GTP Cool Wall: Acura/Honda NSX

[Joey D]

It's cool, it's an awesome super/sport/hyper/whatever the hell kinda of car that didn't need a bazillion horsepower to be quick. It need zero explanation, look at it and you know it was built to go fast. Plus everyone I've ever talked to that owns one has been genuinely nice and very down to earth car guys.

 

[Sharky.]

Um, didn't her appearance on the show end up with her having a completely different opinion on Jeremy? Kind of threw that test out the window.

Yes, I know, but I couldn't remember who she was "replaced" with.

Considering the fact that Jessica drives a Toyota Prius as niky said, she'd probably love the fact you chose a V6 sports car like the NSX from a company that's as crazy about hybrids as her Toyota.

I plucked her out of thin air. Replace her with someone else if it helps you understand my point about "it's a Honda"

 

[GT Pro]

A revolution when it debuted, but its second iteration should have definitely recieved a substantial power boost to the 400hp mark (failing to do so led to a difficult-to-justify premium price-tag). That said, SUB-Z.

Btw, I'll just leave this here...

 

[niky]

I plucked her out of thin air. Replace her with someone else if it helps you understand my point about "it's a Honda"

You mean: one of the hundreds of hollywood actresses that drives a Prius? Go ahead. Or do we go with the Britneys and Lohans of the world, who know cars well enough to bin their Mercs in a parking lot?

The Kristin Scott episode highlights the fact that women don't think about cars the same way men do. Saying: "Would Kristin/Jessica/Angelina/etcetera get in the car." merely reflects your own biases. It's funny when Clarkson does it, because he's being bufoonish. But people seem to take the idea so seriously. It's.just.a.joke.

If you read the hyper car definition there, you wouldn't have had to type out this comment.

I did.

And again: it's urbandictionary. Any fool can post anything they want. That definition is youtube comments section ridiculous.

For fear of an AUP violation, let's post it with some censoring...

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Hyper car

1. Hyper car

buy hyper car mugs, tshirts and magnets (oh... so that's what the site is for...)

Often mistaken for Super cars. Both are very expensive but Super cars are designed for messing with G-Forces while Hyper cars are designed for messing with G-Strings.
Person 1: "Wow that Koenigsegg KILLED that Lamborghini"

Person 2: "Yeah but you'll get more 🤬 with that Hyper car"

Note: The Lamborghini being the Hyper car in this example.
hyper car hyper cars super car super cars car cars hyper super

by Blair T. Feb 6, 2008 share this

Now, let me see... a half-million dollar Lamborghini Murcielago gets more 🤬 than a million dollar Koenigsegg with its beautiful doors designed to allow miniskirt-clad women to get out with both dignity and head (hellooooo scissors!) intact? Oh-kaaay.

And who is this incredible industry expert, Blair T.? An automotive engineer? A cultural language expert? A cultural icon? A rapper? We may never know. This is the only definition he's ever posted on that site.

I know, it's meant to be funny... but replace Lambo with Nissan GT-R and Koenigsegg with... errh... Koenigsegg?... and it'd be more accurate.

Again: urbandictionary=garbage.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=urbandictionary&defid=709026

1. urbandictionary

buy urbandictionary mugs, tshirts and magnets (ironic... you can tell the editors have actually read the article below! [/sarcasm])

A website with a brilliant concept that could have become great if it hadn't been overrun by a mob of losers, who spend their days trying to feel important and popular by:

1. Insulting politicians, the guy who stole their lollipop when they were 7, the post before theirs, the poster's mother and everything else on God's green earth.

"OMFG xxx sux arse!!1!1!!"

2. In the process proving that despite the concerted efforts of taxpaying citizens and the Government, the majority of the American population cannot spell.

3. Exercising their creative juices by insulting everyone else in the most innovative, intelligent manner possible. Usually something like:

"Wtf yuo r a mutha-🤬 (even if it's mis-spelt, it's still **** ) n shudd suk yur dad's 🤬! LOLOLOL"

4. Typing bull-🤬. Classic examples: 50 facts about women and anything written by sony roolz.

Please, if you've ever been guilty of any of these, go to the nearest wall and smack your head against it a few times. Thereafter, help keep Urbandictionary free from the masses of retards roaming the Internet. Blam (sic) posts that are nonsensical, hateful or just plain dumb. Before clicking that send button, doublecheck that you're not making yourself sound like a complete tool. If you know anyone who does any of the above four on a regular basis, shoot them and burn up their computers. Then maybe we could turn this website back to a useful resource instead of a soapbox for mentally backward individuals.
Have a nice day ^_^

by Fooby Jun 8, 2004

I'd worry about that definition being erased by the site editors... but since it's been up since 2004, I doubt it.

