Acura NSX

[moon buggy]

Nice comments on the NSX, I happened to have one myself tucked away, magnificent piece of engineering, I've only had it for a couple of years...mine is a 93 model but with only 21500 original kms, so its smells and feels like new [red of course]...and yes it gets as many looks as the VX when its on the road, altho with the VX as I have debadged it except for the small Isuzu on the grill, it seems to scare off some of the rice rockets..as they are not sure what lurks beneath ...and are wondering what the hell is that..there's about 20 VXs in Australia only..parts [NSX]..so far not an issue as Honda did directly import the NSX to Oz..mine is stamped #43 [of ~150 in total sold here], so Honda can still service. Honda in Japan offers a complete refresh program for any NSX, you get your car to them, they will refresh it in every detail back to original !!

On the other hand the VX, nil support as they were brought in as 'grey import' and slipped under the radar until someone realised around 2003 how good they are/were and how competitive they were to any local 4WD offerrings by Nissan Toyota etc..and so the door was closed and they were taken off the 'allowed' list .....

David

[blacksambo]

Great insight into this piece of Japanese auto lore. I continue to think about the NSX, there's a 2004 model parked about a block away for the August high stakes horse racing meet here in Saratoga. It's very interesting that a VX owner should also pick an NSX. It kinda confirms what I had thought, they are the two most extreme and interesting cars to come out of this auto giant country. Japan is searching for their legend cars and these two projects prove they have done it. Let's let the auto writers know we're out here all reved-up and ready to go into the history books. It's a story we can write together (NSX and VX) if we want!

[transio]

they are the two most extreme and interesting cars to come out of this auto giant country

That's a pretty big statement. What about the 10-cyllinder Nissan Skyline, Tommy Kaira ZZ, and Yamaha OX99-11?

Oh, and look at what's coming from Toyota and Nissan... 2 more supercars lined up for production.

[MZ-N10]

10 cylinder skyline?

[etlsport]

not quite as extreme but ive always thought the Subaru SVX was similar to the VX in a lot of ways, short production time, limited parts, unorthodox looks (not quite as bad as the vx, but the double windows draw some looks) and almost all of their owners have a mild obsession with them

[blacksambo]

Look the NSX was the first Japanese successful concept cum production model (syline etc. pretenders after the fact), the VX was the second. The Datsun Fair Ladies and Toyota GT's were unsuccessful attempts at auto imortality. Remember when a manufacturer offers refreshment they believe they've achieved auto ValHalla. Porsche does the same for its 356's. If VX teams with NSX, representing the range of true excitment motoring applications the auto history books will be indelibly marked forever. It's up to us to act now.

[transio]

If VX teams with NSX, representing the range of true excitment motoring applications the auto history books will be indelibly marked forever. It's up to us to act now.

You're a little overzealoous. Relative to Japanese automotive history, the two vehicles are the tip of the pyramid, but relative to worldwide automotive history, neither is really memorable, least of all the NSX. At least the VX innovates in several ways (TOD, AWD + 4WD, 50% cladding, remote-reservoir shocks). It has some potential long-term, but there have to be followers for it to be an innovator. If it's the first and last of its kind, it's just an anomaly - like amphicars or 6x6s.

The NSX is an anemic V6 mid-engine wannabe "super" car... doesn't hold a candle to other mid-engined cars (Ferrari, Lamborghini, or even Lotus, to name a few). It excels at nothing, but is satisfactory at everything, making it a typical Honda execution of a concept (in this case, a sports car). While its mild manners and excellent balance make it a good track car for people of all skill levels, its lack of power and abundance of luxuries make it fall behind. And its not even very attractive - having mild features all around (also typical of Honda).

[transio]

10 cylinder skyline?

Not sure where I got that from. I was sure they made a V10 in addition to the I6