OptionZero

I suppose it should have been obvious with the withdrawal from Formula One, but Honda will be without a halo car:

Honda has cancelled the new NSX as part of a radical restructuring of its car making business.

The V10-engined supercar, which was a direct challenge to Ferrari and Porsche, would have been the most powerful production car that the company had ever produced.

Honda CEO Takeo Fukui announced the move in his end of year speech, saying that all development of the car would be cancelled. The company has also withdrawn its plan to introduce the Acura brand to Japan in 2010.

With the S2000 aging without a replacement in sight and the Acura bland already dumbing down any sportiness across the range, Honda is edging frighteningly close to Toyota-ness.

shishcabobers

Umm blame the economy?

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LongGrain

these are bad times.

they will bounce back.

and honestly you say they are becoming like toyota. but financially and in general toyota is doing GREAT, they really have their heads on straight. they dont have a real sports car because they know right now it would not make any money.

look at how many un-sold GTR's there are. i went to one dealership just to see one in person since i hadnt seen one yet, and they had 3 sitting there that they couldnt sell..

GSXRJJordan

There are also unsold C6 Z06's sitting around Chevy dealers, but ZR1's are backordered for months - do you think Chevy will cancel development/launch of it's supercar models? Chrysler/Dodge is in deep water, but are they cancelling the Viper?

Nope.

If you build the right car, people will buy it. ZR1 = right car, at an awesome price.

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ronmcdon

I guess it's understandable that in times like this, it might not be best to take risks. however, it's certainly true that the honda lineup is a bit ho-hum. toyota like might be taking things too far though. I still don't think toyota has anything as involving as say a s2000 or the current Si. Some of the IS models might have the performance, but they are still relatively boring cars to drive imo.

Personally I don't really care about whether the NSX flies or not. Even if I could afford it, I see no reason to blow over $100k on a toy. A GTR or a Z06 would the most expensive car I could ever see myself driving, and even that's unlikely.

HyperTek

awww i was looking forward to a new honda super car *yes at one point the NSX was considered a super car*

For once, a sequal car that would of had all of honda's motorsports experience applied to a production car.. cancelled..

also it might be due to the market? they would have to invest and produce a car that would compete with those others in the market and still try to make profit on it.

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OptionZero

When Honda gets the FCX right, Toyota will die.

The NSX should be for fun.

Matej

As long as car companies build what people want, their cars will sell.

Look at the Genesis coupe. Yes, some of you may not like it, but whatever, there's an amazing amount of people out there who love it. No one ever took Hyundai seriously and everyone has been making fun of their cars for as long as I can remember, but they were able to turn around the public's opinion of their brand with one single car.

Every other automaker should be taking notes. No more trying to sell us what they want us to be driving.

HyperTek

lol i remember such cool cars as the hyundai excel lol
ill have to get on google/youtube to see if anyone as modded one of those

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fliprayzin240sx

So question now is, is nissan still gonna build the silvia and Toyota still building their 86 replacement? I wouldnt be surprise if they decide to trim the fat off their production line.

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IIIXziuR

Yeah I think the sucky economy is to blame for a lot of this.
I know things are not going so swell in Nippon kind of like here stateside.
Hopefully things will change and the manufactures will start designing non boring cars again once the economies pick up.

I heard on The AM Radio this morning that Chrysler is closing a decent amount of it's plants down for about 2 months and Ford would be doing the same but for a shorter amount of time. I don't event want to know what is happening with GM at the moment.

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fliprayzin240sx

GMs already planning on temporarily shutting down plants beginning of the year.

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JayDee M Rolly

i dont mind that honda is stopping their motorsports and sports cars, if they make that FCX (if you watched the newest top gear, youll know what im talking about)

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ronmcdon

The silvia and the 86 are completely different types of investment than a Halo NSX. With a halo car, you're almost expected to lose money based on the cost of R&D itself and the profits you might get from selling the car. The value of the car isn't how well it sells, it's how many potential customers you can attract into your showroom. What I find perplexing, is that most of the costs in R&D for the NSX already seems to have been spent. How much more would it be to make a couple production examples, even if only for display? By axing at a stage this late in it's development, Honda would have wasted a lot of money for nothing more than a brief publicity stunt, and expressing to the public it has limited confidence in it's own economic (if not also technological) capability in the future.