 

[Bram Turismo]

So Top Gear have been doing their Cool Wall all wrong then?

It's more show than anything, really. I've never understood why Richard said the LF-A was a brilliant car, but no one would ever want to drive one because it's a Lexus. That's nonsense. Let's just count how many heads you'll be turning when at the wheel of an LF-A... Hell, I bet 90% of the people will go "It's a spaceship!"

NSX? Cool!

 

[Kubalivre]

Just to screw up the discussion a bit, from what I've heard, Miss Alba is quite a nice, average young lady, if we remove all that tinseltown glitter from the equation.

 

[niky]

Just to screw up the discussion a bit, from what I've heard, Miss Alba is quite a nice, average young lady, if we remove all that tinseltown glitter from the equation.

A nice, average young lady with a strong work ethic and a Prius.

A Prius which she drives: 1.) to make a political statement, and 2.) because it's a perfectly comfortable appliance. An anti-car.

Not the kind of person who'd be swayed by the size of your credit card debt.

-

Which is where the "What car would **** get into" argument falls apart. I don't know about you... but the kind of woman who chases after men who drive Lamborghinis and turns her nose up at guys in Hyundais is called what?


(okay, now I can't get that one outta my head... "she went got lipo wid you money"...)

 

[McLaren]

I plucked her out of thin air. Replace her with someone else if it helps you understand my point about "it's a Honda"

That's a bit hard. Most celebs in the US are on the stupid hybrid craze, many driving Prius' or hybrid SUVs. It's either those or 4-door luxury cars.

The hybrid owners would approve of the Honda name, & the 4-door luxury owners don't care for sports cars to begin with so telling them, "I'm taking you out in a Ferrari" probably end up making them uneasy since that kind of car just draws attention. Plus, a lot of celebs here, amazingly, do not buy sports car b/c they end up looking like, "I've got all this money LOL" & that is not a good trait to have when you're a Hollywood celebrity for some reason.

If you look, the only celebs who drive sports cars anymore are car guys to begin with. The only celebs I can think of who would actually wrinkle their nose at getting into a Honda are women like Holly Montag (basically idiots) or guys like George Clooney or Brad Pitt.

 

[JCE]

You know, I used to hate the NSX. But after driving one years back I've changed my mind. Always knew they were beautiful, but I can appreciate the craftsmanship of them now. And now that they are cheap the last thing I hated about them (the price) is a moot point. Yes the 3000GT VR-4 (I had one), Skyline GT-R, the 300ZX TT, Supra TT and the RX-7 TT would take it at the red lights but going around corners...that's a whole different story. I'd take an NSX over a 911, yes I would. Rarer, lower to the ground and just cooler. The 911 is just a bloated clone of itself through each generation--awsome car yes but a bit boring now. The NSX was nothing Honda had ever done before and won't do again. Who cares if it is a "supercar" or "sports car", it's a fantastic machine that is a good driver's car. That's what matters. Just a thought.

 

[McLaren]

You know, I used to hate the NSX. But after driving one years back I've changed my mind. Always knew they were beautiful, but I can appreciate the craftsmanship of them now. And now that they are cheap the last thing I hated about them (the price) is a moot point. Yes the 3000GT VR-4 (I had one), Skyline GT-R, the 300ZX TT, Supra TT and the RX-7 TT would take it at the red lights but going around corners...that's a whole different story. I'd take an NSX over a 911, yes I would. Rarer, lower to the ground and just cooler. The 911 is just a bloated clone of itself through each generation--awsome car yes but a bit boring now. The NSX was nothing Honda had ever done before and won't do again. Who cares if it is a "supercar" or "sports car", it's a fantastic machine that is a good driver's car. That's what matters. Just a thought.

Stock for stock back in the day, the NSX' 0-60 was just over 5 seconds & I think the manual dropped that even more w/ the QTR mile done in around low 13's. Against the other Japanese cars, some were quicker, some were around the same to 60, but by the QTR mile, I think the NSX reeled nearly every one of them in.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Now, let me see... a half-million dollar Lamborghini Murcielago gets more 🤬 than a million dollar Koenigsegg with its beautiful doors designed to allow miniskirt-clad women to get out with both dignity and head (hellooooo scissors!) intact? Oh-kaaay.

