James May on the NSX

I'm not sure if you need to log in to see this link, but here goes:

https://www.drivetribe.com/p/fzXw7QPKQi6pILcVekW24g/SBHzJLyBTrGVcgG1kwqieg

Young James on the NSX: "I drove around in it pretty much all night, and I loved it. I was so mesmerised I didn’t even think to go and pick up my then girlfriend in it. I just drove around England in a youthful stupor of disbelief."

Old James on the NSX: "It was crap. It didn’t help that it was an automatic, because even a Japanese automatic from the early 90s changes gear with the conviction of me at the edge of a high diving board. It was also cumbersome, rolly polly, heavy and dull in the steering, and quite unbelievably slow."

Well, it was an automatic. He liked the new one.

No need to log in to read it, so that's good.

The overarching idea that these guys (including the comments) are trying to make is that old cars don't drive as well as new cars.

This needs to be placed in context, as someone who has never driven a car without power steering is probably going to be horrified at the idea of having to use actual effort to turn the wheel at parking lot speeds.

To me on the other hand, that tradeoff is worth the joy of a direct-feeling manual steering box once rolling.

In this light, I think the NSX might actually be the tipping point of where the analog cars peaked........in that it does have ABS and TC, but you are interfacing with the chassis and drivetrain directly.

Afterwards, the march toward power assisted everything and nannies between you and the vehicle's dynamics to me have made newer cars less engaging to drive.

Heavier, but smoother and faster yes.........more engaging, not so much!

I lost all respect for James May..

He's officially old. Probably eats Marmite by the spoon full.


-jk-

I do like his educational style shows. I wish there were more of them. But unfortunately we live in a society where rehashed mindless youtube content and reality shows take top priority.

Interesting read. I wonder if James May has had the opportunity to drive so many great cars from Bugatti, Ferrari, Mclaren, Lotus, Pagani, Porsche that he is so numb to the simple pleasures of an everyday super car like the NSX? I love my NSX. I know it's not fast compared to newer cars but I get to row through the gears which you can't do with many other "super cars" anymore. If you do nothing but sleep with super models is that very pretty "girl next door" going to knock your socks off??

well, he is right. as are you Aluminsx. drive any modern car and the first generation NSX doesn't feel special at all. time marches on ferociously, that's just how it goes. drive a 458, Huracan, R8, or even a lowly Cayman and our old NSX's are not at all impressive. remembered in the context of, and relative to its time, it was fantastic, but that day has long passed...

fastaussie said:

well, he is right. as are you Aluminsx. drive any modern car and the first generation NSX doesn't feel special at all. time marches on ferociously, that's just how it goes. drive a 458, Huracan, R8, or even a lowly Cayman and our old NSX's are not at all impressive. remembered in the context of, and relative to its time, it was fantastic, but that day has long passed...

Click to expand...

Think of it this way: assuming it was invented (to make the math easy) around 1890, the automobile has been around 125 years or so. The NSX was designed around 1989. Using round numbers, that's "*more than one-fifth*-of-the-entire-time-cars-have-been-around" ago. Of course automobiles have progressed since the NSX was first designed.

Thought of it that way, that the NSX is still somewhat relative today speaks volumes of just how good it was 28 years ago.

dquarasr2 said:

Think of it this way: assuming it was invented (to make the math easy) around 1890, the automobile has been around 125 years or so. The NSX was designed around 1989. Using round numbers, that's "*more than one-fifth*-of-the-entire-time-cars-have-been-around" ago. Of course automobiles have progressed since the NSX was first designed.

Thought of it that way, that the NSX is still somewhat relative today speaks volumes of just how good it was 28 years ago.

Click to expand...

This if funny.
On Drivetribe there is also a comparison by Jethro Bovingon between the new NSX and the 'old' 2002 NSX-R.
He absolutely loves the original NSX-R.

And yes, I know the NSX-R is a step up from the Original 1990-1991, but all the basics are the same.

As a comparo, I think that any owner here who has upgraded his NSX with better (stiffer) suspension, improved brakes, better wheels and some other performance oriented upgrades has a NSX that actually drives better than the relatively 'soft' standard NSX form 1990/91.

