few use this at all, period
- Aluminum control arms and hub carriers - still rare today
- Aluminum subframes for suspensions - again, still rare today
- 8200 rpm cut-off for motor (I think) - still one of the highest out there, even today, especially for a V6/I6 or V8

You can go on about "who cares" about aluminum but the point is that it's still not exactly heavy. Congratulations - it only took GM ten years to match the weight of the NSX without using aluminum. Big achievement! Boy, those GM boys are amazing. The new Z06 uses carbon fiber and magnesium to lower its weight - they're going well beyond aluminum now, so it's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison.

I think you're missing the bigger point. What car that's 15 years old actually still has some big design features that are not outdated today (or exploited by every "15-20 grand economy car"? Can you name a Porsche from 1991 that has a bunch of yet-to-be-exploited features? Ferrari? Lotus? Lamborghini? If so, please elaborate.

Bottom line - the NSX has aged very well. Yes, it's overpriced but it is still a very livable, drivable, user-friendly, reliable sports car that has more than enough performance for any type of street driving.

If I could afford $75K for a car, I'd consider the NSX. I tend to think I'd go with a 997 S, but perhaps not. I can live with 290 hp on the street.

 

I will agree that the C6 blows away NSXs, but not that C5s do the same. I would suggest that the C5 has the edge, but its not much of one. In the hands of some, NSXs have been faster than C5s, including the 1/4.

And C4's were not two generations ago. Lump C4S's in there too. Both those cars were available 02 and neither outperform NSX's; furthermore, NSXs have been selling for prices that are inline with those cars. The only thing I will give you is that AWD is an expensive option, and NSXs should be priced alongside Carerra's, not C4s. But they're not. Perhaps it is the glorious tape deck that commands such a high cost. That 15 foot antenna has to be filled with gold, too.

You cant retreat to corvettes as a measure of what is reasonable performance per dollar. Those cars cannot be beat by anything on that measure. They're outstanding performers for an exceptionally reasonable price. I debated waiting for a new Z06, as clearly for performance THAT is the car to have, but I just didnt want one. I lust for one, but I just dont want to buy one.

 

If the NSX were priced at $50k, the car could become competitive again. It might (but not likely) make me think twice about buying an Elise, C6 Vette, or M3. If the NSX Type-R were to be ever released, it would have to be priced below the new Z06, oh-say $65-70k, to be somewhat competitive. While it looked beautiful for its time, I can't help but chuckle when I see this car at car shows. It looks sooooooooo old next to the Mini, Elise, 911 Carrera, and 360 Modena. The car is a great classic and I would definitely consider purchasing a used one in the $25k range. Steering wheel, gauges, and seats are butt-ugly. If I had one, those are the first 3 things to go.

The NSX in this day and age reminds me of the old Morgan 2-seaters which didn't evolve from the 30's model until a few years ago.