If Honda's intent was not to get into e-peen war, then why were they so arrogant in the past? They always claimed that they didn't need a big V8 because they can match its power with small V6 and I4's, and it was true back in the days - NSX, S2K, TL-S, Type R, SI, etc. But they lacked to make much progress in the last several years, their V6 engine stayed pretty much the same across several generations, with minor changes. Don't get me wrong, its still a very good engine, and if Honda didn't make these claims I wouldn't be bitching. But since they did, I expect their engine to perform as good as BMW 4.8, MB 5.5, Lexus 4.6. Meanwhile it performs worse than Toyota and Nissan 3.5's. As a former Honda owner, I did my share backing up Honda's claim, and arguing their superiority in real life as well as on internet forums. But hey, Honda dropped the ball and lost many loyal customers, not just myself.