Delaying the NSX might have been a more strategic move, but canceling it outright seems rash and completely counter-productive. Besides, i really think Acura needs a halo car to bring people inside their otherwise uninspiring showrooms.

The Silvia and 86 are meant to make $ on their own. Even in a bad economy, it's not such a terrible hardship to own a 20-30k performance car. This is even more the case, given the sudden drastic drop in gas prices. I also think as boring as Toyota might be, they are more willing to take risks when it comes to offering different products and/or business approaches. They experiment much more than Honda. Honda has come to be notoriously conservative and somewhat inflexible. Personally I haven't been able to appreiciate the Acura's lineup, during the last decade or so. If I people wanted luxury, they'd probably buy bmw, merc, audi, lexus, infinit or even a caddy. If people wanted practicality, why not just get a honda?

TheSquidd

100% the Hyundai Genesis Coupe is the most exciting thing to happen to cars since they invented crashing. I've never considered buying a new car until this fucking thing came along.



Japan is the new America, resting on it's laurels. Spurred by competition and a hunger for growth, Korea is the new king of cool.

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JayDee M Rolly

^thats actually pretty cool, i saw one at a gas station and i guess the guy driving it worked for hyundai (theres a hyundai headquarters in my area). he said the one he was driving was a V6 pushing around 300hp? i think, had brembos too.

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ronmcdon

I wouldn't jump to such conclusions yet. As nice as the Genesis looks, and as appealing as the specs may sound on paper, I think it has yet to prove itself capable as a performance car. \

While the Genesis Coupe might be something of a new approach for Hyundai, the concept of a 3,400 lb rwd coupe isn't something that's been introduced for the first time.

TheWolf

everyone expects the genesis coupe to be cheap.. when that shit comes in heavy, slow, pricey and underpowered people are gonna call it a korean 350z.. genesis sedans came in supposedly priced low but then it was like poof.. 45k hyundai.. I hear depreciation calling and it said you made a "smart" purchase.

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aznpoopy

i guess the shitty economy is going to kill alot of interesting cars in development. kind of sucks.

silvia is invariably a secondary sports car for nissan. nissan already has the Z. i wouldn't be surprised if any potential silvia gets axed.

VROOOM

the current generation of Viper is supposed to be the last.

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driftking777

^^^Its the same thing that happened in the Mid 70's to late 80's. Economy goes down. Production numbers begin to fail, and companies panic. So they do what they believe they have to do to survive. It this case it was Honda cutting the NSX. I wouldnt be surprised if a lot of new comers it the axe also.

However i do still hope between nissan and toyota they keep the new RWD models rolling.

muddafakka

Agreed 100%.

If I had a Genesis Coupe, it would probably look just like the one on the left. God I love it.


I agree with what you said about the Genesis Coupe.

But Japan being the new America, I'm not sure they've reached that point yet.

While the coupe has yet to prove itself, I strongly believe that Hyundai did their homework with this one.

The concept of the 3,400 lb. RWD coupe may not be new but I could care less. If I saw another FWD N/A 4-banger sport compact aimed towards the "youth culture/tuner crowd," I'd hurl.


Yep in 2010 everything stops I believe. I really hope the Vipers can be saved by somebody.

lflkajfj12123

car makers are such pussies

Andrew @ 240sxMotoring

As I understood Vipers are still profitable for Chrysler. Its demand outweighs production.

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VROOOM

the dodge dealer by my house has had a Viper in the showroom since my buddie bought a magnum. at least 6 months

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mRclARK1

Gas mileage, economical practicality and resale value. That's what the vast majority of car buyers, new and used, care about. Honda probably figured with the economic situation, the general attitude of the marketplace and the near future outlook, it just wasn't feasible from a cost/benefit standpoint.

I doubt it's been actually canceled... More likely indefinitely postponed, but it'll resurface on their lineup eventually.

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HyperTek

genesis = honda prelude


time will tell if it makes a lasting impression.. if it is a hit maybe that car will fuel other manufacturers to build competing rwd cars.. thats my opinion *waits for someone to say im wrong*

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Andrew @ 240sxMotoring

But it already got other manufacturers off their feet. Toyota/Subaru and smacked some sense into Nissan to hurry up.

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Gnnr

I think some manufacturers have forgotten to make fun cars. Specifically sports cars.


As far as the Genesis coupe. I think its too heavy as well, but you better HOPE that it does very very well. Because its success may be the extra kick in the ass that Nissan needs to bring a competitive SX to market.

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