Initial thoughts from the public on gen-1 NSX

Yinzer

Yinzer

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With all the love/hate armchair quarterbacking comments here and on facebook over the gen-2, I've become curious about what the public said about the gen-1 NSX when it first came out. Of course, without NSXPrime or facebook, the only available resources might be the Readers Letters pages and *maybe* even the editorial columns pages of the major magazines at the time if someone dedicated their entire column that month to the NSX, good or bad. All my NSX paraphernalia is packed up at the moment for a minor move, but I wondered if any of you out there had any magazines handy from around 1990 and could share some scans or photos for what people were saying at the time about its look/appearance, cost/value, use of certain tech that was new for the time.....general thoughts on it vs. the major competitors at the time and its place within the market at the time....the overall public response... I think it would be very interesting to see what the Joe Publics were thinking and how the response compares to today... When I can get to my stash I'll contribute too. I vaguely remember the overall public response being positive (I certainly was wowed starting the moment I saw/heard about it), so I'd like see how accurate my recollection was. I will eat my NSX hat if I read critiques about it having an ugly fascia, ugly rear, polarizing looks, poor value for the cost, unnecessary complex tech weighing it down with expected poor reliability, and/or "they should come out with a lighter/cheaper/simpler option."
 
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My recollection from 96 when I bought mine was fascination by the average enthusiast ..and disdain from the exotic car owners of the time....Japanese Ferrari , expensive rice burner...fancy corvette , ect.....Many did not know all of the cutting edge tech in the car..but the one thing they did know was that the car was mostly aluminum.
 
In the 90's, magazine tests proved the Supra turbo and the RX7 turbo to out accelerate the nsx and in most cases out handle it. The nsx was hands down better looking, had a luxurious interior, and let's face it, it held up leagues above the competition. The new nsx is beautiful. I definitely wouldn't spend the money they are asking for it but it isn't a slug. It is very fast.... There is also almost every magazine test where the test was performed from a launch. I wonder how the nsx with it's lagless drivetrain fares in a rolling start test? Or even dropping into a lower gear while highway cruising? But if there is one takeaway from the new car it's this, " The 2017 Acura NSX, something for people to argue about again"....
 
The nsx was compared to the esprit, 328-348 , as well as the supra and rx7, those cars did not handle better, as far as I can remember, I went from a tt rx7 r1 which over steered mightily
 
There is a issue of road and track out there somewhere where the Supra and rx7 outhandled the nsx. But I really do not care much. I bought the nsx.:wink: If I wanted a track car or a drag strip racer, I'd buy one. I like road going cars and I think the new car is very well suited to the road. A bit bumpy though, buyer beware....
 
Jinks man stop bringing up the new car ...lol this is about our venerable NA1:tongue:
 
I know, sorry. But the new car started this thread. There were a lot of great options in the 90's is basically what I am getting at just as there are today in the range of prices. But the nsx didn't go down as a supreme leader then and it isn't now. I still bought one though, love this car......
 
that's because the nsx was so well made, much better than all the alternatives in the early 90's....people still track the car ....how many other 25 y/o sports cars are routinely running hpde?
 
I agree 100% doc. I am sticking up for the gen 1 here. It is a great car. I bought one, spend tons of money on it, and continue to do so because I know it is special. I also think the gen 2 is a bit underrated in some sorts. Just adding to the discussion.:wink:
 
lol I'm a little pissed at you for deleting your fancy sunroof:wink:
 
docjohn said:
lol I'm a little pissed at you for deleting your fancy sunroof:wink:
Click to expand...
It was super duper fancy... All jokes aside and sorry to highjack the thread, a guy who has no nsx experience asked me in front of the gym the other day if I had a solar panel on my roof.... :eek: He was referring to my carbon roof cap. So I have a one off hybrid gen 1.:biggrin:
 
docjohn said:
My recollection from 96 when I bought mine was fascination by the average enthusiast ..and disdain from the exotic car owners of the time....Japanese Ferrari , expensive rice burner...fancy corvette , ect.....Many did not know all of the cutting edge tech in the car..but the one thing they did know was that the car was mostly aluminum.
Click to expand...

B2FiNiTY said:
overpriced japanese sports car that lacks power.
Click to expand...

Cool, thx for the recollections. I was in college when the 91 came out, when most of my friends and I were driving beat up Honda's and Chevettes. The Honda owners were always the ones driving the Chevette owners to the repairshop every six months or so, so we were all pretty spellbound by the NSX... I often wonder if our cars would be kept up so high on the pedestal if they didn't have that aura of near bulletproofness. Hoping to take up some magazines and look for any letters to the editor on the NSX soon.

In a semi-related note @Meeyatch if you still have that car and driver with Ken Sax on it the cover, which I gave to you years ago and which has my mailing address on the cover, I'd like to trade that back for the same magazine just without my mailing address. Suddenly I want to add that back to my growing collection of early NSX memorabilia and press materials. :)
 
I am a member of the public when the NSX came out, and my thought was, shit, I would never be able to buy it. I was driving a 1978 280Z at the time that I bought for a couple thousand dollars. That car was a blast though.
 