And who is this incredible industry expert, Blair T.? An automotive engineer? A cultural language expert? A cultural icon? A rapper? We may never know. This is the only definition he's ever posted on that site.

I know, it's meant to be funny... but replace Lambo with Nissan GT-R and Koenigsegg with... errh... Koenigsegg?... and it'd be more accurate.

Ha, I didn't even read the part where the Murcielago is the hypercar.

 

[Paulie]

Even the cheapest NSXs in Australia are still a good $50k. (I voted sub-zero btw, awesome car).

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

Cool. Would be sub zero but overheating issues drop the rating a bit. Then there's the fact that it is pretty good as a submarine.

 

[Kingofweasles]

*Scans the whole thread*

*Shakes head at the rampant anti-Honda sentiments, the "What is a Sports/Super/Hypercar" sorta-debate as well as all of the mis-use of information.*

...Heck with it. SUB-ZERO

 

[Ardius]

I plucked her out of thin air. Replace her with someone else if it helps you understand my point about "it's a Honda"

I'll just quote myself:

And you again say "its a Honda" as if this refers to some famous uncool era of Honda or something. I honestly have no idea what you guys keep referring to. As far as I have lived, I have never got the sense people think Hondas are boring or rubbish.
I could just as easily say "its a Honda" and someone react "oh wow, I didn't know they made such a car!". So I really don't see what the point is here.

Honda to me says, performance and reliability. People tend to think of the superbikes rather than Civics, as thats where they made their name.

I actually can't believe you think that in a situation where you drive up in a car which looks like an NSX that telling people who made it would change their reaction. It looks cool, for heavens sake! If it was a Lada people would still be "wow" at it (probably even more impressed Lada made a good looking car ).

Can anyone explain this "its a Honda" conspiracy yet?

Its a Honda. (ok, powered but even so).

Its a Honda.

Are these uncool because they are Hondas?

 

[Sharky.]

It's simple, a Honda badge isn't cool!

 

[Ardius]

Why?

 

[GT_Prologue5]

It's simple, a Honda badge isn't cool!

It's just a nice, curvy H. Understated.

 

[Cano]

...Heck with it. SUB-ZERO

This. I dont really want to find reasons, I realy think this is a freaking neat car, even if it is underpowered and all that trash. In the end, it's awesome.

 

[a6m5]

I wasn't gonna say anything, but the Honda badge has been "cool" for decades now. There is a difference between "cool", and "not as prestigious as Mercedes-Benz".

As with any automakers, Honda has its haters. But to say that their badge is not "cool" that is due to your own bias, not of the public.

Again, I'm not arguing how cool Honda badges are, but of course it is one of the cool nameplates in the automotive. It is highly respected, maybe not by people like Sharky, but by the most.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Why?

I don't know about the US, but aren't Hondas driven by geezers in the UK?

 

[Sharky.]

It is highly respected, maybe not by people like Sharky, but by the most.

Hey hey hey, careful now.

@RD: ok, so NZ isn't the UK, but they are down here. All you ever see down here are Jazz/Fits and old stuff like 80s Preludes, the Ascot sedan etc. The Jazz are always driven by retired people, the Preludes are always full of rust holes and Ascots driven by middle-aged mothers. Civics are always the lowest-spec model, and all of the more sporty Civics/Integras have been chavved out.

Hondas in this part of the world are unbelievably uncool - they're so uncool, in fact, that I'm amazed NZ isn't under an ice cap a kilometre thick. That image problem carries over to the NSX - no matter how hard it tries, it can't shake the fact it's from the same maker as the stuff I just mentioned.

 

[niky]

I don't know about the US, but aren't Hondas driven by geezers in the UK?

Dunno... Every time I see a first-generation Fit/Jazz, it's being driven by pretty girl or a forty-something guy with a helmet in the back seat and worn tires. Both demographics I can relate with.

Old people around here drive Corollas.

 

[a6m5]

We are MW2 buddies, you know I don't mean you any disrespect. I'm just being frank. There are names I will not find find cool, like Hyundai, I have admitted that. It's my personal bias on that, I grew up in the 80's, I don't hate the Koreans, but they hate us, so there's a political motivation there as well.

