Seriously, Guys? (Rant)

"TheHondaBro" (wwaveform) 02/12/2015 at 23:18 • Filed to: nsx

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"It's going to take 420 jillion years to make it into production."

I want this to do well. I really do. I'm afraid no one's going to take it seriously because they're hung up on its long development period, and the hive mind of the automotive community is stupid.

Obviously, Honda would be excited to announce the revival of their star supercar, the NSX. We were excited. However, reviving such a popular name brings about major challenges: It has to live up to its predecessor. In this case, it has to be like the Ayrton Senna-tuned Ferrari fighter from Tokyo we all fell in love with.

The idea of a new Honda supercar was announced in 2007. We didn't entirely know it was going to be called NSX. We thought it would be the Acura ASCC. In 2008, those plans were cancelled due to poor economic conditions. At this point, we knew an NSX was brewing. In 2010, the NSX project became the HSV-010 GT, Honda's bespoke GT500 race car.

In 2011, the NSX project is revived, and is in full swing. This is a big problem for Honda.

Senna is dead.

They don't have the Formula One champion to help them build a worthy successor to the original NSX. They have to do it themselves.

This is why it took so long.

Finally, they have the production version all ready to be revealed. "Guys, it could be better." They take it back to the drawing board, make major changes to the entire car, then they rush it to the NAIAS.

As an engineer, this baffles me. Imagine re-engineering a whole supercar in such a short amount of time.

I'm sorry if this post is a bit uninformed, but it's really starting to get on my nerves a little.

I must be the only Jalop looking forward to the NSX.

Yes, I make jokes in jest occasionally. That's when the context best suits it. I'm still a serious fan of it. I think it looks fantastic and it could be a serious performance car as well.

GhostZ > TheHondaBro 02/12/2015 at 23:24

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The people who buy this car are probably not automotive journalist hiveminders, but nouveau riche startup yuppies a la R8 and i8.

Honestly, I'd be all for it if the i8 didn't already exist.

CAcoalminer > TheHondaBro 02/12/2015 at 23:25

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I'm looking forward to it and honestly hope that it does well. We need more performance cars in the market, if for no other reason than to force the traditional powers to keep innovating and providing the customer with the greatest end product possible.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > TheHondaBro 02/12/2015 at 23:25

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I think a good example of why people are bashing the NSX is the Ford GT reveal. There were barely any rumors about it, and those that were around were pure speculation. No one even caught a camo'd car. No one was expecting it, and that brought excitement. Honda/Acura on the other hand have been showing it for years now. There were rumors about it, there were spy shots, people knew it was coming. Now 4 years after the reveal, it's gotten old.

That's Engineering? > TheHondaBro 02/12/2015 at 23:28

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You must admit that it is disappointing that it has taken so long to be released, from an enthusiasts perspective. From an engineer (and one who is currently redesigning an HEV performance car), I appreciate the engineering that must occur for a vehicle of this magnitude to be released. That said...

In my opinion, the biggest problem enthusiast have with this car is not the production time but the comparison to the original. The original NSX was clearly an all-timer, built in an era where electronics were coming to the fore, but was one of the last near complete mechanical production performance cars. We will not see anything like it again in our lifetime. So it goes...

People need to let the new NSX be judged upon itself, not the old one. There haven't been any performance tests, yet some consider it to be a poor vehicle. Even Based on my limited knowledge of its powertrain, is clearly a feat of engineering, similar to the old NSX in that aspect alone, but in another era. I think the true judgement on this vehicle should come in the future and be compared against the cars of our time, not the (albeit fantastic) nostalgia of the original.

bob and john > TheHondaBro 02/12/2015 at 23:28

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like other have said before. it was cool. when it was first presented.

just like the blackberry was THE business phone to have when it came out. where is it now?

the only difference between BB and Honda is that BB actually sold copys of their phone.

TheHondaBro > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 02/12/2015 at 23:29

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True, but the i8 was revealed as a concept in 2011 and took the same amount of time to go into production. Now pretty much every gearhead is involved in a planetary circlejerk over it. Meanwhile the NSX gets little praise. I don't think the GT reveal had anything to do with it.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > TheHondaBro 02/12/2015 at 23:31

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I wasn't saying the Ford GT reveal had anything to do with it, but was using it as an example of how to do it right. IIRC that concept for the i8 was just a concept at the time, and BMW didn't mention it as an actual production car.

Axial > TheHondaBro 02/12/2015 at 23:37

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The i8 also made it to production essentially unmolested by economic and manufacturing realities.

That is honestly what makes it remarkable, not its performance.

El Rivinado > TheHondaBro 02/12/2015 at 23:44

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I like it because this is THE product Acura needs right now. Now I never gave Acura a whole lot of credit, but back when they first came out with cars like the Legend and the Integra and the original NSX, they did have a sense of belonging. Now? Acura is just selling Hondas that have some ugly chrome beak in the front. The fact that this is the first truly original car the company can call its own since the death of the Integra is just proof positive that this is the right decision. Will it surpass its predecessor? Performance wise yes, but will it be as well loved? I can't say. Plus, the design is one of the best I've ever seen, and what I like is that unlike the Ford GT which tries way too hard to emulate the look of its predecessor while forgetting what made it great, Honda have made the NSX stand out and given it a unique design that's not constrained by a sense of blind nostalgia and trying to evoke the original car.

