I think that maybe once in the lifetime of a car manufacturer, they produce a car that is the pinnacle of everything that cars stand for. Chevrolet nailed it with the Corvette, Ford with the Mustang, Mazda with the Miata, Nissan/Datsun with the original Z cars and Honda with the NSX. They may not be the best sellers, the fastest, best handling, least expensive, best looking but that one car defines a moment in automotive history and remains for decades the defining symbol for that manufacturer.
I remember people lamenting the fact that Honda went with a V-6 in the NSX and dismissed it immediately for that one reason - never drove it, never rode in it, just simply said anything less than 8 cylinders is worthless and 12 would be even better. Those people missed a great car and an opportunity to own something that will be a piece of automotive history.
I bought a C6 Corvette in 05 thinking the Chevy had finally reached a highpoint with the car. While I loved the raw power, the build quality was horrendous, it was plagued with electronic gremlins that no one could find and so GM purchased it back under the lemon laws. When I set foot in my NSX for the test drive, already knew that this eleven year old car was better screwed together than the Corvette ever was and that I would worry less about breakdown in this used car than I did in a new Vette.
I have very eclectic tastes in cars. I've completely restored a 64 Corvair Spyder Vert, collect early edition Miatas, have a 65 small block Vette and now the NSX. Again, to me it just represents the single best thing Honda ever did (and perhaps is likely to ever do). It's an opportunity to own a little piece of automotive history at a very reasonable price. And oh yeh, more fun to drive and be seen in than the law should allow
