Honda to pull out of F1?

[areout]

Totally agree with whiteNSXs.

 

[TC]

Honda won many fans over because the REAL Honda Company was a RACING company which sold cars so that they could keep on racing and winning. Other car companies go racing so that they can sell more cars. Now Honda is just a company that sells cars.
Steve

I think most of us feel similarly let down but remember that Honda pulled out of just F1, it is still racing in many other areas/formats. I do think that Honda just couldn't justify the expense of F1, particularly when it is starting to layoff people, which is just did at its factory in Great Britian.

First, they bought the team from BAT (British-American Tobacco) for probably $100m (at that time, the F1 grid had no open team slots so the only form of entry was to buy an existing team), and then spent another $100m to build new facilities, and then spend $200m or more for each of the subsequent 4 seasons. They easily spent $1b on F1 over the past few years, not counting the cost to start and operate SA for a couple of years.

And in the end, chances are the people (at least in the US) who buy 99% of Honda vehicles - Accords, Civics and Odysseys - know absolutely nothing of F1, Honda's involvement and this pullout.

 

[enigma]

My (hopeful) prediction is that David Richards picks the team up and Ross Brawn secures a deal with Ferrari, thus creating Prodrive Ferrari... While it won't be the team I know and love, I'm still a fan of Jenson and still feel that he has never been given a car quite capable of taking the top slot, despite having the abilities to take that top slot. I also am hoping to either see Rubens get one more year in F1 or see Bruno Senna get a shot.

Let's hope...

 

[swbatte]

As dissapointed as I am, I am not very surprised.

Honda builds more truck models than car models now. Acura still hasn't built a true luxury sports sedan with rear wheel drive to compete with Lex/Inf/Merc/BMW.

This news is just another sign of what Honda has really become.

Too bad. Now who to cheer for? I will still be a F1 fan, but I need a new team. Hmmm....