Gen 2 NSX: Not Excited. Not Car's Fault.

"Joe F" (joe-f)
11/08/2015 at 17:11 • Filed to: Acura, NSX, WTF Happened to Honda, Honda

So I read the Autoweek article about the Gen 2 NSX.

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As a Gen 1 NSX fan, I should have loved it. It has pictures of the car being run where I live, final numbers, lots of pics, and it features a run up at Sonoma Raceway.

And yet...no car boner for this guy. My “car junk” sat flaccid because it’s hard for me to only focus on the car without wondering WTF Honda’s plan is.

Where’s the rest of the Acura line-up that this car is supposed to generate pull for? Acura in the US had 2nd gen Legends and Integras in the showroom when the NSX was released. Honda says that they have enthusiast oriented models in the pipeline but how long will those take?

The car in and of itself - looks like a livable car with tons of performance that is up to date in terms of technology. It might be a home-run of a car, but I can’t manage another sentence about the car because all I can think about is the price. We have a $155k NSX hitting the market by a company that is flabby in this category AND in enthusiast oriented lower price point categories.

Now, according to what !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! tells me, both the original NSX price of ~$65k in 1991 and the ~$89k price of 2005 translate to ~$110k today; and the car only sold in real numbers for the first few years. Honda was the new kid in the segment - so that makes sense. A starting price of $155k sees the Gen 2 NSX competing against new and used alternatives from companies that are not attempting this kind of re-entry; so they’re the new kid yet again.

So big-picture - I get it. Re-enter F1. Release halo car. Put new enthusiast models in pipeline. I’d do the same things (but in a different order) if I was in charge. But Honda has to show commitment. If they had not lost momentum, this Gen 2 NSX (which would in fact be a Gen 4 at this point) may have some cachet. Some history. Some lineage. It would still be a Japanese car, but it may not been seen as such a leap for that price point. At this price, I hope history won’t repeat itself if the car does not hit projected sales numbers. As a fan of Honda, I hope they sell as many as they plan to - but I don’t think they will.

DISCUSSION (11)

1111111111111111111111 > Joe F
11/08/2015 at 17:26

When you could get a gt3 rs for 20k more...I don’t see where the NSX fits in.

Opposite Locksmith > 1111111111111111111111
11/08/2015 at 17:30

Good point

dogisbadob > Joe F
11/08/2015 at 17:35

Not worth 50k more than a GT-R

PS9 > Joe F
11/08/2015 at 17:35

There’s nothing else like it in Honda’s line up, and that’s the problem. It’s hard for me to be excited about a true high-performance Honda when it costs as much as a decent house. Their lineup needs some patching.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > PS9
11/08/2015 at 18:05

Not just a Honda, you’re buying a $150k ‘Acura’.

Think about that for a second.

Random Commenter > Joe F
11/08/2015 at 19:12

I’m not excited either... But for a different reason. This car is a dud, and it’s already old news, and outdated.

I think people forget that we’ve been waiting for this car to come to market for 8 years.

It all started with the Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept back in 2007... That’s when the rumors of a new NSX began circulating, which as we now know, were accurate rumors. You can even still see the basic shape of the Advanced Sports Car Concept in the design of the new current NSX.

When the ball began rolling, Honda eventually officially admitted that there was a new NSX coming, and that it would be a hybrid supercar, which at the time, was innovative, and unheard of. They were on top of the game at that point, as they were doing something no one else had thought to do. But then they took their time, and then more time, and then some more...

Meanwhile, whilst Honda was taking their damned sweet time...

Ferrari, Porsche, and McLaren all thought “hybrid supercar, eh? Let’s go ahead and make our own.” and then they all started developing their own hybrid supercars: the LaFerrari, the 918, and the P1.

And what did Honda do? Honda kept taking their damned sweet time...

Meanwhile, Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren did what they had to do to get their hybrid supercars through the design phase as quickly as they could without hurting the quality of the end results.

And Honda wasted more time...

Meanwhile, Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren finished development and testing of their hybrid supercars...

And Honda wasted even more time...

Meanwhile, Ferrari, Porsche and McLaren began producing and selling their hybrid supercars...

And Honda kept wasting more time...

Meanwhile, Ferrari, Porsche, and McLaren were selling their cars like hotcakes to millionaires...

And Honda? They kept wasting time...

Meanwhile, Ferrari, Porsche, and McLaren sold off every single last car, built every last car, and delivered every last one to their customers...

And Honda? Well, they wasted more time, of course.

The NSX was supposed to be an innovator, but now it’s old news, was outdone, and is just a Japanese hybrid sports car. It’s now the Prius of hybrid sports/supercars. Such a waste. Honda could have been on top, but they wasted the opportunity by taking waaay too long to bring their car to market.

I was super excited about a new NSX 8 years ago... Now? I couldn’t care less about it. I have no interest what-so-ever. I don’t know any of its specs, or much of anything about it other than what it looks like on the outside, and that it’s a hybrid. Normally, I’m all about learning everything about a car like this, but like I said, it’s already old and it’s outdated, so why bother? At this point, it’d be like learning the specs of a Prius, or a Volt.

KeyserZoze > Joe F
11/08/2015 at 21:56

I hope the new NSX dies a quick death...at this price point...there’s no point.

computiNATEor > Random Commenter
11/23/2015 at 03:18

Harsh. But true. Doesn’t help that Japanese companies are typically about as fast-moving as molasses. If I’m not mistaken, the NSX changed chassis design several times over the course of its design, too. From front engine longitudinal to mid engine transverse hybrid to mid engine longitudinal hybrid. Each time the car was ready for prototype development, each time the Japanese made an executive decision to redesign it. Again. And then the American engineers have to redo the entire suspension design, and redo all the packaging for cooling and whatnot. Absolute madness.

Random Commenter > computiNATEor
11/23/2015 at 03:39

I never heard anything about the NSX being front engined, and I followed the whole “New NSX” thing from 2007 until about 2011 when I started to give up caring anymore. Not sure where you got that idea, as all I remember is it being a mid-engine design from 2007 on...

computiNATEor > Random Commenter
11/23/2015 at 10:39

They had the Advanced Sports Car Concept; if that’s not front engined, I don’t know what is. But either way, reengineering the drivetrain package fully through the development cycle is no good.

Random Commenter > computiNATEor
11/23/2015 at 11:10

Huh... How about that... I guess it’s been so long since I read about it that I forgot it was a front engine design... Still, you can clearly see that the Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept was the birth of what is now the NSX.

The fact still remains that Honda came up with the idea of a Hybrid Sports/Supercar, and then dropped the ball over and over again while Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche took the idea and ran with it, and eventually beat Honda to the punch.