Am I the only one that thinks the 2002+ NSXs are kind of a sell-out by themselves? Don't crucify me for saying it - hear me out...
In my mind, Hondas/Acuras have always been quirky. For instance, if you wanted an automatic in an S2000, Honda said "nope, it would ruin the car, go buy something else". Same goes for the Si versions of the Civic, Integra, etc. They could have folded to market demand and made automatic versions of everything like most car makers (think 350z in automatic, etc) but they didn't.
And in the NSX, they de-tuned the engine, holding onto their reputation of making the best version of almost every car they make manual only.
Now, the 2002+ NSXs are kind of the same thing. The original certainly was fast when it came out, and it had a crazy long geared 5-speed, 8 grand redline - definitely quirky. But, to stay competitive and stay with the market, in 97 they changed it to the 3.2 liter, went to a 6-speed and added 20 horsepower in some attempt to stay competitive. They added in that electronic throttle, the electric power steering was standard by then... it just seems like they tried to make the car more modern, and it lost some of the original charm. Then in 2002, it got worse when they removed the pop-up headlights for some reduction in drag that is probably not noticeable at speeds we all actually drive at, and it lost the presence somehow.
Everyone knows you can buy an automatic Corvette and drive much faster than the NSX, and at the time it was 60 percent of the cost - kind of a no-brainer for just about everyone out there - and that is my point. We all love the spirit of the NSX, and slowly it seems Honda tried to take out that spirit to gain sales, and it never really worked.
When you see someone drive an NSX today, you think "that guy knows what he's doing, he could have bought what the mass market wants, a Corvette, and go much faster from 0-100, but he didn't he bought a car with true soul, true passion, and a car that has a quirky attraction that only real car fans understand and appreciate."
I like cars that are hard to understand to most people, which is why they never sell well, which is why they become collectibles later on. The 2002+ seemed like an attempt to get more people to understand the NSX, and I disagree with that :smile:
Like I said, I hope this doesn't start some firestorm - I just prefer the NA1 models :smile: