"Sigh" I want to love the Acura brand again. But they are making it very complicated just like their products....
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What would have made the new NSX sell better?
- Thread starter chrisn
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fastaussie
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yuh, you're absolutely right. but, so do the other Supercars without a hybrid system... :frown:
try one hit of launch control in a 911 Turbo or Huracan. let me know what you think then... :biggrin:
I'm trying to love this car as I love the gen 1. Maybe I am just not looking forward and keeping an open mind. I dunno. I am just sharing my own thoughts. That's all. Sales figures do the real talking....
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Let's review.
The hybrid system in the NSX is part of a corporate branding thing to extend to future products. Plus most other makers with do their own xyz format hybrids in short order.
They weren't out to build the fastest thing on the street and the track but it is much fast than old shlubs like me can utilize.
Okay, the car is not a big seller, but the folks who own them aren't complaining, so in the end a smaller number of folks will have a Honda/Acura halo car than planned. The Earth is still spinning and the Sun is still providing light and heat (i.e. this is not the end of the World).
The hybrid system in the NSX is part of a corporate branding thing to extend to future products. Plus most other makers with do their own xyz format hybrids in short order.
They weren't out to build the fastest thing on the street and the track but it is much fast than old shlubs like me can utilize.
Okay, the car is not a big seller, but the folks who own them aren't complaining, so in the end a smaller number of folks will have a Honda/Acura halo car than planned. The Earth is still spinning and the Sun is still providing light and heat (i.e. this is not the end of the World).
I hope they figure it out B&B. I respect new gen 2 owners as well as any other nsx owner would and I really want this car to be the new Godzilla. But we still just haven't seen it yet. It needs more electric power and slightly more boost. It also needs more personalization for 150k+. I hope Acura can figure it out. More colors and options seem to be the most easiest approach but Acura is on European vacation for the summer and checked out for 2018. I just don't get it? They are so damn close to making a 918 for 200k it's uncanny...
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Honda is a conservative company to start, and they have not put the right resources behind this program (too much engineering and too little commercial).
Nissan doesn't call the GTR Godzilla for nothing.
Many folks crap on Nissan but at the end of the day, they committed resources to the R35 and keep making it better, year after year (very Porsche like). Now they just need to get the R36 hybrid out there (yes, it will be a hybrid).
The NSX was built to have room for improvements, it is just going to take some time to see them. I actually think an open top would be more important than any performance upgrades.
I think when we look back at the car in 10-20 years, the view will be great car, forward thinking, not for every super car customer.
Nissan doesn't call the GTR Godzilla for nothing.
Many folks crap on Nissan but at the end of the day, they committed resources to the R35 and keep making it better, year after year (very Porsche like). Now they just need to get the R36 hybrid out there (yes, it will be a hybrid).
The NSX was built to have room for improvements, it is just going to take some time to see them. I actually think an open top would be more important than any performance upgrades.
I think when we look back at the car in 10-20 years, the view will be great car, forward thinking, not for every super car customer.
Exactly my point. They over engineered the car and built it in record time. Now all they need to do is tweak it a fuzz here and there, but the line in the sand is being stared at while they scratch their head?
I know this car can deliver blistering performance. I am just wondering when Honda/Acura will unveil it. It's like watching an athelete die of cancer and doing nothing to save it.
I know this car can deliver blistering performance. I am just wondering when Honda/Acura will unveil it. It's like watching an athelete die of cancer and doing nothing to save it.
Just had a wild random thought. Anybody know if the first gen would have any chance of passing today's pedestrian requirements? What other Regulation limitations did the 2005 face that helped its demise in addition to slow sales? In a world where most sports cars have resorted to retro-rehashings of their 1960s counterparts, what could a retro first generation redo NSX with 500 horsepower held to a 3100 lb curb weight have done.... 
This will be sad for Acura, it's awesome that they were the first to get the budget hybrid-supercar on the market but they didn't do it right. McLaren and Nissan will learn from Acura's mistakes and make a better budget hybrid-supercar. Unfortunately history doesn't necessarily remember who was first. So Acura might be able to brag about being the first budget hybrid-supercar but will it really matter if few people care?
One view on hybrids:
No 911 Hybrid....for now..... Sept 2017 "Excellence Magazine":
No 911 Hybrid....for now..... Sept 2017 "Excellence Magazine":
Maybe they should drop one of their awesome "clean diesel" jewels in their lump.
There is no question those cars are much faster, but launch control in the NSX should make 99% of people pretty happy.