Having said that, I will not let my personal opinion decide if they've done a good job, they've done a hell of a job, then some. There is a company name that is on a verge of becoming universally acceptable, soon to be cool. It is already acceptable to many, but there are too many biased fools like myself around.

I think I ran into another discussion about why Evo's were not cool, and the argument was "well, in my neighborhood..." yada yada yada. That means very little to me, as what I've seen "in my neighborhood" was the exact, the exact opposite of what they were describing. Sometimes, we all have to look at a bigger picture.

As I said before, Honda plates have already been cool for sometime. If you start comparing everything to, say, a F40, nothing may seem cool, but that doesn't prove anything.

 

[mafia_boy]

You know, I used to hate the NSX. But after driving one years back I've changed my mind. Always knew they were beautiful, but I can appreciate the craftsmanship of them now. And now that they are cheap the last thing I hated about them (the price) is a moot point. Yes the 3000GT VR-4 (I had one), Skyline GT-R, the 300ZX TT, Supra TT and the RX-7 TT would take it at the red lights but going around corners...that's a whole different story.

The RX-7 molests an NSX around the corners, and that's end of story. It's been proven too with the RX-7 getting FOUR STRAIGHT 12hr production victories, 3 at Bathurst, one at Eastern Creek in the early 1990's, when the NSX was supposed to be in it's heyday. Just for proof how much the NSX is over rated in my opinion here's some facts:

For the 1992 event the car manufacturers started to enter large teams with Mazda, Holden, Citroen and Peugeot each funding large teams. The Mazda team grew to dominate the event with their Mazda RX-7s, winning the event right up to the final race held in 1995, despite prominent teams using Honda NSX, Nissan Skyline GT-R, Maserati Shamal, BMW M5, Lotus Esprit and a factory-supported team of Porsche 968s which ran in 1993 and 1994, upgrading to Porsche 993s for the final race in 1995.

Just to show even more facts, click on this link where it shows the results of the 1993 Bathurst 12hr, and see how many laps behind the RX-7's the NSX was. While you're at it, click here on this link and see how far behind that NSX was. NSX's were not the be all and end all of cars that can go around a corner as was proven in these races.

On topic, I've always considered the NSX to be the JDM version of a poser car, for people whose wallets weighed more than their brains. At their time of release, there were a lot of options as JCE has mentioned, from the RX-7, 300ZX, GT-R, 3000GT and A70 Supra's (the A80's weren't out until later on). Add to it that the NSX was priced brand new at over $200k!! That's more than twice as expensive as the Australian market R32 GT-R, nearly triple the RX7 and almost four times more than the 300ZX!! For something that only had comparable performance to those cars and was totally wiped by anything in the same price range isn't really a good calling card for any car that's claiming, "I'm a Japanese Supercar".

Uncool. I'm not on the Honda bandwagon on this one.

 

[niky]

Uh... you do know that "production class" cars aren't really stock, right? Your results show that the RX7s were in a different class altogether (turbocharged) and were factory-supported (this is extremely important in racing). So... a factory team beats private racing crews? What's news there? Stock to stock, on a racetrack, the best NSXs were still faster than the best RX7s.

Yet Honda's NSX was never very successful in racing because it was never built as a turbocharged car, like so many of its competitors, and, in Japan, faced a different set of rules compared to its competition. (mid-engine handicap). This is why the rumored NSX replacement was designed as a front-engined car.

But winning races isn't the point. The NSX is much like the Lexus LF-A. Yes, it can be beaten by a modern GT-R. But a GT-R isn't an exotic. Exotics are designed with space age materials and construction techniques. They're not built to be the fastest cars on Earth, they're simply built to be exotics. And part of being exotic is the sound. Which is why McLaren worked so hard on the MP412C to get the sound right. They used turbos to guarantee performance, but they needed to make sure the sound was proper, as customers in this price range don't expect "just" a fast car... they expect the whole "exotic" experience.

Which is why some "exotics" and "supercars" still use non-turbo engines... and why the NSX did. Because the sound and the mechanical complexity of the engine are as an integral part of the experience as the actual ability to hit a certain speed in a certain span of time.

 

[mafia_boy]

Uh... you do know that "production class" cars aren't really stock, right? Your results show that the RX7s were in a different class altogether (turbocharged) and were factory-supported (this is extremely important in racing). So... a factory team beats private racing crews? What's news there? Stock to stock, on a racetrack, the best NSXs were still faster than the best RX7s.

