Sports Car Market Mag: NSX as Collectible?

[Ponyboy]

Read the latest issue of Sports Car Market Magazine, October, and w/i it there's a nice little Letter to the Editor and Keith Martin's retort.

Letter to the Editor

I love SCM and read it over to cover every month. I have noticed that you have not always been kind to the Acura NSX and I am curios why. To preface, I have been a British car guy forever. I have owned several Jags and Triumphs and have had a full restored TR3A for over 20 years.

My sons are both car guys and like many young men love the Japanese stuff. We have rebuilt a few Honda engines and modified their cars and had a lot of fun at their club meets. I developed an appreciation for these cars and the amount of power you can get from a relatively small engine. To make a long story short, my son convinced me to reach out for "Honda's Supercar" and buy an Acura NSX. I have loved everything about this car. It has all the creature comforts like a/c and a BOSE stereo, and the performance is exhilarating.

My wife loves to go for rides in it, while she used to cower in terror in the British cars for fear they would brake down or she might get burned, injured, or have to push. When I pull up to a restaurant or club meet I feel like a rock star. People worship this car, and their expressions always seem to say, "Wow, what a car. Too bad there's an old fat guy driving it."

I know the NSX was underporwered compared to other exotics, but when I looked at what it cost to tune or rebuild an engine on agood used Ferrari 308, the NSX made perfect sense for the same money. I value your comments on the NSX and will remain a loyal subscriber regardless of what you say. Come let this old fat guy take you for a ride and I'll pop in an AC/DC tape. That's living!

Thanks for writing, gary. As a Japanese alternative to european exotics, the NSX hit the mark. About 18,000 were built over 15 years. It was developed with the late F1 champ Aryton Senna behind the wheel, and he made no secret of his positive impressions of the car. As it is a Honda, after all, it is a contemporary exotic that can be lived with and even commuted in regularly. And being able to rev a car to the stratosphere while driving to work has its appeal.

But SCM is first and foremost is a reflective publication, which responds to and hopefully illuminates the trends of the marketplace. To be blunt, NSXs have never captured the imagination of the marketplace. Perhaps it is because their styling is uninspired, perhaps because they were built in such large numers, or oddly enough, because they are simply too reliable and therefore don't create the types of constant breakdowns and multi-thousand dollar repair bills that, for instance, Ferrari owners get to regale their friends with.

In terms of performance value per dollar, the NSX ranks very high, and for many practical reasons, your choice of an NSX is a brilliant one. But in terms of pure collectibility, whether long or short term, the market tells that it just doesn't care very much

There are quite a few things that I don't agree with Mr. Martin about but he does bring up a very salient point: the market isn't there for the NSX as a collectible yet. That said, the market is a changing one and the cars that excite the youth are the ones that are collectible tomorrow (see atmospheric prices of muscle cars). Considering the cult following for Honda products and the robust market for ITRs, CRXs, EGs, I think the long term (20+ years) collectibility of the NSX is very optimistic.

Not a link to the specific article but their last major coverage of it:
NSX as Affordable Classic

 

[soloracer951]

Collectability is partially why I own an NSX and a 3rd generation RX7 R1. I think they both are due to become cult classics for different reasons. Neither car looks dated today even though they were designed over 15 years ago. Then you have the new generation of kids that watched all the Fast & Furious style movies which further glorified the position of these two cars. I think someone would have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to realize that these cars will be collectable when the teenagers of today get into their 40's.

 

[TURBO2GO]

To be blunt, NSXs have never captured the imagination of the marketplace. Perhaps it is because their styling is uninspired, perhaps because they were built in such large numers, or oddly enough, because they are simply too reliable and therefore don't create the types of constant breakdowns and multi-thousand dollar repair bills that, for instance, Ferrari owners get to regale their friends with.

The NSX didn't "capture imagination" becasue its a Honda. I don't know why this is so difficult for so many to understand. If somehow Timex put out one model of one watch that happened to be caliber of a Rolex would anyone buy it? If it was very different and unique and talked about in all the magazines, a few wealthy people would buy it while its "hot" and then forget about it, just like what happened with the NSX.

I'll sum it all up by the latest comment I got on the car outside my gym from some woman:

Her: "WOW, that thing is beautiful, what is it?"
me: "Its an Acura"
Her: (in a very dissapointed voice)... "oh".

That right there, is why the NSX captures the imagination of the import tuner crowd but not the Ferrari/Lambo/luxury car buyer that could actually AFFORD the car new. Same thing will happen with the Nissan GTR.

 

[TURBO2GO]

Collectability is partially why I own an NSX and a 3rd generation RX7 R1. I think they both are due to become cult classics for different reasons. Neither car looks dated today even though they were designed over 15 years ago. Then you have the new generation of kids that watched all the Fast & Furious style movies which further glorified the position of these two cars. I think someone would have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to realize that these cars will be collectable when the teenagers of today get into their 40's.

Exactly. When the fast and furious crowd grows up and makes money, the NSX will then have a chance. Right now it falls into two categories of love:

1) love by kids that know the car but can barely afford one and
2) love by people with money who love it until they realize its a honda/acura

neither group will do anything to make this a collectible yet.

 

[Ponyboy]

Collectability is partially why I own an NSX and a 3rd generation RX7 R1.

Funny you mention the FD 'cuz it was on my short list before I bought my NSX. In the end though, I was abhorred by it's reliability issues and, frankly, my heart was set on an NSX.

Considering this same issue of SCM profiled the recent sale, at $67k, of a 1974 Pontiac Fire Chicken, I think the collectibility of the NSX is a tad more favorable than Keith Martin would lead us to believe.

Time to start looking for that mint Zanardi.:wink:

 

[WingZ]

It's Asian gentleman this automatically excludes it. Of course for the record the description given by the editor of Ferraris the FD would fit. Not using this comment as a firstorm ,but honestly it would apply.

Affordabilty to too large of a group precludes exclusivity and hence collectabilty.

 

[HELIJOE]

It will be a collectible, its just too soon. You guys are gonna have too be patient. It doesnt have to be an expensive car to be a collectible. Look at the muscle cars of the 60's, they were cheap power, not exclusives like Ferrari at the time, and look at those prices. Yes as the author points out about 18,000 were made, but only about 8000 of those are in the U.S. As time goes on and there are less quality NSX's available either from wrecks or others just run into the ground, the price will start to go up. I do believe that keeping the car as close to stock as possible will also be an important factor in the market.

 

[Jetpilot3]

I believe our cars will be like the muscle cars that are presently fetching rediculous dollars but not for a long time (hence why I'm keeping mine until I'm old and grey - not the sole reason regardless).

My plans are to find another NSX but this time a NA2 version (02+) and an Integra Type R in close to stock form. Combined with my S2000 I'll have some serious Honda product collection.

That's the plan anyway...LOL

Jetpilot