The Launch Control is cool but nothing that any other competitor can't do. LC is almost standard on most sports cars these days. All the exotic cars are now paddles so pretty much all of them have LC. Heck even my buddies AMG and M3 both have it and it's mighty impressive although I imagine the stress it puts on the car. Our F80 m3 is a manual so that takes a bit more skill to do without roasting the tires or clutch.
I'm not saying its unique, but it certainly clears up any doubts if the car is fast or not vs. a leisurely test drive around town.
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would "600" total system HP be a psychological selling point even though 27 hp more probably wouldnt do much?
Launch control is a fun tool. I've used it a few times in RS and the car rocket launches off the line/
Looks, looks, looks. It's just not good looking, and bears no resemblance to the original. Look at that nose, all those lines that don't match, the horrid corporate beak, the generic rear, the overall "committee" flavor of the design. That's really the whole of it.
The car could look exactly like a Ferrari or Lamborghini but with an Acura badge, it's not going to sell like the Italian brands. They just need time to evolve and build up the NSX name properly to cover larger markets IF they plan on selling higher numbers.
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??? I can't tell you how many complements on how cool the new one looks. That being said, your post points to the wide range of preferences in the world and good for you for saying what you believe.
I really believe this to be true from a marketing standpoint. No matter how you slice it, being in the "500's" unintentionally just ends up bringing them (the car & their brand) categorically downwards to being associated with all the other cars that barely break 500 HP. Versus being lifted upwards and associated with cars in the 600+ HP range and beyond if it was like 601...and it could also help make a significant difference justifying in your mind when considering paying upwards of $200K.
Agreed. "Committee flavor design" whether intentional or not is just not good. At bare minimum, if it only paid more true visual homage to the Gen 1 and looked better in the front and was able to be advertised only 27HP more (easier said than done but hey this is a what if) oh how things could have been different.
That may be true Spec but just speaking for myself, if the looks were right (meaning more towards your mentioned exotics), I for one would want the new NSX (and I imagine many others on this forum as well) and could very easily overlook the other things that get brought up and quickly learn to live with any other of it's shortcomings...even the price actually (still a deal for what you get performance-wise). To that effect as it stands now, I came to the sobering conclusion awhile back that no matter how good it actually performed or was rated I personally could not bring myself to own one because of not clicking with it in this regard (even though I know it's an awesome car and would be missing out on the driving experience). But then again there are plenty of cars out there that can provide truly amazing driving experiences that many of us are simply not interested in owning because of how they look.
fastaussie
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even if it did look like a Ferrari or Lambo (it never could, because Japanese/American designers aren't Italian), it just isn't stunning to behold like they are.
and we all know a new model does its best numbers in year one. it's all down hill from here mate...
the car doesn't look bad. but no one is going to say it's better looking than an Italian car...
i have to agree with Timbo on the looks department. i've seen the car in person twice now. it definitely stands out on the road because of how low and wide it is, like any R8 in a sea of Prius' and SUV's. but it doesn't make you drop your jaw and drool the way any Ferrari or Lamborghini does. and every time i see a new Civic from behind, the first thing that comes to mind is, "oh, it's an NSX?"
but there are many reasons why this car isn't selling. it's not especially good looking, it isn't especially fast, it's definitely a porker, it doesn't do anything the other Supercars can't do (unlike the original), it's not a winner in any particular category (not even 2nd or 3rd), the brand recognition isn't even close for this type of vehicle, it appears priced way too high in this market, Acura mucked up the launch in so many ways, and the general public (non-Honda fan boys) just don't care...
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It looks better than an FF (ok, that was too easy)
And do think the nose of the 488 is better than that of the 458?
The 911 Hybrid isn't ready but Porsche has stepped up it's Hybrid game with the Panamera Turbo e (wow, what a machine)
And do think the nose of the 488 is better than that of the 458?
The 911 Hybrid isn't ready but Porsche has stepped up it's Hybrid game with the Panamera Turbo e (wow, what a machine)
The side profile of the car is pretty damn slick. The front and the rear, DOH! Need some duff beer glasses.
The competition's BIG hips:
Should be interesting to see what really happens with the 992 given that the current generation of the 9991RSR racecar is a mid-engine 991 instead of a rear engine 991 like the street counterparts.
One of the selling points of the 911 platform has been the availability of rear seats, that might go away if the 992 does indeed becomes a mid engine platform, that in turn would place additional challenges on where to locate the battery pack for a hybrid powertrain so might be part of the reasons why they might have scrapped/delayed the hybrid version of the 992.
Porsche seems to be more focused on the Mission-E as well as followup projects for the time been. Given that Porsche is part of VAG they are probably looking at a corporate strategy to keep Tesla right on it's crosshairs.
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