Garrett Davis > TheHondaBro 02/12/2015 at 23:44

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Ford gets the bent frame Raptor jokes, Ferrari gets the "on fire" jokes, Toyota gets the "yeah, like they'll ever make anything cool again" jokes, and Acura gets the NSX vapor-wear jokes. Does that mean no one buys Raptors or Ferraris? Nope.

This too will pass, my son.

Decay buys too many beaters > TheHondaBro 02/12/2015 at 23:59

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Here are my issues with the NSX.

1. It's Automatic

2. AWD

3. Turbocharged

4. And a Hybrid

Those are totally my personal preferences, but If I won the lottery tomorrow the NSX wouldn't even be on my radar. It just does not excite me.

Mercedes Streeter > That's Engineering? 02/13/2015 at 00:05

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But the time isn't disappointing. If you only count the time from when the car became official, then it only took four years...which is on par with the average car. If you count from 2007 (which you shouldn't, because the project was cancelled), that's eight years. Longer than the average car, but not as bad as people claim it to be.

Mercedes Streeter > TheHondaBro 02/13/2015 at 00:13

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I couldn't wait for the NSX. In fact, I'm doing a write-up on it tomorrow after I see it at the Chicago Auto Show.

I mean sure, it isn't the Ford GT, but damn guys, the NSX is back!!! Acura mothballed the entire project a couple times just to keep it current. If it's as awesome as its spec sheet sounds, who cares if it took 4-8 years to develop it?

Jayhawk Jake > TheHondaBro 02/13/2015 at 00:24

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It's dated in my eyes already. It's been teased for so long that I'm bored of it.

ThatbastardKurtis > TheHondaBro 02/13/2015 at 03:44

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Uh, you do remember this from 2003? Mid engined, V6. Exotic looking...the Honda HSC. One could say that this got the ball rolling for a "new" NSX. A lot of auto journalists were speculating that this was what the "new" NSX was going to look like.

ThatbastardKurtis > Mercedes Streeter 02/13/2015 at 04:05

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I disagree. The time is disappointing. You also DO have the count the time it was cancelled. If you count the HSC Concept, that was from 2003. Let's say one doesn't count the HSC—-this car went from being a front engined, V10, SHAWD, which then was spun off as 3.4 V8 having, front engined race car, and then they were working on a mid engined V6, which then became a hybrid. It's not just the time frame, but it's like they didn't know what to do with it.

RockThrillz89 > TheHondaBro 02/13/2015 at 12:40

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I love the new NSX. Honestly, if I had the cash, I would pick it up over anything on the market today that's sub-$200k. And there's a lot of killer cars out there under that number. I'm tired of the Ford GT because of the massive circle jerk that happened around these parts when it was released. I feel like the ~7 years of hype around the NSX was had by the Ford GT in 2 days. Yes it's cool, but it doesn't strike me as a Ford (it also doesn't help that I'm a Chevy man). It looks more like something Lamborghini would show, then have Winkleman bitch about it to the press. The NSX looks modern to me, it looks like a Honda with a beak.

wiffleballtony > TheHondaBro 02/13/2015 at 23:58

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In my eyes there are a whole host of reasons as to why this car leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The first is that it's clearly trading on the name of an icon to gain credibility. However this car clearly couldn't have less in common with the original or with what it stood for. The original was a world beating mid engined Supercar that was both reasonably prices and great to look at. This one is already guaranteed to be very expensive and the numbers that Acura is hinting at are hardly impressive considering the likely price tag. Then there's the drive train which isn't likely to be nearly as telepathic feeling and it's likely to weigh a lot as a result. Then there's the fact that I felt like they've been teasing the car since the Avengers or whatever which also felt like product placement. I know Acura and Honda needs this to be good but I just don't see it.

wiffleballtony > Mercedes Streeter 02/14/2015 at 00:02

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Is it back though really, when what made the other car what it was isn't there? It'd be like having a new RX7 come out but have it be a sedan with a hybrid drive train. Back in name not in spirit.

TheHondaBro > wiffleballtony 02/14/2015 at 00:13

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In 1991, the NSX costed $60,000. In today's money, that's equivalent to about $105,000. The price isn't that far off. Considering the original car made 270 horsepower, and the new one makes at least 550 horsepower with an advanced hybrid AWD system, that would justify the $45,000 hike. Also, the whole car will weigh around 3,100 lbs. The NSX was built with race car levels of engineering, which Honda is no stranger to (GT500, BTCC, F1, IndyCar, etc.). They kept showing off the concept so that it would remain current, which isn't that bad of a tactic on paper, all that's left is to factor in the automotive community hive mind.

But hey, to each his own, I guess. You don't have to love it, but it's a very important car for the whole conglomerate and it doesn't deserve all the flac it's getting.

wiffleballtony > TheHondaBro 02/14/2015 at 00:55

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Not trying to be pedantic or split hairs but what I read on C&D the weight it's probably closer to 3600 lbs and the price for it is hinted at around 150k. Maybe it's just me but 550 bhp, 3600 lbs and 150k just doesn't seem that competitive. I really hope that it has some rediculous launch control and such to bring in some good numbers otherwise I can't see why this would be any better than a GTR which has similar specs at a much lower cost.