yianni64

Honda again and again skimps in the wheel/tire package and test scores suffer because of that.

qtiger

The RSX-S with the FP package is still plush, calm, and refined. You can have your leather and your expensive options while grabbing up a couple neat options, but I hardly think it would detract from a stripped-down ITR. There was nothing stopping GSR owners from getting an OEM kit (With a price tag far less than $5,000), but that did nothing to detract from G3 ITR sales.

To the average consumer, on paper I'm sure the GSR looked far more attractive than the ITR.

In believe it would put less pressure on Honda to include niceties like a rear wiper, AC, etc, like they did with the G3s.

I think I would pay $8K to settle into some cloth Recaros rather than leather...

Honda/NissanFan

Why is Honda turning its back on the compact sport car market?? They know we want the Type-Rs over here. So why not bring them?? Instead they give us Type R pieces. We want the hole package or nothing because them pieces are too damn expensive. I remember when Nissan did the same thing. The didn't bring the SR20DET over here, didn't bring the SR16VE, got rid of the 200sx, 240sx, and 300Z all together.

Why is Honda doing this? I am confused?? Honda is number one on the import scene (numerically speaking) so why turn your back on die hard Honda fans and potential customers??

And getting rid of the Prelude takes the cake. H22A best motor Honda made besides NSX motor. The S2000 motor is running a close third but the lack of toque make me knod toward the H22A.

kazi

Their reason is probably the same reason why Nissan does not bring over the Silvia or Skyline GTR to the USA.

The Accord coupe V6 6-speed is a worthy successor to the Prelude. At least a substitute was offered, and I believe we have discussed the business reason why the Prelude was let go. It is arguable that the J30 is better than the H22. But that's another debate all together.

I don't see Nissan doing anything when they got rid of the 240SX to fill the niche for a coupe in the moderately priced category. The Z don't count. :fawk:

asianautica

The Accord coupe is not really a good Prelude predicessor (sp?). They had both the Accord coupe and the Prelude in the past and I don't think people consider them in the same level. So, therefore, I don't think Honda give a substitute for the prelude. Nissan doesn't have a substitute for the 240 because they don't have any new coupe design. Either Sedan or sport car. It'll cost them alot to design a new body just for the coupe and they're pretty low on budget right now so I doubt you'll see one anytime soon. Similar reason why Honda doesn't have V8 at the moment. It doesn't fit in to their business plan.

kazi

I was speaking in terms of performance and price range. The 03 Accord V6 coupe will outperform the last model Prelude at near the price. I remember in 1998, the Prelude's msrp was near the cost of a better equipped Accord coupe V6. The thing that hindered the Accord coupe V6 was the lack of a manual transmission. Sprint-wise, the Accord V6 was in par with the Prelude sport-shift automatic. The 5spd manual Prelude was a different story. Now with the new 6-speed in the Accord coupe and a higher power motor, the Accord coupe can retain most of previous Prelude buyers. Handling of the 03 Accord coupe vs the 01 Prelude base can be debated, but the point is, at least Honda retained a moderately priced coupe in its stables.


Uhh...Nissan has a perfectly capable Sylvia in their hands over in Japan. Nissanfans still drool over it and fustrated that its not in the USA.

You are correct about "It doesn't fit in to their business plan". Which is the point of where I wanted to go responding to <s>H</s>/N's rant why the Civic-R is not in the USA and the Prelude is gone (for now).

yianni64

In a perfect world we would have Type R's in this contry and our "240SX" would still be around. Sometimes what car comapnies do makes no sense to me. I dont see why they didnt have the SR20DET in the 240SX, I mean the insurance is already bad enough(i pay more for my 240SX than i would for a Camero Z28). If there's any downfall in lets say a 240SX or a Civic Si is the powerplant. With more powerful engines in other countrys I woulndt think itll be that hard to fix.

As for Honda, I doubt they planned on this whole import scene. It just happened, and they came out on top.

Let's remember that auto companies most likely know what they are doing more than we do

Also wanted to say, I doubt the sales of a S15 with SR20VET would be anything but great.

asianautica

Kazi, you know that Nissan has stop production on teh S15, right? I think they stop all SR20DE(T) production. So, no more sylvia anywhere as of right now. In your argument, then Nissan did have a replacement for the 240SX. I remember when it was phased out, it was running for mid 20s, which means that the base 350Z will cover that market quite well. Because it was priced so high, that's why it was phased out. Now, they only need to make a coupe for <25k category.

Yianni, S15 never had a SR20VET, it had a SR20DET. The VET is in the X-trail which is still in production and is an SUV. just wanna clear things up a bit.

yianni64

i never said it was, i said sales of a S15 with the SR20VET would be great.

caylan

well if VW isn't bringing the Wolfsburg over here, then Honda should seize the opportunity to unleash the CTR. Rediculous that they have a booming hot hatch market over here & they deprive their biggest market of the CTR.