That's because what races on Sunday bears almost no resemblance whatsoever to what you can buy at the dealer on Monday. :frown:
I'm not sure Acura ever had touch with the U.S. customer- even for the Gen 1. I've been binging Best Motoring and Hot Version videos for the past few weeks (now that a lot more English content is available) and it is more and more evident to me that the Honda NSX customer in Japan had a vastly different experience from the Acura NSX customer in the U.S. Even today, Honda makes those Japanese owners feel very special through corporate events, track gatherings, Fiesta, etc. I haven't had that feeling at an Acura dealer since the early 90's. They treat you like you're driving a Toyota Corolla, no matter what you buy.
Agree 100% People just don't care about racing anymore. Even NASCAR viewership is down. And why should they? Most of the cars being raced these days have almost no connection to the cars people can buy. They are tubed frame, carbon fiber technology demonstrators. They have computer aided everything- shifting, ABS, brakes, TCS. It's not exciting anymore- who wants to watch overpriced computers go round and round? It used to be you would watch a GT350 tear it up at Watkins Glen, or a 911 RSR do 12 hours at Spa, go to the dealer, and be able to drive that car (softened for the street) right off the lot. You had a connection to the racing and the marque. Can you imagine doing that today with a DTM car? Even Super GT has fallen off the wagon- the "NSX" you see on TV at Motegi is a tube frame shell identical to the Toyota and Nissan running with a 4-CYLINDER ENGINE IN THE FRONT. Really? Why on earth would I be motivated to show any Honda brand pride or desire to buy a NSX under those circumstances? Some of the lower sports car series still are fun, but those races aren't carried or viewed at the same rate. Sadly, because most people just don't care. The young, male car buyer these days is interested in technology and the Green New Deal. He would prefer if his car could drive itself, actually. He doesn't know what oversteer and understeer are, and doesn't care. He would scratch his head if he saw a clutch pedal, and wonders aloud what the point of racing is since "all the cars just drive in circles for 2 hours." How do you convince this person that he should buy a Camaro or a Mustang? A NC1? F1 is a joke these days- why even have drivers? The teams ask the drivers to drive like computers anyway, so why not just program everything into the computer and have a land-based version of the Drone Racing League? I'm 42 and I feel like I'm the last generation that understands any of this. I remember camping out at the Glen and watching the IROC races with my dad in the 1980's and watching him race in SCCA. We watched CART religiously, always rooted for the Andrettis, and pulled hard for the Ford Cosworth engines to beat Chevy. My kids? I don't know. They ADORE the NSX and loved the GT-R. They like to go fast and have expressed an interest in watching F1. They are riveted by Keiichi Tsuchiya tearing down the Gunsai touge in a NSX-R. But I'm not sure it will be the same. By the time they are driving age, most cars will be self drive electrics... Isn't it sad that I'm reluctant to show my son a F1 race because I'm afraid he'll be bored?
I don't think Acura ever had a clear strategy on how to market the NC1. You totally could play off the race-bred Cosworth engine. Or, link directly to the GT3 Evo success and say you're buying pretty much the same car. You could go full nostalgia and hammer home the revolution that was NA1 and how it lives on in NC1. So many different ways and they did none. I wasn't sold on the NC1 originally, but with the MY19 changes I'm a fan. It's a fantastic car. It's a shame Acura never really wanted to tell anyone about it.