Come on, folks! The NSX was seen as a game-changer and a segment buster! It was almost universally praised when it came out. It wasn't until much later, when most of the competition had been updated and it had not, that it started falling behind.

Here's the comparison test that helped start my love affair with the car: http://www.caranddriver.com/compari...otus-esprit-turbo-se-archived-comparison-test

If you can't use the link, here is how the article ended after declaring the NSX victorious over the ZR-1, 911, 348, and Espirit: "Honda revitalized the motorcycle mar*ket in the sixties and reshaped the small-car market in the seventies. Now it's go*ing to teach the world how to build Learjets for the ground."
 
BamaFan said:
Come on, folks! The NSX was seen as a game-changer and a segment buster! It was almost universally praised when it came out. It wasn't until much later, when most of the competition had been updated and it had not, that it started falling behind.

Here's the comparison test that helped start my love affair with the car: http://www.caranddriver.com/compari...otus-esprit-turbo-se-archived-comparison-test
Click to expand...

Thanks for that link! Really, here though, I am mostly curious in looking up what the public thought, not the press. That's why am going to try to look up car magazines of the early 90s, to see what letters to the editors said about the NSX. Actually my motivation for this thread was: most every time I read of a Prime member going off on critiquing the gen-2, someone in that thread also says "yeah well, people also had lots of critiques about the gen-1." So I'm kind of curious to see if I can find out what the public thought. Personally, I would tend to bet I'll find little public criticism of the NSX in its first five years while it was still a hot topic. I do recall a good bit of general indifference amongst my friends after 2000 or so, while I still remained a fan.

In fact, because I remained such a fan, I rarely thought twice about how little Honda upgraded and freshened it up over its run. For how often Porsche adds a little something to its models each year, I guess it is pretty astounding after all how Honda let the NSX kind of wilt over time. I guess true love really can be blind often, ha ha.
 
Understood. I've tried looking through a few "archive" sites and failed. But tests like the one in C&D reflected the general "wow" mood that I recall at the time. Some comments here seemed to be implying that people didn't think it was legit. That's not what I recall at all. But of course that could be the rose-colored glasses we wear when looking back!
 
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Great article and a very interesting discussion, especially among you original owners. While you guys are looking for non professional reviews/opinions of the time, I'd like to share this more recent article with you. Yes, I'm a very late comer to this club, but as the saying goes, better late than never!

Many of you serious NSX researchers have probably already read it, but this one tipped the scales for me to get serious about buying one.

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/09/28/the-original-acura-nsx-development-history-and-driving-the-icon/

AJ
 
I saved most of my old mags...but of course they are in a box in the attic..
 
From a general public/non track guy, after driving the gen 2 then jumping back into the gen 1 I had zero disappointment. I felt at home and in control again. There is something really special about the gen 1 that I cannot put my finger on. It is freaking infamous. I am just happy I own one. I also think I will be a proud gen 2 owner in the future. Sometimes style over substance is what people look for rather than who can talk the most trash....:biggrin: Doc, break out the old mags....
 
Jinks said:
In the 90's, magazine tests proved the Supra turbo and the RX7 turbo to out accelerate the nsx and in most cases out handle it. The nsx was hands down better looking, had a luxurious interior, and let's face it, it held up leagues above the competition. The new nsx is beautiful. I definitely wouldn't spend the money they are asking for it but it isn't a slug. It is very fast.... There is also almost every magazine test where the test was performed from a launch. I wonder how the nsx with it's lagless drivetrain fares in a rolling start test? Or even dropping into a lower gear while highway cruising? But if there is one takeaway from the new car it's this, " The 2017 Acura NSX, something for people to argue about again"....
Click to expand...
The 6spd 3.2L NSX posted better acceleration and 1/4 mile times than the RX7 & Supra turbo.

Jinks said:
There is a issue of road and track out there somewhere where the Supra and rx7 outhandled the nsx. But I really do not care much. I bought the nsx.:wink: If I wanted a track car or a drag strip racer, I'd buy one. I like road going cars and I think the new car is very well suited to the road. A bit bumpy though, buyer beware....
Click to expand...
I don't recall this, and I have most comparison magazines from the 90s. The Viper made everything look slow, in a straight line and on track. With pros and journalists alike.
 
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stuntman said:
The 6spd 3.2L NSX posted better acceleration and 1/4 mile times than the RX7 & Supra turbo.


I don't recall this, and I have most comparison magazines from the 90s. The Viper made everything look slow, in a straight line and on track. With pros and journalists alike.
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Please see post #21 Billy. I love the nsx. You helped me fine tune my gen 1. So I am sorry but I cannot argue with anything you seem fit. Iam just glad you are one of us..... :wink:
 
back in the day of hpde circa 96-99 , the few guys that tracked modified supra and 280-300 z cars were slower than the bee, and these guys had experience and seemed to do just as many events as me.....they also broke more often.The car that was as quick or quicker were stripped out rx7.....they broke too...
 

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