Has Honda gone the way of Toyota?

The NSX concept car. This design drew a lot of criticism because, well, it didn't look that good. For an NSX, this new concept seemed so conservative and tame. I would have to agree. It doesn't look that great. (image from LeftLane News)

Here's an article that has brought much sadness to many car enthusiasts: The cancellation of the NSX program.

Edit: The NSX program may not be as dead as I thought.


The NSX replacement made it to prototype testing, but it won't go any further. It sounded really good too (watch the video from the article linked) Maybe further down the road? Hopefully, but unlikely. (image from Edmunds.com InsideLine)

But then, more recently, even more bad news from Honda: The end of the S2000... with only rumors that it will be replaced, but it seems unlikely.


The last offering for RWD sports car nuts from Honda for the foreseeable future, the Honda S2000 CR. Very sad, indeed. (image from Edmunds.com InsideLine)

What may be worse yet, is that Honda has even stepped out of Formula 1. Yikes! This is all understandable though, as the global crisis with economies and such has led to a shift in demands and such. So Honda must be focusing more on alternative-fuel vehicles and whatnot (more on what I think about that in a later blog entry).

So what does that leave in the Honda lineup of vehicles for those who like sports cars? Nothing.

There's always the Honda Civic Si, but it just won't drive like the rear wheel drive sports cars of Honda's past, which now unfortunately features a discontinued S2000 and a canceled front-engined V10 NSX replacement.

Before you Honda Civic Si fans get on my case, I do admit that it is a great car. I even seriously considered one before deciding on a VW GTI. However, I don't like the idea of revving the nuts out of the engine to get any torque. Plus, the Si doesn't have the same kind of weight balance that the RWD S2000 does.

Getting to the point of this article though, with the cancellation and discontinuing of these great sports cars, does that mean Honda has essentially become another Toyota?


The Toyota MR2 Spyder. Not much of a looker, if you ask me. It wasn't even that fast. It did benefit from a mid-mounted engine though. (image from Consumer Guide)

Toyota's last sports car that was on the market was the MR2 Spyder for the 2005 model year. After that, it was gone. If you ask me, the MR2 Spyder wasn't really anything that special. The MR2 before it was better and better yet, the Supra was truly desirable.


The Toyota Supra. Gosh, this car was awesome. A well-tuned Supra today is just epic. However, I should note that I am a Nissan Skyline (the Supra's competitor) guy. If you're wondering, I like the R34 Skyline more than Nissan's latest GT-R. Too bad it's so hard to get Nissan Skylines in the United States. (image from Consumer Guide)

Honda unfortunately looks like it's going the same direction. The S2000 being a great car and its NSX being something that many dreamed of, too bad they're not coming back.

That leaves Honda, like Toyota, offering just a selection of compact cars, family sedans, and SUVs out on the market.

Some of you may point to Acura and Lexus, but let's be honest, those cars are built for and marketed more as luxury cars. I'm talking about rear wheel drive sports cars. Not luxury vehicles with 'sport tuning'.

Don't even get me started on the Lexus IS-F. That thing sounds good and goes fast, but it's still a Lexus. The front end looks awkward and the stacked exhaust on the back is FAKE. The BMW M3 does a much better job at being a sports car.


Of all the companies that would take a shortcut, I would have never expected it to be Lexus. Especially on a car that's meant to be their ambassador into the world of high-powered expensive sports cars! This car was built to match, if not exceed, the capabilities of the BMW M3. If you want to do that, you should also match BMW's attention to detail. This fake exhaust tip setup on the rear end really doesn't help at all. It's plain awful. If you're going to go for a 'unique look', you should follow through all the way. (image from AutoSpies.com)

Anyway, with that said, it would seem that indeed, Honda has essentially gone the way of Toyota. Thankfully though, Honda hasn't gone on and made their cars super cushy and soft like Toyota has.

Don't get me wrong, Toyota makes great cars for getting people around to where they want to be and in comfort. However, Toyotas in general are generally not that great for drivers who may occasionally like to push the car around a bit. Toyotas are just too soft and don't offer much feedback for the driver. It is for that reason that I'm not much of a fan of Toyota. Their cars are too tame.

Honda, on the other hand, still offers a generally good driving experience. However, it would seem that Honda has landed more on the side of comfort than sporting potential with its cars as of late. The only cars they offer now that even hint at sportiness is the Honda Civic Si and the Honda Accord Coupe. The latter of the two, by the way, looks absolutely stunning if you ask me. That pretty much leaves Mazda and Nissan making 'sporty' family vehicles. Mazda, by the way, with their new Mazda 6 sedan has done an amazing job with that car. It looks great and from what I've heard, drives really well.

On a side note though, I do find it unfortunate that Honda seems to have lost some of its touch in terms of styling. Just take a look at the following examples:

What the heck is up with the grille on this thing? It looks awkward to me. I liked the look of the previous Pilot more. (image from Consumer Guide)


Honda's first truck offering worked out pretty nicely. However, the truck itself looks a bit strange to me. I don't like how the hood kind of dips down toward the grille. From the side, it looks like an Escalade truck, which to me, is NOT a good thing as I am not a fan of Cadillac Escalades.(image from Consumer Guide)


The face of this car, as on the Pilot, just looks really awkward to me. I think it's the stacked look of the silver with the Honda logo and the black bit under it. I don't like it. The previous CR-V looked better overall if you ask me. Thankfully Honda's sedans and coupes still look good. (image from Consumer Guide)


Ohhh wait, they don't! I don't know what Honda/Acura were thinking with this front grille shield-looking thing that dips down and holds the Acura logo. Way too shiny, way too big. There is a car dealership though that has tried painting this shield thing to match the color of the car, and I must say, it looks better that way (unfrotunately, I can't find pictures of that right now). (image from Consumer Guide)

With that said, it seems that with Honda and Toyota out of the picture for making sports cars, that leaves Mazda and Nissan to duke it out with RWD sports cars and Mitsubishi and Subaru for AWD sports cars. That's fine with me, but as a consumer, I think it's always good to have options. It's just too bad Honda has stepped out of the picture. I hope they come back.

-G&G Allen

P.S.
I had the chance to try out the GTI in the snow recently (I'd estimate between 3-5 inches of powdery snow). I was thinking that low profile tires with a wide track (225/40/18) would perform horribly, but the OEM Dunlop SP Sport AS 01 tires did just fine! In fact, I'd say they did REALLY well. The ESP kicked in, but the car was great. No real surprises. I am simply amazed at just how well ESP really works. I was skeptical before, but since I have a car that actually has it as a feature, I'm completely sold. Granted the ESP won't save a bad driver from crashing, it will help a competent driver through bad road conditions. In the area where I live I'd say all wheel drive isn't needed. It would help, but it really isn't necessary if people are looking to buy a car and don't want to spend the extra money or have the extra weight of an AWD system. Of course, if you live further up north, AWD would be a must. But I'd take RWD with snow tires any day if I had the choice (and money, haha).

To-Do List:
-Fanboys and their belief that they all have the best thing since sliced bread. Who's right?
-Why I think GM did it all wrong.
-Game copy protection, what I think is the best way
-The Porsche Cayman, why it's not that great of a car (even though I say it is... what?)
-The many cars I've driven, some thoughts.
-Diesel? Hybrid? Natural Gas? Hydrogen? What I think is better.