Acura NSX

[tbigity]

i dare anyone to follow up transios comments...

go on...



DO IT!

Nicely said man. The only true allure that they both share in common to me is the rarity. Usually when an NSX passes me i simply go "what the...oh...acura" and forget about it. "Mild" said it best. I would venture to say that there are far more impressive car combinations out there, especially if you are trying to meld several completely unique (if not just great) features. Like the uber lite frame of an elise with the quadra steering of the sierra (i know I am grasping at straws on this one) and the body of a VX or baja...shoot, anything that is rare and attractive to some extent.

[transio]

Ty, is that you?!

Sounds like you just described something very close to the Lotus APX concept.

[tbigity]

hey, you found me out.

i couldnt help but look at the pix of the 2 cars together and not think "hey, what if" and it seemed like an appropriate place to post bout it. Looks like you already beat me to the idea though.

As we never got to take a spin in the lotus I dunno how she turns, but the VX turning is sexy! And I thought if you melded the two ideas you would need to spread the wheel base a bit. That being my only complaint with any modern-day muscle cars...the turning radii suck! Add quadra stear and bam...

anywho....yes, yes it is me :-)

[transio]

As we never got to take a spin in the lotus I dunno how she turns, but the VX turning is sexy!

You don't know what you missed... it's like driving a race car on the street. Of course, the VX with Bilsteins and wide stance is probably at the top of road-handling SUVs... maybe behind a Cayenne, X5, and FX45.

[tbigity]

DUDE! If the FX45 wasn't 3 times as much as the VX and I wasn't in the process of gettin a house...yeah...you know. BUT I got the VX and KNOW I made the right decision. I test drove the 45 and the 8 cyl did purr quite nicely...but they are everywhere, and frankly are starting to look like an eggmobile to me.

[Triathlete]

Just give me a Ford Escort CS!

[moon buggy]

Hey transio...a bit harsh speaking of the NSX in such a fashion, as an owner obviously my opinion is quite different....

Hey etlsport...this will warm your heart ..prior to me jumping into the NSX I owned 2 SVX, an excellent car. Of course the NSX is greater [in my opinion] than the SVX, but then again 2nd hand here in Australia SVX are about 25% of the price of a good NSX. I have very warm memories of the SVX...another "X" car...

[transio]

Hey transio...a bit harsh speaking of the NSX in such a fashion, as an owner obviously my opinion is quite different....

Don't get me wrong, I think the NSX is an awesome car! I thought of getting one myself at one time. But let's not make it what it's not, ok? It's not groundbreaking in any way. It's not even class-leading. It's a 350 hp, v6 powered, mid-engined, cushy, nice-looking, mild-mannered, high-end sports car. It's not a supercar. It's not an innovator. It's not a breakthrough. It's on par with a 911 GT3, Jag XKR, Aston Martin AMV8 or DB9, Lotus Esprit, Viper GTS, Corvette Z06, and a host of other high-end sports cars. The only distinguishing feature is that it's a unique offering from Japan. It's not a Ferrari 360CS, or a Lamborghini Gallardo, or even a Ford GT. Even a $65k C6 Z06 will tear it apart on the track.

That's not harsh... that's reality. :shrug:

[Maugan_VX]

I've driven a Cayenne,

it doesn't handle any better. I'd put them on par, with the VX maybe a little better.

I am a bit biased though

[moon buggy]

hey transio
the company you put the NSX there are certainly some fine cars, but here in Australia, most of those are 2x if not 3x the $s I paid, the Lotus Exige/Elise was closer in $s...now there's a go-cart, gees it was a lot of fun...

...I guess one good thing here ...we at least agree on the VX, ours is about to go into the stereo shop as my JDM model with double din screen...the screen itself shat itself the other day ... so time to upgrade to 7 in touch screen with DVD/CD/Mp3 and reverse camera...might give the std speakers an upgrade as well..

[blacksambo]

First, I love this healthy type of debate. That's what makes this board special and fun versus a mutual admiration society (an unhealthy situation at best). Call me Mr. Contrary if you like, no offense taken.

Next, the NSX---I'm not comparing it statistically to anything else, instead I'm lauding its tractibility. It's practical nature makes it innovative, a true first. Most of those performance innovative uber cars you mentioned run at a high state of tune that hamstrings them and makes them mostly "worry wagons". I've owned Porsches and have good buddies who operate all kinds of Ferraris and the nagging problem is always the same...it's fickle, I can't (heart of hearts) really drive it, the steering's too twitchy or the rides so rough and it's so noisy if you drive it 1000 miles you'll get out of it a deaf semi-cripple etc. etc. Now maybe the Cayenne fixes some of these concerns but then it's really an updated NSX/VX combo and not really innovative at all, merely a copycat. With that said can't we agree that the Japanese innovated with the NSX and VX, they're both highly tractible (drivable and practical and low maintainence) and both highly rakish looking at the same time? And don't they deserve historical recognition for these first acheivements in their respective classes?

[JHarris1385]

The NSX has stricking looks, but you might as well get the accord 2dr with the largest engine and put a body kit on it and save $30k......For the money spent you could easily get a better and more track worthy vehicle......Z06, 350Z, Viper, Elise and the list goes on.

We have kinda strayed away from the original question of shoudl there be a nsx/vx meet. First, what would you do and where would you go. Two completely different vehicles. So I in my opinion it is not a great idea. But all ideas should be welcomed in mind.

[blacksambo]

Not to correct you, but it sounds as if you might be confusing "trackabilty" with "tractibility"? Two entirely different things---the second word means easy to handle/operate, almost intuitive by design. Or it does most of the hard work for you/user friendly etc.etc. Does this help clarify my point?

[transio]

The NSX has stricking looks, but you might as well get the accord 2dr with the largest engine and put a body kit on it and save $30k......

Sorry, but I always laugh to myself when I hear things like this. The NSX has some of the better handling characteristics of recent cars. Even if you got an Accord, stripped it to 2500 pounds, turbocharged it to 350 hp, dropped it 2", and added an uber-stiff suspension and aero kit:

1. It would not be as fast as an NSX, because it will always have a higher drag coefficient and greater frontal area.
   
   
2. It would not handle nearly as well as an NSX, because it has a high center of mass, narrower stance, and poor weight distribution (fore to aft). Oh, and the NSX's suspension is tuned by some of the finest engineers in the world, with a multi-million dollar budget - not by some guy in his garage with a $500 budget.
   
   
3. It would maybe accelerate better in a quarter mile, but unless your a FnF ricer, you know that's a meaningless figure
   
   
4. It would have no interior to speak of, would rattle, squeak, and scrape, and you couldn't take out a date in it unless she wants to sit on the floorpan, because you had to remove the passenger seat to cut weight.
   
   
5. Now that you're driving a highly tuned car, you'd have to check the oil every time you drive it to make sure you don't have excess oil comsumption. Check and recheck your tune to make sure you're not running rich... or worse... lean! Check your turbo to make sure all your hoses are in good condition and no leaks... etc. etc.

So no, a $30k Accord with $20k of mods will NEVER be an $80k NSX. An Accord with $50k of mods STILL won't be an NSX. What's the expression about a turd in a dress?

[JHarris1385]

Wow this is great. First of all the NSX only has 290hp congrats to Acura for making an attempt and an exoctic car.....I have a weekend/summer car that has comparable hp for way less. The fact is you can get more for your money. Thanks...