Where are all the Production deliveries ??

5 new NSX units sold in the US in April 2020

Well, considering the current COVID-19 situation, I don't think that's a good representation of "normal" sales levels. Worldwide car sales are down considerably compared to prior months and years. The situation is pretty grim, and incentives for new car purchases should only get better over the next couple of months.

I took the car out yesterday to do a quick run to Home Depot and Costco, and it got so many looks and head turns. It really is a beautiful car.
 
I agree with you, biz is bahd.

I had mine out yesterday morning as well. Basically flooring it between stop signs and lights.

Yes the car gets plenty of looks and smiles.

Well, considering the current COVID-19 situation, I don't think that's a good representation of "normal" sales levels. Worldwide car sales are down considerably compared to prior months and years. The situation is pretty grim, and incentives for new car purchases should only get better over the next couple of months.

I took the car out yesterday to do a quick run to Home Depot and Costco, and it got so many looks and head turns. It really is a beautiful car.
 
I'd say the COVID19 has definitely affected the NC1 sales. Going from seven a month to five is a huge slide. At least they can blame the slow sales on something now.
 
March 2020 US sales

NSX 16 (Maybe the yellow color option is helping, but the number is still hopeless)
R8 97 for the quarter, that is pretty good considering the pandemic stricken market
Ford GT 79 for the quarter
GT-R 58
LC 56, 2 of which were hybrids

Going back through your data, there were 9 sold in January, 9 in February, and 16 in March for a total of 34 for CQ1'20. If memory serves me correctly, that's about half of what was sold in CQ1'19. The Ford GT and Audi R8 numbers aren't huge, nor would you really want them to be for a supercar to be considered exclusive. Honestly, I don't want a ton of NSXs out there flooding the market. Look at the Lexus LFA--only 500 of those were made, and a used one today costs just as much as a new one did back in 2012.

To create the allure of exclusivity, which actually creates more demand, Acura should have started marketing the NSX as a limited production supercar with only 500 units to be made each year. Yes, they marketed it as a limited production, hand-assembled supercar built in the one-of-a-kind PMC factory, but they never put a cap on the number of units they would be willing to make each year. In fact, it was the opposite where they talked about how they could ramp production at the PMC factory:
"The NSX will initially be built on a single shift, but Acura says overtime a second shift could be added if there is a sudden spike in demand. However, for now Acura plans to build about 800 units per year."

If Acura really does want to sell thousands of NSXs per year, which I hope they don't, then marketing really needs to change. When you think about some of these other cars, there's something special about them.

  • The Ford GT has the legendary allure of the original Ford GT40; even though it's a Ford, it's still a legend and a damn good supercar
  • The GT-R's predecessor (Skyline GT-R) had a legendary following in Japan, and the rest of the world (including those in the U.S.) that wanted to get their hands on the high-powered, monster Japanese car
  • The Audi R8, which is also a damn good supercar, still sells well even though it's getting long in the tooth because of the Audi nameplate; there are so many Audi fanboys out there and so many people that consider German cars to be some of the best engineered cars in the world

The somewhat new Lexus LC gives the older luxury crowd a nice, cushy, reliable, and powerful GT car. The interior of that car is very supple, and the ride is very nice (note the lack of low-profile tires on the LC). The LC is not a supercar, and it's not a car that you're really going to track. I think of it as a fixed-roof coupe that would attract Mercedes S-class coupe and SL roadster buyers.

The original NSX has a legendary history, but the NC1 NSX lost those ties to the original because it's such a large departure from the original, except for the everyday driveability, excellent visibility, and reliability. The NC1 needs to carve its own path forward as a new generation of Japanese supercar, and that takes some really good marketing. Sure, you could tweak the car a bit such as bumping up the horsepower and modifying the software to give drivers a wilder, more untamed ride like the earlier GT-R (the more recently updated GT-R has lost some of that Godzilla formula), but that's just one part of a formula (again, if the goal is to increase sales to sell thousands per year). As it stands now, it's still not clear what Acura wants the NSX to be--an exclusive, limited production supercar or a Japanese 911.

Anyway, I guess I just wanted to pen a op-ed. :smile:
 
Thanks for your points.

I had an original LFA allocation, put my first $10K down and subsequently bailed. My wife was not ok with something that sounded like a Murcielago.

There were only about 174 of the 500 delivered to the US. 1 was destroyed when it fell off a transported and a few have been shipped to other countries (Canada, EU, Middle East). They regular ones are going for well over original sticker now and the ring edition cars (limited to 50 of the 500 but we don't know how many actually exist) are going for roughly double the original sticker.

