Honda: No more sports cars?
10-25-2009, 09:33 AM
#41
Registered User
So to sumerise :
No F1
No Acura in ALMS
No S2000 sucessor
No NSX sucessor
No excitement
Civic Si is their only "sporty" product ?
....and someone tell me just WTF is Acura "advancing" to ?
3 sedans and 3 SUV's that are all Accord based ?
No F1
No Acura in ALMS
No S2000 sucessor
No NSX sucessor
No excitement
Civic Si is their only "sporty" product ?
....and someone tell me just WTF is Acura "advancing" to ?
3 sedans and 3 SUV's that are all Accord based ?
10-25-2009, 12:36 PM
#44
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A lot of what I wanted to say or be addressed has already been brought to light thus far in this thread.
I will say this though. While it does suck that Honda claims that they will no longer make sports cars for the foreseeable future, they are still definitely on the verge of cutting edge technology. Sports car buyers are a very small niche in the overall big picture. The point of a business is to make money and be successful so that in those few instances, where they have the time and resources, they can really make a special car (NSX, S2K)
Look at GM for instance. Always prided themselves on big power, big engines, big everything. Look what happened. Meanwhile, companies like Honda, Toyota, etc., while also struggling did not go into backruptcy, which I think does wonders for the 'image' of a car company.
I just read this article (link posted) that Honda is very close to releasing their Carbon Nanotube technology to fruition, which is thinner than a human hair and as strong as steel, and conducts electricity very well. All of which can be implemented into future endeavors such as fuel cells, computers, batteries, etc..
Link: Honda Nanotube technology
"Honda claims these new carbon nanotubes are 100,000 times thinner than human hair, stronger than steel, conduct electricity better than copper, conduct heat better than a diamond and are "as light as cotton."
All that could have a huge impact on the future of transportation, allowing for more powerful, yet smaller computers, supercapacitors, cables, batteries, solar cells, fuel cells, composite materials and electronics.
All that hinges on the ability of carbon nanotubes to be created with metallic conductivity. In the past, that's achieved a 25-50 percent success rate, Honda has achieved a 91 percent rate, much closer to the being production feasible."
I will say this though. While it does suck that Honda claims that they will no longer make sports cars for the foreseeable future, they are still definitely on the verge of cutting edge technology. Sports car buyers are a very small niche in the overall big picture. The point of a business is to make money and be successful so that in those few instances, where they have the time and resources, they can really make a special car (NSX, S2K)
Look at GM for instance. Always prided themselves on big power, big engines, big everything. Look what happened. Meanwhile, companies like Honda, Toyota, etc., while also struggling did not go into backruptcy, which I think does wonders for the 'image' of a car company.
I just read this article (link posted) that Honda is very close to releasing their Carbon Nanotube technology to fruition, which is thinner than a human hair and as strong as steel, and conducts electricity very well. All of which can be implemented into future endeavors such as fuel cells, computers, batteries, etc..
Link: Honda Nanotube technology
"Honda claims these new carbon nanotubes are 100,000 times thinner than human hair, stronger than steel, conduct electricity better than copper, conduct heat better than a diamond and are "as light as cotton."
All that could have a huge impact on the future of transportation, allowing for more powerful, yet smaller computers, supercapacitors, cables, batteries, solar cells, fuel cells, composite materials and electronics.
All that hinges on the ability of carbon nanotubes to be created with metallic conductivity. In the past, that's achieved a 25-50 percent success rate, Honda has achieved a 91 percent rate, much closer to the being production feasible."
10-25-2009, 01:32 PM
#45
Originally Posted by QUIKAG,Oct 23 2009, 06:14 PM
I have my Honda mower and that's it at this point. Frankly, how hard would it have been or how much would it have cost to update the S2000 to the 2.4 turbo motor, maybe destroke it a bit to 2.2L or even 2.0L, up the boost, up the redline to 8k (320hp or so) and change up the interior and exterior a little bit? They could have had another nice 6 year run with the S2000. How many of us former S2000 owners would have seriously considered picking up a 320hp turbo S2000 with revised suspension/brakes/wheels even if it had somewhat minimal interior/exterior updates? I know I would have been a lot more intrigued.
There isn't anything fundamentally wrong the S2000, it's a classic like a 911 or Miata is. Just up the power, beef up the brakes a bit, tuck the styling here and there and voila! a new S2000.
They could even make a coupe version in the same way that Mazda made a coupe (not the retractable hardtop, I mean an actual coupe that few people know of) version of the Miata. I have pictures of the chassis and it is literally just some sheet metal and brackets spot welded onto the existing unibody.
Don't worry about touching the suspension or the chassis. That's it. The car could now compete with the Boxster, 370z, etc. like it used to be able to do with earlier version of each.
10-25-2009, 01:41 PM
#46
Originally Posted by starchland,Oct 24 2009, 09:14 AM
I dont understand people that say up the displacement or turbo or yadayada for the s2k engine. I thought we all understood what this motor was meant to be from the factory? and frankly doing any of these things to update power would simply be the easy way out for Honda.
10-25-2009, 03:06 PM
#47
Registered User
Originally Posted by Mr.E.G.,Oct 26 2009, 01:41 AM
Yeah, but the marketplace has changed. In 2000, a strung out four cylinder was enough to compete and enough to make the car stand out. It wasn't Corvette fast, but it was certainly to be as fast or faster than its direct competitors. Despite its handling prowess, it has simply been passed up by the competition. If it was to continue, it would need more power.
PS add an Alpine 400 watt stereo with Ipod direct stereo with 12" sub and you have 400/400 sweetness.......... I know I know ....but......
10-25-2009, 04:10 PM
#48
You're preaching to the choir. lol. As much as I like factory fast cars, I am very comfortable with aftermarket options.
10-25-2009, 05:11 PM
#49
Originally Posted by Popeye,Oct 25 2009, 09:33 AM
So to sumerise :
No Acura in ALMS
No Acura in ALMS
10-25-2009, 10:13 PM
#50
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Originally Posted by Saint_Spinner,Oct 23 2009, 09:43 AM
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?
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?
Now exactly what are they doing? Are they going to be like GM and make 19 versions of the same freaking SUV or truck platform? Or like Toyota and make a hybrid out of everything?
As a fan of Honda's past the reliability and value thing is nice but now the desirability of the new cars seem to be falling off a cliff!
To me it is like they have caught the Detroit flu where they ignore everything that made them a success in the past and try to water down the product to make it appeal to the maximum amount of buyers and end up with product that has very little advantage over their competition. In other words a sea of the same old same old! Not Good!
I wonder how they are going to react when a whole generation of buyers jump on the FT86/Suby coupe bandwagon or do they choose not to care anymore?