what are hondas s2000 thoughts?
05-31-2018, 04:59 AM
#11
Manual gearboxes may be in the majority of new cars in Europe. The rental cars seem to be all sticks unless renting a premium car. I rent premium cars in the UK and Australia as the gearbox pattern is "backwards" and the steering is on the wrong side of the car which positions the car too far to the left of the lane so I have plenty to keep my occupied. No problems on the Continent.
With manual gearboxes so common in Europe only bringing a few to North America is based on market demand.
-- Chuck
With manual gearboxes so common in Europe only bringing a few to North America is based on market demand.
-- Chuck
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DocLore (06-05-2018)
05-31-2018, 07:13 AM
#13
The pattern really isn't backwards but in a proper (meaning left hand drive 
) car low gear is against my leg and forward. In the "backwards" pattern low gear is far away from my leg (and forward). I hate starting out in 5th. 
-- Chuck
) car low gear is against my leg and forward. In the "backwards" pattern low gear is far away from my leg (and forward). I hate starting out in 5th. -- Chuck
05-31-2018, 07:50 AM
#14
It's hard to blame them. Spend any time here in this country and it's easy to see that our roads are littered primarily with today's equivalent of the station wagon, the SUV as we like to call them now — I tend to think of them as Shopping Utility Vehicles. I've got to hand it to the auto makers, years ago almost no one would touch a station wagon (the original utility vehicle I suppose), but the industry figured out that people simply did not care for the way they were packaged and marketed. It's ironic that they're now called "Sport" utility vehicles as really all they've done is become larger to accommodate people that are generally more overweight and less healthy than decades past. I love the irony of people driving their Sport UV's , battling one another for the parking spot closest to the door of the store/restaurant trying to avoid having to walk any more than minimum amount possible. Sigh.
. Furthermore, I'm not sure what you mean by packaging. If you mean manufacturers have improved upon the aesthetics, completely agree. I think there are many fantastic modern looking SUV's. It comes down to utility and value. Why buy a Mustang when you can get something cheaper and more usable? To most people a vehicle is looked at as getting from point A to point B, and they're looking for the best way to maximize their purchasing power. If I could only have one car, it would not be my S2000, rest assured. I truly enjoy driving it, but it's a rather useless vehicle in the grand scheme of things. My Jeep Wrangler on the other hand, much more useful.I don't anticipate a new S2000. Market just isn't there.
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Midnightdennis (05-31-2018)
05-31-2018, 08:09 AM
#15
Thanks!
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john d (05-31-2018)
05-31-2018, 08:39 AM
#16
05-31-2018, 12:31 PM
#17
Remember this car was developed fast and under the radar - unlike Civic/Accord/Odyssey it was not focus-grouped to death to ensure maximum sales appeal. Rather, it was already finalized at its (surprise) initial public announcement in Dec '98, and full production of the JDM car started essentially immediately, in April '99. (US production began in June '99.) By April of 2000, about 16,000 cars had been sold worldwide - that means about US$450 million in revenue. If they sold each one at 10% over production cost (reasonable for a low volume car) that would be US$45 million net income, which I guarantee is more than they budgeted to Uehara-san's development team.
05-31-2018, 02:02 PM
#18
I disagree that the station wagon was replaced by the SUV or CUV. They're entirely different markets with very different owner demographics. Jeeps were popular back in the 70's with a sporty, off-road reputation. I remember even back then station wagons were considered "old geezer" cars and any fashion-conscious baby boomer wouldn't be caught dead driving one. Lee Iacocca rolled out the Chrysler Caravan and the rest is history.
Most car companies started churning out minivans but their image wasn't much better than the station wagons they replaced. The car companies started making unibody SUVs that functioned and handled like minivans without triggering the gag reflex among prospective buyers. Gradually, the OEMs stopped making minivans. FCA, the last holdout in that market dumped the Caravan moniker, went back to the drawing board and came up with the new Chrysler Pacifica, which IMO is an awesome vehicle that soccer moms don't detest being seen in.
Most car companies started churning out minivans but their image wasn't much better than the station wagons they replaced. The car companies started making unibody SUVs that functioned and handled like minivans without triggering the gag reflex among prospective buyers. Gradually, the OEMs stopped making minivans. FCA, the last holdout in that market dumped the Caravan moniker, went back to the drawing board and came up with the new Chrysler Pacifica, which IMO is an awesome vehicle that soccer moms don't detest being seen in.
05-31-2018, 10:03 PM
#19
Maybe I'm wrong about the wagon thing. I view wagons as those cars that appealed primarily to people that needed to haul dogs and other stuff around in addition to kids, That was until they started being labeled as "old geezer cars", lol. Then yes, they were replaced by the minivans which in turn were replaced by the utility vehicles. Auto makers lost me personally when the whole minivan craze started and today's utility vehicles hold little more appeal (to me). I'm not saying that I consider utility vehicles to be "bad vehicles" — they simply don't appeal to me. We actually own a VW Golf wagon, but have also owned wagons from Volvo and Subaru in the past. I'm only basing my comments on what I see around me every single day.
Perhaps I was overthinking things. Looking at data gathered within the last five years, I see that over 70 percent of Americans are overweight. Over half of them are actually obese (yes, there are actually more obese people in this country than those who are simply overweight). I can't say that I find the success enjoyed by utility vehicles in this country to be surprising at all. If someone can convince me that it's the less than 30% of Americans who aren't overweight who are accounting for the massive success enjoyed by utility vehicles in this country then I'm all ears.
Perhaps I was overthinking things. Looking at data gathered within the last five years, I see that over 70 percent of Americans are overweight. Over half of them are actually obese (yes, there are actually more obese people in this country than those who are simply overweight). I can't say that I find the success enjoyed by utility vehicles in this country to be surprising at all. If someone can convince me that it's the less than 30% of Americans who aren't overweight who are accounting for the massive success enjoyed by utility vehicles in this country then I'm all ears.
05-31-2018, 10:07 PM
#20
For the record, the idea that the S2000 was some sort of loss-leader for Honda was never true. Honda did *not* lose money on the S2000 - in fact it was profitable within the first year. I remember this being confirmed by a Honda source in a car magazine in 2001 or so; sorry I don't have the specifc citation, but we can do the math ourselves:
Remember this car was developed fast and under the radar - unlike Civic/Accord/Odyssey it was not focus-grouped to death to ensure maximum sales appeal. Rather, it was already finalized at its (surprise) initial public announcement in Dec '98, and full production of the JDM car started essentially immediately, in April '99. (US production began in June '99.) By April of 2000, about 16,000 cars had been sold worldwide - that means about US$450 million in revenue. If they sold each one at 10% over production cost (reasonable for a low volume car) that would be US$45 million net income, which I guarantee is more than they budgeted to Uehara-san's development team.
Remember this car was developed fast and under the radar - unlike Civic/Accord/Odyssey it was not focus-grouped to death to ensure maximum sales appeal. Rather, it was already finalized at its (surprise) initial public announcement in Dec '98, and full production of the JDM car started essentially immediately, in April '99. (US production began in June '99.) By April of 2000, about 16,000 cars had been sold worldwide - that means about US$450 million in revenue. If they sold each one at 10% over production cost (reasonable for a low volume car) that would be US$45 million net income, which I guarantee is more than they budgeted to Uehara-san's development team.