Actually, the RX7's in those 12hr races were privately entered, built by Alan Horsley and his team in his workshop in Sydney. Since then, partly due to the success he created, Mr.Horsley has become the head of Mazda motorsport in Australia. The RX-7's were sponsored by BP in the 1992-94 events and then by local radio station 2MMM in 1995. But the NSX was pretty heavily backed too by the Palmers, who are one of the richest families in Australia who are heavily into motorsport and co-driven by Wayne Gardner (500cc world champ, JGTC, V8 Supercars) along with the Palmers.

Also, the RULES stated that the cars were not allowed any major modifications....the most they could do was modify the airbox and removing the cat on the exhaust, the rest of it was suspension work. Same deal with all the other cars.

Yet Honda's NSX was never very successful in racing because it was never built as a turbocharged car, like so many of its competitors, and, in Japan, faced a different set of rules compared to its competition. (mid-engine handicap). This is why the rumored NSX replacement was designed as a front-engined car.

But that's the thing niky. They never got any handicaps or penalties over here for anything of that nature, so the car got whipped in a straight up battle.

But winning races isn't the point. The NSX is much like the Lexus LF-A. Yes, it can be beaten by a modern GT-R. But a GT-R isn't an exotic. Exotics are designed with space age materials and construction techniques. They're not built to be the fastest cars on Earth, they're simply built to be exotics. And part of being exotic is the sound. Which is why McLaren worked so hard on the MP412C to get the sound right. They used turbos to guarantee performance, but they needed to make sure the sound was proper, as customers in this price range don't expect "just" a fast car... they expect the whole "exotic" experience.

But for a car of that price range, being fast is a prerequisite, the rest of the toys are what give the exoticness to those cars.

Which is why some "exotics" and "supercars" still use non-turbo engines... and why the NSX did. Because the sound and the mechanical complexity of the engine are as an integral part of the experience as the actual ability to hit a certain speed in a certain span of time.

Very true and I totally agree with you on this point. That's why some people will pick a Porsche GT3 over a Porsche 911 Turbo, for that very same reason, due to the experience it provides from the sounds that car makes compared to a turbocharged variant. 👍

 

[McLaren]

Also, the RULES stated that the cars were not allowed any major modifications....the most they could do was modify the airbox and removing the cat on the exhaust, the rest of it was suspension work. Same deal with all the other cars.

That doesn't change the fact that RX-7s were not better in the corners. Stock for stock, the NSX was the faster car by a long shot. The best of the RX-7 line up couldn't hold a candle to the NSX-R & were barely running next to the Type-S/Zero models.

 

[niky]

Actually, the RX7's in those 12hr races were privately entered, built by Alan Horsley and his team in his workshop in Sydney. Since then, partly due to the success he created, Mr.Horsley has become the head of Mazda motorsport in Australia. The RX-7's were sponsored by BP in the 1992-94 events and then by local radio station 2MMM in 1995. But the NSX was pretty heavily backed too by the Palmers, who are one of the richest families in Australia who are heavily into motorsport and co-driven by Wayne Gardner (500cc world champ, JGTC, V8 Supercars) along with the Palmers.

Also, the RULES stated that the cars were not allowed any major modifications....the most they could do was modify the airbox and removing the cat on the exhaust, the rest of it was suspension work. Same deal with all the other cars.

But that's the thing niky. They never got any handicaps or penalties over here for anything of that nature, so the car got whipped in a straight up battle.

Ah. Still, I'd argue that. Airbox and a cat delete will have a much greater effect on a turbocharged engine than a naturally aspirated mill. And suspension work has a lot of effect on lap times.

Still... impressive that it came in third overall (versus two RX7s).

But for a car of that price range, being fast is a prerequisite, the rest of the toys are what give the exoticness to those cars.

Again... it was fast for its time. Just not the fastest.

Very true and I totally agree with you on this point. That's why some people will pick a Porsche GT3 over a Porsche 911 Turbo, for that very same reason, due to the experience it provides from the sounds that car makes compared to a turbocharged variant. 👍

Of course, there's something to be said for the whooshing, snap-crackle-pop sound of a turbo, too. But the longer I drive the Focus, the more I miss the wail of my Protege... agh. Just two or three more weeks to go before she's done! (having a chassis alignment and maybe seam-welding).

 

[Giancarlo]

One of those timeless styles of the 90s. Love it.