Ford GT is constrained 2 ways, the production cap from Ford (2000 cars?) and the capacity at the Multimatic factory in Canada (maybe the bigger issue as it is a small craft builder putting together a complicated car with super tight packaging).

The original target for the Gen 2 NSX was 800 cars per year for the US and 800 cars per year for Ex US.

I hoped sales could track in the R8 range (the natural competitor in my mind) but that didn't work out.

The GT-R program stands out because Nissan has kept improving throughout a crazy long selling cycle (2009 to now with no next gen car in sight).

I agree the Lexus LC is in another category. I got to drive one at a Lexus event, the V8 sounds wonderful, it handles acceptably and it it cradles you in luxury. I am disappointed that they went soft top. The LC-F with the TT-V8 should be fun, I hope the economic fallout from the pandemic doesn't keep that version from being green lighted.
 
Might anyone know if a comprehensive list of used NC1s exist? For example, in 2018 - 10 130Rs where sold, 3 of which had red interior, 2 saddle, 6 had ELS, etc?

I foresee the owners of the "1 of 1" cars will start to consider using that in their sales strategy
 
Might anyone know if a comprehensive list of used NC1s exist? For example, in 2018 - 10 130Rs where sold, 3 of which had red interior, 2 saddle, 6 had ELS, etc?

I foresee the owners of the "1 of 1" cars will start to consider using that in their sales strategy

Or maybe "1 of 7" sold in the month of 2019. LOL.
 
what month does a new year production cycle start? I'm debating whether to put in a new order now or wait to get into a 2021 production. I'm not in a rush to get a new car. I want to do what makes the most sense.
 
Apparently this one currently for sale in New Mexico is the first 2020 off the line, so you could look at a Carfax I suppose to know when to expect 2021: 19UNC1B01LY000001
 
Thanks for the information SFNSX1. I called Acura. They told me that this vehicle was produced on 10/16/19, so based on this it appears that the new year production month is October.
 
building only 10 of something...anything/month....means you should be able to have near infinite options for interior materials/color ect.....they need to work on the bespokeness......:wink:
 
building only 10 of something...anything/month....means you should be able to have near infinite options for interior materials/color ect.....they need to work on the bespokeness......:wink:

I completely agree, and think this is a no-brainer that Acura is missing out on big time. You want ebony seats but orchid on the doors and center console? Done. You want the carbon fiber trim on the steering wheel but not the hood over the gauges? Done. You want a custom color we've never made before? Done (but it will cost you a lot).

As you said, with those low numbers and every car being hand-assembled anyway, it would be so easy for them to let customers pick and choose options to their heart's (and budget's) content. Even if most customers just stuck with the basic packages and choices, simply offering true bespoke manufacturing would be a bragging and selling point.
 
right people got excited about 2 new colors....cmonnnnnnnnn PMC:confused:
 
The limited opportunities for customization are for our own good, you see. Less stress.
"The 911 customer is stressed out with a million ways to package the car," said Ted Klaus back in 2013.
https://www.autoweek.com/news/a1929791/acura-nsx-details-emerge/

Thanks for sharing this quote

Another opportunity for me to throw Turd under the bus

I can't see Honda being willing to open up the spec book at this point

They are a big company, unable to pivot from the plan

On the plus side, losing money on this car doesn't really hurt the company

Just look at McLaren now, minus a quarter of their staff
 
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building only 10 of something...anything/month....means you should be able to have near infinite options for interior materials/color ect.....they need to work on the bespokeness......:wink:

right? that was one of Acura's selling points.

How hard or costly is it to make different colored seat belts?
 
The problem is that Honda manufactures very little and their suppliers are not going to sign a contract to make seat belts or anything else in Tutti Frutti colors because the quantities are so low that it makes no sense. Similarly why would Honda want to make these parts available for the next 10 years. I think they learned their lesson with the super low number of yellow, blue, and orange interiors on the NA2 cars - look at all the NLA interior parts for these cars. No fun for Honda or the people who own them.
 
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Here is a place where you can have your belts changed out to the color of your choice. And it is fairly inexpensive at that. https://www.safetyrestore.com/webbing-replacement/122-change-seat-belt-color.html
I wonder how far Acura will go to void warranty on that.

"Oh, your seatbelts don't work? But you changed your seatbelts..."
"Oh, your airbag doesn't work? But you changed your seatbelts..."
"Oh, your TCS doesn't work? But you changed your seatbelts..."
"Oh, your braking system error? But you changed your seatbelts..."
"Oh, your door chimes doesn't work? But you changed your seatbelts..."
"Oh, your door doesn't lock? But you changed your seatbelts..."

HAHA, I can only imagine.......
 
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