Honda falling out of favor w/the FF crowd?

[NeoNSX]

I blame the hideous NSX in the 2F2F movie... that alone would put people off Honda.

Don't you think also ricers are always looking for ways to make their cars look different; so naturally they'd explore different brands?


<B>SaxonSaxon</B> <I>"Well, I do not and most of my friends have hard time placing their knees next to their chins to fit in it as well.</I>

Did you adjust the seat?! I'm over 6 foot tall, and i found it extremely comfortable. It was very snug; just the thing for hard cornering. There wasn't a lot of space for in-cabin luggage or junk but I had no problems with leg-room.

<B>PHOEN$X</B>: good article!

 

[transdzn]

IF you think the s2k is too tight-- you'd be in the red behind the steering wheel of an F1.

 

[schuey1010]

Re: Honda

I'm a big guy and I fit real nice in the S2K with room to spare.

You may be a big guy, but you must be under six feet tall to have room to spare.

Well, I do not and most of my friends have hard time placing their knees next to their chins to fit in it as well.

Not that I am average height, but at 6'7" my NSX is a Expedition compared to my buddies S2000. Who were they making that car for, the average jockey? Not real spacious.

 

[whiteNSXs]

Re: Honda

Well, I do not and most of my friends have hard time placing their knees next to their chins to fit in it as well.

It is not Honda's fault that their cute little sport car does not have room for the very very tall or the very very fat. I am 6 ft tall and find the S2000 very roomy plus enough room to spare for bigger guys.
Steve

 

[PHOEN$X]

<B>PHOEN$X</B>: good article!

Wow, I posted this over a year ago, and it's probably out of date.

I can't believe somebody resurrected it!

 

[Patdeisa]

I'm in the older crowd (22-26) they were looking for and bought a RSX-S. I think Honda should have moved the S2k over to Acura, and made their Acura lineup RWD or AWD. The RSX-S is great as a commuter, is only 100# heavier than the Integra GS-R, has a great tuneable motor (NA is pushing 230-240 whp that is easily streetable), but it lacks the sportiness RWD I was looking for. Actually, the whole market lacks a sub-$25k RWD performance coupe (not convertible), except for the Mustang. If Honda wanted a unique piece of the market, they should make a performance coupe in that range: sub-$25k, sub 3000#, ~240 hp, coupe with great handling. That'd easily beat the sport compact and the German luxury performance coupes competition out there, and put pressure on the new Mustangs.

 

[Modernceo]

Nothing will compete with the NEON SRT-4 in that segment because of how much power it is making. However, that car is ulgy too, it doesn't handle very well, has wheel hop and tq steer and it is too loud. Plus, at the end of the day, you are still driving a neon..

Calling it ugly is a matter of personal opinion. I really like the styling of the SRT-4 and think that DC did an impressive job on the appearance of the car.

So what if it has wheel hop ? A pair of $24 motor mount inserts will fix that right up, or if you plan on making a lot of power, you can use solid motor mounts for less than $130 !

Torque steer isnt as bad as youd think. I have a LSD in my 03, a little over 330 hp at the wheels and its an impressive machine. Its built for speed and kills everything in its class, and just about everything 7-8k above its list price. Its a hell of a machine, and no matter how many people that dont know what they are talking about that claim "its still a neon" still dont get the picture.

 

[NeoNSX]

Wow, I posted this over a year ago, and it's probably out of date.

I can't believe somebody resurrected it!

because you're not posting enough these days, we need to go back over your old posts.

 

[john@johnhudakracing]

Hmmm, I don't know about this. I think the author of this article is giving Honda a little too much history with the tuner crowd to underscore Honda's "dilema". When I was a teenager in the early to mid 1980s, no one in SoCal even considered Hondas to customize. We all worked on RWD cars like Zs, Supra, Celicas, 510s, and RX-7s. Heck, I bought my Integra in 1988 to get away from the "customization" crowd. Not until later year 2nd generation Integras was there a proliferation of parts.

-Randy

I have to agree. It is the WSJ after all, so one must consider the source. The author's conclusions must come from his own perspectives and have just sounded good enough to publish when combined with Elliot's loose comments, as I don't recall Honda ever directly spinning it quite that way officially. I didn't get that out of it at all.

To me, this sounds like an apples and oranges comparison with the author's persona of car enthusiasts being vastly differently than Elliot's. They really need to be more careful on their terminology.

The bottom line of car sales to any manufacturer (Honda included) is selling new cars- and if the fact that .005% of second hand used car buyers in the current 18-25yr old demographic which customize their 10 year old ones can somehow now be leveraged to create, market, and drive further profitable new car sales with younger, financeable, able car buyers, then I am sure Honda will be interested in doing what they can to leverage this unexpected advantage.

Just look at the products coming out- competitors such as the Scion Elliot mentions and others are hardly what I would consider to be solid 'tuner/performance platforms' no matter what parts or funding may become available. They can go as far to say these meet the needs of 'car enthusiasts' but 'tuners' is a real stretch... but whatever works...

In the meantime thou, if Honda really wanted to create a solid platform for the 'tuner crowd' here's an idea- they can get off their duff and start by offering parts via a factory backed race program like just about everyone else (Mazdaspeed, etc...) does. Let's finally see some return on our good advertising work with some steeply discounted Type R parts over here...

 

[rickysals]

The 2002 - 05 Civic Si is one of the worst cars Honda has ever made IMO. I had a 2000 Si and it was great. 8000 RPM, sporty looking... fun to drive... then the new car arrived. It was UGLY as hell, slower, lower redline and more expensive. It even comes with 15" wheels!

The 2004 is so far behind its competition. It needs the 200HP I4 from the RSX to compete. I think they should just scrap it and start over with a coupe again.

Nothing will compete with the NEON SRT-4 in that segment because of how much power it is making. However, that car is ulgy too, it doesn't handle very well, has wheel hop and tq steer and it is too loud. Plus, at the end of the day, you are still driving a neon..

Nonetheless the difference between a 17K Civic Si and a 25K WRX is pretty substantial price was. A lot of 18 y/o can afford 17K for a car, but 25K is a lot more money.. I doubt too many can make that leap very easily..

i dunno how many 18 y/olds can afford 17,000 for a car, none that I have ever personally met. I'm 21, i know alot of people who are/have been 18. i could afford 3500. the civic is not meant for performance whatsoever. it is meant for reliable, nice looking, cheap, gas-saving, A to B transportation, or atleast most of the models made are, the automatic coupes and all sedans. How many SI's are sold as to compare to regular models to be driven by doctors and single moms? not alot. saying it needs 200 HP is ridiculous. as long as the reliability and gas efficiency is there, so will be the target market, has been for how many years?... the SI will cater to the few who buy civics for performance.

and as for the SRT-4 comments... it's not just a NEON, i hate when people say that, just a dumb comment. It's a bang for the buck car, with a hell of a lot of performance, and if u don't respect it, you may end up getting beat by "just a neon" (not in your NSX obviously, but not everyone has an NSX )

 

[rickysals]

Re: Honda

5. S2000 - made for people who shop in Kids R Us for clothing. Not made for the size of average American.

I hear ya, I'm 6'5"... if i fit in the S2000, it'd be the only car I'd ever consider owning besides the NSX... it's a shame, i REALLY WANTED ONE TOO. but im not even close to fitting.