Cannonbear

i'm sure the costs to make an NSX have not gone down that much and i'm guessing that's what keeps the NSX price so high. Isn't it an all aluminum frame? I don't know much of it other then by today standards its a little behind. Would i buy one? Sure would but not for 90k which doesn't seem to be the norm, since i've heard most people being able to pick them up for 70k.

wctsao

Sometimes a car company builds a car because they have a passion to build something as a treat to themselves and to the consumer.

Toyota is so wrapped up in making volume sales that it forgets that cars should be fun to drive. Thats why they have no sportscars in their line up anymore.

If everyone followed Toyota's plan, we wouldn't have cars like the Aston Martin Vanquish. Aston Martin was in the red for like 70 years. I think they just started making money.

Does it really make any business sense to build sports cars? That market is too small. Most of the money comes from building generic appliance cars that appeal to everyone.

If Toyota took over the auto market, we'd all be driving Camrys.

MrForgetable

Michael Jordan??

SilverKnight

yes but if your a CEO or marketing exec your goal is to make money for your investors 1st, company and yourself. It makes sense to build cars that go from point A to point B with realibily etc and safety. Now days these sedans can beat or match most "sports car" that were realsed just a few years ago. Mom cars are now beating "tuner cars". Technology is amazing.

Toyota is the envy of all auto manufactuers, everyone is striving to be like them and catch up to them. They aren't doing anything wrong, they have a great business model which is why they are #1. If something isn't right or selling well they do an abundance of market research to improve upon any detail or they cancel it and start over.

Honda should apply this to the NSX.

In the real world, only a small fraction really care about performance 0-60, handling 1/4 times. Take a look at the cars on the freeway most aren't true sports cars. The majority of car buyers aren't like us. If that weren't the case I'm sure Toyota would have a different business model. The money to get isn't us, its pleasing the other majoirty of car owners wanting reliability, safety etc.

RZFD

If "market research" determined all new models your S2000 would be a maroon on beige 4 cylinder, automatic, Accord. Market research should have no value when building a sports car because it's not meant to be practical or appealing to the masses. Read: niche vehicle. When a NSX-R can hang within 1 sec of a 360 Stradale for a fraction of the price why the hell should Honda stop producing and tweaking it?

SilverKnight

well market research made the 04 redline to 8k, a lil more torque in low power, a lil roomy etc so I would say they are listening to the american audience for a more refined s2k?

RZFD

I know and it sucks.

SilverKnight

I'm just glad the auto transmission aspect has not come into play yet liek the 350z autos Honda has missed so many sales because s2k is 6 speed......

wctsao

I believe Honda does apply some marketing strategy with the NSX. If your paying $90k for a car, your audience is completely different and a lot smaller. Average income for an NSX owner is $160k/year (msn) which is still too low for Ferrari ownership.

NSX owners buying the car *new* don't cross shop cars like the M3, 911, or Z06 for whatever reason. They are looking for something a bit more unique. They usually cross shop cars like a Lotus Esprit (RIP), Morgan Aero 8, or Panoz Esperante. All these cars offer similar performance to the current NSX and sell at the same price point of around $90k. The NSX price hasn't increased since 1997. They can't afford to.

I'm just glad there are other companies around besides Toyota. Marketing kill off all of Toyota's fun cars. They should be ashamed of themselves for dropping the Supra and MR2.

Thankfully Honda has enough people buying Accords and Civics to fund their NSX "pet" project. I agree the NSX is long in the tooth and do wish they replace it with an HSC. I'm guessing that they just don't have the engine to be competitive.

phoenix9999

Because at the end of the day, the NSX is just a Honda. It's not good enough to just "hang" with a 360CS for a lower price. It has to blow the competition out of the water, for less money, in order to be taken seriously. Before you let loose about how unfair that is, let me say that I agree. It's just life. Ferrari is entrenched in the sports car business. They are the benchmark. If Honda wants to compete, they have to make something better for less. The NSX once may have been better, but it's been about fifteen years now.

Speaking of which, here's another reason: commitment. You know why Porsche and Ferrari enjoy their reputations? Because of commitment to sports cars and commitment to racing. Ferrari's in F1, rain or shine, and Porsche is redesigning 911s and Boxsters regularly. The NSX? It's been ignored within the Honda family. So let me ask you: why should I take the NSX seriously when apparently even Honda doesn't care much about it? How many times have the Civic and Accord undergone total overhauls during the NSX's tenure?

I think of the NSX as I think of the Mercedes SL. The previous SL was getting long in tooth, having not been redesigned for at least a decade. The original was so good that it still reigned supreme at the top of the pack. The original also had about four decades of SL heritage going for it. And even then Mercedes had to redesign the car in face of newer competition. The NSX has not the heritage nor the lead on the competition to justify sitting on a shelf for a decade, let alone fifteen years.

This is why I think the NSX is now a blight on Honda Motor Co. It's a clear sign that Honda Motor Co. takes sedans more seriously than sports cars. If you're not going to continually develop your sports cars with the same passion as your sedans, then quit the waffling and get out of the sports car business. At least Nissan had the good sense to kill the 300ZX when they no longer were committed to it, and re-enter when their commitment returned.

I'm glad they made changes to the S for '02 and '04. Good or bad, they at least show that Honda's slightly interested in the S2000.