ltswb

[QUOTE=hondaBeater,Oct 22 2009, 05:23 PM]




CRZ is the NEXT honda sports car.


The sports car of the future is compact, lighter, fuel efficient and all about the suspension.


yesterday's sportcar= V10

vader1

I guess I am always the one who has the unpopular view but I actually like what he had to say in the article. Honda has always postioned itself to be different, to be ahead of the curve on many things, and to make great products and be profitable.

I think they take a look around and see the niches of the future, and theose niches are not being addressed by the other companies, so they see an avenue to be a leader and reap financial reward. They see a future with a tighter demand for energy which will have an increasing demand by consumers for efficiency. So Honda adopts a strategy of pushinfg the envelope in developing different solutions for the future. When they get the breakthoughs they want, then its time to look at putting them together for a performance vehicle.

Don't want a Honda? Don't buy one. The fact of the matter is the make great products for most everyday people and the are ones you can bet your life on as far as reliability, quality and resale. I am willing to wager that Honda will be a healthy, profitable company long into the future, and will every now and then make a car that I really want to buy.

They could make lots of V8 RWD cars, and maybe produce a couple with V10 high horsepower motors so a few people on some internet boards would give them accolades. Hey, there is a company that already does that, Chrysler, and the are litterally falling apart along with their cars. They have got V8's, V10's empty showrooms, and red ink.

Honda has said they see themselves more as an engine comapnay than a car company. They have also been very forward thinking, innovative and successful. Bitch about them all you want, my money is on them for the long run.

And yes they neglected the S2000 for 8 years. Boo hoo. Get over it.

UmarS2K

I don't really care if Honda makes sports cars or not. I'm not a brand whore. I'll buy any car that I really desire as long as I can afford it.

Saki GT

I wouldn't say sports cars, I'd say race cars, where those milliseconds in SMG shifting count. To me Ferrari is a race car brand that sells to consumers, but everything centers around racing in its cars.

Saki GT

Possibly, but Toyota by far dominates in hybrid technology, and Ford is pacing to beat Honda in hybrid sales this year, so Honda is definitely playing catch up if it is going this route.

[QUOTE]
But, we can always hope they'll make a Tesla killer too.

Saint_Spinner

I don't know what the huge deal is. Honda was never known as a "sports car" company. Its only had handful of sports cars..the only ones I can think off are: S600, S2000 and NSX. Sure, they had F-1, but you couldn't buy one.

I think its a smart move. If it was Porsche, or Ferrari that announced this..then..well..uhhh...

The only people that should be affected by this news, are the Honda fanboys. People complain about Honda only making boring cars...since when has Honda been known as a company that makes exciting sports cars? Just because they released 2 of them?

Saki GT

Yes, because it released two of them. That's the point for me - the S2000 is awesome, but now I'm going to have to hunt down something else because there is no updated S2000 and that's more work for me, so I'm angry!

Saint_Spinner

But there are sooo many other cool products to choose from! I wish I had that problem.

Ralleh

I think it should be fairly easy to find s2ks with reasonable mileage for the next decade, so that's what I'm going to try to do. It is kind of disappointing that they killed off the Prelude, s2k and NSX, but better that than killing off themselves as a company.

Seems like you want at least one break-even sports car project so your brand doesn't look too limp-wristed, though.

Malloric

Part of it's cultural differences between Japan and US... small, efficient, environmentally friendly cars are simply in higher demand in Japan than they are here. Partly that's due to individualism vs communalism, and partly its due to historical trends. We're used to large and expensive cars as status symbols and don't really give a crap if our neighbors kid dies from asthma. So, naturally, the idea of driving around in a cheap underpowered tin box is a hard sell here. The only time it really works is when you can point at it and claim superiority (see Prius) over everyone else. LA is still the biggest market for the Prius and I know for damn sure most of those aren't being parked in the garages of 4,000 square foot houses to save the environment.

Basically, all of it is a load of marketing crap. The ignorant people of the world can herald it or denounce it to their hearts content, but it's still a load of crap. We all know Honda doesn't care nearly as much about the environment as the bottom line. I mean, they sell 4WD Ridgelines like hotcakes here. Those aren't exactly fuel efficient granola munching eco-conscious solutions to you neighbor dieing of asthma. And yet they aren't canceling the Ridgeline. Because it sells. They keep making bigger Honda Pilots. Because they sell. We all know they could continue to make environmentally friendly sports cars, but those aren't selling well. So they don't. And of course they don't sell well. The S2000 was a niche vehicle that's 10 years old. It's frankly lousy in comparison with modern cars with its only saving grace being it has few close competitors, all of which out sell it I believe (Miata, Sky/Solstice, and ???).

And so the S2000 dies, and the whole "sporty hybrid" meme begins. It's a joke of course. There's never been a sporty hybrid. And slapping Honda's mild hybrid system onto a runty engine and sticking it onto something bigger, heavier, and less practical than a Fit doesn't seem like the solution. Just get a Fit. Cheaper. Lighter. Faster. More practical. And probably more fun to drive to boot.