I bought a 91 a few months ago. The first time I drove it I was smiling so hard it took me a little while to settle down before I could negotiate the price. My enthusiasm comes from the other older cars I own. My closest comparison car is my 73 240z. It is a car I have owned for a very long time. The NSX is faster, handles better and looks just as nice. So now is my 240z a slow car, that handles bad and is uncomfortable for long drives? Yes of course, but it does not take away from what it was at the time. Just as, I am sure, a new Porsche 911 is faster, handles better and is more comfortable.

Thats why when most "journalist" review old cars they, for the most part, no longer like them. It's all in the perspective of the time. It's really not fair to compare 25 year old cars to new. It's the same as my 69 Mustang to a new 16 Mustang. Of course it is better in every way but would not trade mine for a new one, and most people would not either I would hope.

Love me some James May doing anything, like rebuilding a lawn mower, but reviewing a car.

it's all relative. each year the cars, motorbikes, televisions, socks, phones, get better. you remember them fondly for what they were at the time, but there's no comparison to the newer, better versions. call it nostalgia, or call it progress. you just can't compare the two directly.

these days (or maybe always, as the time line continually moves?), the older stuff seems to retain more character and soul...

flaminio said:

Old James on the NSX: "It was crap. It didn’t help that it was an automatic, because even a Japanese automatic from the early 90s changes gear with the conviction of me at the edge of a high diving board. It was also cumbersome, rolly polly, heavy and dull in the steering, and quite unbelievably slow."

Click to expand...

Memories have a way of changing on us irrespective of truth or the current automotive journal...er, sensationalism trend. Some modern sports cars may drive better but calling the NSX "cumbersome" makes the opinion less than convincing.

Sell your nsx and buy a new sports car. You'll be the grandfather sitting at the mecum auctions 30 years from now trying to buy one back for 3 times the price.:biggrin:

Like fastaussie I see it as relative as well, and when we look back to yesterday in the form of nostalgia it is always through a coloured lens. I feel the article is fair.

I do disagree with the comment; "But you don’t want to drive old cars. They’re just not very good. If they were, they’d still be making them." You can't learn from what you don't know and for that you have to look at the past.

fastaussie said:

drive any modern car and the first generation NSX doesn't feel special at all.

Click to expand...

The reviewer in this new Drivetribe video totally disagrees with you. Some quotes....

"Drives even better than I remember"
"So good, so good, so much feel and feedback"
"This car feels really special"
"For a car of this age to perform so well and provide this level of intensity is unbelievable"
"This car is awesome"
"If the new car can live up to only half of what this does, it will be pretty special"

BB said:

The reviewer in this new Drivetribe video totally disagrees with you. Some quotes....

"Drives even better than I remember"
"So good, so good, so much feel and feedback"
"This car feels really special"
"For a car of this age to perform so well and provide this level of intensity is unbelievable"
"This car is awesome"
"If the new car can live up to only half of what this does, it will be pretty special"

Click to expand...

great video, ironically he found the old car much more thrilling and engaging than the new one.

i don't doubt that the NA2 NSX-R is a special car, not at all, not for a minute. like i said previously, it's all relative. if you spend any time driving any of the new Supercars, any NSX will feel like a slow, wobbly car with no brakes. a base Cayman or even Mustang GT will whoop the pants off my 2002 NSX. that's just 15 to 25 years of automotive development. i'm alright with that, i love my car for what it once was, i'm under no illusions of where it stands today in the performance spectrum.

it's still a special car, and will always be my favourite...

Stock NSX automatic and NSX-R are not the same car AT ALL.

I have driven more new cars than you can shake a stick at, on and off the track. Take an NSX and modify it correctly and it is sublime. It's pudgy and old stock. This has nothing to do with increasing engine power. I can honestly say no Porsche, Jaguar, or BMW quite matches my NSX for pure driving pleasure on a racetrack. James May is not a very good driver.

I spent a few hours in the top dog Cayman. The GT-4. Belongs to a track buddy. Would I trade my stock 05 NSX for it? Probably. It's a better car than it was. Would I trade my car now as is for it? No. He told me honestly as well, that he really enjoyed how my car felt.... and that it was a slightly more pure vehicle.

It 's taken me 10 years of installing and removing modifications on the NSX to get things right. I am still not sure it is perfect, but I would bet it drives similar to that R.

I've never driven a mid-engined modern exotic and I'm sure its mind blowing, but from the second I get behind the wheel to the second I have to force myself to get out, there is no doubt that I'm behind the wheel of something extremely special and insanely great, and everyone who has ever been in the passenger seat completely agrees