N-Spec, with all due respect have you driven a new Honda lately or rather some of the other competing brands? I've owned and continue own several Hondas. Outside of the NSX sitting in my driveway is a 2003 Odyssey, 2004 Civic, 2008 CRV, and a 2009 Pilot. I've also had the opportunity to drive several 2011-2013 new models of Hondas and Acuras before they become available. This includes the CRZ on a rather spirited canyon drive. Trust me... they are offering nothing special and you can see why this breaks my heart.
Now when we're talking about motorcycles... they still have a clear edge on their CBRs. That engine and chassis is butter smooth compared to the competition.
Yes I agree they build excellent motorcycles, but I think that Yamaha has them beat in styling whereas Honda beats them in engineering and ergonomics.
I have never been a huge Honda fan, or a die hard fan of any brand. I try to recognize all brands for their pros and cons. I am just noting that Honda seems to consistently deliver in the engine and interior department, which are vital to me besides exterior stance. I think that since you have been a fan or loyal costumer for so long, you have built certain expectations or comfort zones. Since Honda has made some radical departures, this has startled you and perhaps many other loyal fans because people in general do not like change. I welcome the radical changes if they are executed nicely. The biggest goofs I have seen Honda make recently besides sacrificing revs for more low end power (this is a whole other topic, because they seemingly stopped making sports cars until the arrival of the this imminent NSX) would be the current gen TL, Civic and CR-Z:
*The TL had severe exterior issues with awkward details for design but a beautifully sculpted interior. They fixed it slightly with the refresh, but the cookie cutout details are still forced. It does look much better than the first attempt tho and it is an excellent sedan
*The Civic has interior downgrades for this gen it appears because they simplified too much but the exterior got better IMO. Let's see if Honda refreshes the interior and push the engine harder in the near future...
*The CR-Z simply lacked power - this is the car that needed a 8k-9k rev limit to make it really fun. The interior and exterior are nicely done. I am just not a fan of the hatchback shape.
Other than those three, the TSX, ILX, Accord, and even CR-V have evolved nicely IMO. I do like the ILX - the better build quality of the interior made me like it better than the new SI. I like the previous gen Civic SI overall better than the current gen but the extra torque is nice even tho I miss the higher revs. The CR-Z was ok to drive, but the looks did nothing for me and the rear visibility was horrible. The 9th gen Accord is in fact better than the 8th gen overall, almost as good as the 7th gen IMO. The new TL and TSX were nice to drive. I prefer the TSX overall over the TL, but the TL is clearly the higher tier car. This would be the sedan of choice for me right now if I had to choose between the TSX, TL or RL. I really don't care for too much for the other models not mentioned because I generally do not favor larger vehicles. The RSX was pretty good overall, too bad they axed it. It would have evolved nicely I think.
Out of all of these cars mentioned, none of them really appeal to me as the winner when judging the exterior is concerned because none of them are packaged as true sports cars like the NSX. Each had their own neat little design elements that I like tho. However most of Honda's interiors are top notch, especially when compared to the competition. That is huge to me, because I spend 90% of my time with the car in it.
-Hyundai is coming up in the design department, but their steering wheels are usually ugly and the Genesis simply has an ugly interior compared to their other lineup. KIA seems to be cleaner and more energetic with their designs IMO
-Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus - nothing special about their interior designs. I still don't get why people make these claims that they are the best. Perhaps they are easily seduced by fancy/gimmicky gadgets or expensive price/materials used. Mercedes seem to be the least sophisticated to me, along with Lexus in general. BMW may be the winner here
-VW and Mazda seem to have the same caliber of interior design but I still prefer Honda overall.
-Ford, Dodge, Nissan, Subaru, Mitsubishi and GM seem to be least appealing to me for interiors, but the American brands seem to be slowly getting better
If you really take the time to notice all of the styling and function for each company's interior, you will notice that Honda seems to deliver the most sculpted, artistic and ergonomic forms. Audi has these elemental shapes that are cute with the circles and filleted boxes, but it's not beautiful IMO. BMW has far too many trapezoids going on, but they are like Honda when it comes to hierarchy and sculpting. The rest of the bunch are just too flat or smooth without much articulation. I have spent a long time studying interiors, and these are my observations.
The TL and TSX currently earn highest remarks for interior design IMO even though their button layout is overly complicated. This was remedied for the ILX which is why I like it as a compact 4 cylinder daily beater type of car. It has the Acura design flare but the Honda simplicity and ergonomics. They need to find this balance for the next TL and TSX's interior. I definitely expect to be wowed with the new NSX's interior and I have a feeling that I won't be disappointed...
