Brownergy

One thing I consider is Honda's pride in F1. I feel like that has to push them into building a production car that is performance based. I think they might have a dry spell over the next 3-4 years but in reality they would come out with something, and that something will awe people the way the NSX did back in 1990. That's my prediction and wish. Also consider they just put the Acura in Le Mans, same way Audi has done the R8 production car, look for a possible Acura car with roots that tie into their Le Mans car.

Slamnasty

I say chill out, gees. As has been stated, Honda competes in F1, and might I add, outshines Toyota in that respect. Toyota has never won anything in F1; Honda has, many times.

As for sporty products, Toyota's record is worse than Honda's at present, since they don't have sporty ANYTHING available other than the IS350. Honda at the very least has the S2000 (which is arguably more sporty than the IS350 from a purist standpoint), and the Civic Si, TSX, and TL-S if you think those count. All Toyota has is big straightline-quick cars like Camry and Avalon, and those aren't barnstormers. Toyota is just getting back into the game after being out of it seriously since the cancellation of the Supra. The last MR2 was fairly sporty, but didn't outshine the class-leading Miata in any notable respect other than being uglier. The Celica GT-S was IMO sporty, but ill-conceived. Toyota has been out of it longer without question.

Don't sweat it so much. Honda needs to bring a new game plan, but they aren't in as bad a shape as you're making it sound.


Oh, and that's not the LF-A's true form by a long shot. It's a tacked-on grouping of panels very vaguely resembling the final shape, which I'm sure will be far more elegant than that.

yellow2001

honda builds sports cars for fun? how much money do honda spend on F1 and other racing.

ps. 500hp v10? so what, its been done. so what if the nsx is a v10 and 500hp. by the time it comes out, it is yesterdays news.

btw the nsx was a rear wheel mid engine car. the new nsx or what ever they are planning to come out with is rear wheel, front engine. that is not an nsx. They need to name it something else.

Slamnasty

[QUOTE]...ps.

GT_2003

What "sporty image" does Honda have to lose? Despite what some fanbois might believe, few people in the general population would consider a manual tranny in an econobox a "sports car." Most people think a sports car is first and foremost, not an economy car, and second and third, is RWD and looks sexy. Honda really has nothing to lose at this point. They make exactly one car that might impress anyone with sporting ability, and that's pretty much it. If they've ever heard of an NSX, they've long since forgotten it ever existed. You can't really blame them.

Chris Stack

[QUOTE=GT_2003,Jun 12 2007, 10:15 PM]

What "sporty image" does Honda have to lose?

TheDonEffect

Outside of our realm, Honda doesn't exactly have a sporting image, and their popularity/success isn't from a sporting image anyway. Ask the common folk (who, btw, contributes the majority of sales, we enthusiasts don't) to name Honda's sportscar and well, they'll be at a lost. Granted they wouldn't be able to name Toyota's or Mitsubishi's either, maybe Nissan's, but they would be able to name Chevy's and Ford's. But they will know what a Civic or Integra is, and well, they'll probably say those cars are for wannabe racers or something to that effect. Hell, you could ask people within the enthusiast communities outside the Honda base and you'll find even more ridicule.
We all know Honda makes some great cars, especially when you think about the S2000. But I'm not ready to grasp just yet calling an SI or a GSR, as great as they, full blown sports cars.
Sorry, hate to be blunt though, but guys, to the other enthusiasts and to the common folk, Hondas arent exactly widely respected. The NSX wouldnt be as highly regarded if it didn't have the sexy shape; I mean people say that its a ferrari beater, this and that, but you have cars like the Supra, RX7, and Zr1 that came out aroudn that time, the NSX is hardly a racing benchmark. But it sure does have a great feel and is an impressive machine, but what worked then won't work now. I applaud Honda for making that V10, but I'll believe it when I see it because the competition is getting quite stiff, especially since Ferrari and Porsche are makign some stellar cars these days.

Dr. WOT

I disagree. First of all, Honda is the only one that has consistently been offering sporty/sports cars throughout the last 2 decades, Toyota and Nissan have both gone missing for long chunks of time.

Secondly, and more importantly having a halo vehicle supercar is fine and dandy, but what good is it when costs $80k+ and meanwhile every other car you make is more boring than Wonder bread with the crust cut off? An Accord may not be a sports car, but Honda makes sure to give it feel and a direct mechanical connection that a Camry can only dream about; Sentra Corolla- same. That is the "market," not a micro niche of sports cars. Even when Honda makes the ultimate econbox, the Fit, they imbue it with Honda soul.

This is the essence of Honda-- they NEVER make cars than stand out in any single way, but they ALWAYS make cars that are more than the sum of their parts. Go buy a Toyota, they're great cars. I will stick by Honda because I appreciate that spirit and SOUL.

vtec9

what market are you talking about? You think Honda cares if it doesn't sell 3,000 new NSXs/year because of competition? How many LF-As do you think lexus is going to sell? It's rumored to be close to $200k and battling for ground vs Ferrari.. not exactly an easy task.

Slamnasty

OK now you're wandering off into La-La land. Bread-and-butter Civics and Accords do not have soul. They are well-made machines that IMO are more attractive as purchases than Toyotas, but they do not have soul.