finding the signal in an industry filled with noise
Nearly two decades ago the Honda/Acura NSX shook up the performance car scene.
This year, the Nissan GT-R is said to be doing the same.
But could the two cars be any more different?
Looking at this picture I stumbled across on the web – is the NSX is too much like a Formula 1 car or is the GT-R is too much like an SUV?
The [TSX is] not necessarily an easy car to drive, however: there are several blind spots (the rear windscreen is shallow and strangely angled… and the new dashboard layout is confusing and over-complex. The driver is faced with banks of switches, LEDs, dials within dials, display screens, electronic gauges and levers – it’s a case of information overload. – 4car
It’s depressing to see a company – any company – forget what made them great and there’s perhaps no clearer example of this than Honda’s interior design these days.
The virus started with the Acura RL then spread to the MDX, but now its found its way into the Accord and even the Pilot. Not only are the controls arranged in a completely nonsensical manner, there’s a visual clutter – a hodgepodge of shapes that seems contrived to make the braindead feel they’re getting more for their money.
I can understand why you’ve gone to overly large and wide tires now that your cars are overly wide and large as well but please Honda, stop the madness. Sure, plastic is easy to mold into any shape you desire but that doesn’t mean you should. To paraphrase Chris Rock, “You can drive a car with your feet, but that doesn’t make it a good idea!”
Scroll down on this page for a refreshingly visual discussion of cam timing and lift…
When the NSX was introduced it was so boldly innovative it changed sports cars and our expectations of exotics forever. The power to weight ratio came from light weight rather than big horsepower – the compact, mid-mounted V6 and groundbreaking all aluminum construction saw to that. The panoramic driving position was also a revelation – like Hondas of the day the low cowl and large greenhouse gave the driver a cinematic view of the road ahead and the sightlines to place the car within a micrometer of the apex. The light nose and sticky 16 inch wheels allowed the steering to remain unassisted for maximum feel. The car was an object lesson in how things turn out when the engineers are put in charge.
At first glance, the Advanced Sports Car Concept that hints at the next NSX has me wondering if the engineers had much say this time around. It seems as though the marketers demanded higher power and lower price whatever the cost to the car as a whole. With no more aluminum, a front mounted V10, a tiny greenhouse and a slab-sidedness that almost requires larger wheel sizes the Acura makes many of the same archtectural mistakes BMW did with this M5, and as anyone who understand cars can tell you the laws of physics can be bent but not broken.
I have no doubt the car will be a thrilling drive it its own right, but doesn’t the NSX deserve fresher thinking? In fact Audi’s R8 is a closer spiritual successor to the NSX than this!
Click here for a look at how the Super AYC (similar to Acura’s SH-AWD) turns a car that can be chucked into a corner and pull itself out of trouble into a car that points itself through turns under power…
UPDATE: Click here to download a short clip taken during the my drive…
Original post [08.28.06]: Acura recently decided to drop the RSX from their U.S. lineup, feeling it was too unrefined and raucous to be sold next to cars like the RL and MDX. So it surprised me today that I was relieved to return the keys to the RDX because it felt – well – unrefined.
Let me back up by saying this was a car I expected to love. On paper it has one of the world’s most advanced all wheel drive systems, a suspension based on the new Civic’s (a good thing) and loads of torque without resorting to a heavy V6. It has the industry’s best nav system with real time traffic data. It was benchmarked against BMW’s X3. I was sure I’d love it.
But I didn’t, and neither did the potential buyer I accompanied. And here’s why… Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve carped before about how absurdly unweildy the TL feels in stock form, and suggested a way to fix the problem (do a search for A-spec).
Now Acura’s released a Type S model TL with the sharper suspension from the factory. Just one problem: the car gets a power and torque boost but no AWD.
I’ll let you know once I’ve driven one but I suspect we’d all be better off waiting for the next generation model (hopfully they’ll fix the car’s visibility, torque steer and large turning circle next time around).
The climate control system in the upcoming Acura RDX with technology package is being touted as the world’s most advanced, a claim that seems believable when you consider cars it takes latitude, longitude and direction of travel to counteract solar gain on the side of the vehicle in the sun…
It seems that for every German engineer applying technology for technology’s sake there’s at least one Japanese engineer deciding how useful features can be implemented using existing hardware…
Acura has taken steps to reduce torque steer in TLs equipped with a manual transmission. When the TL is in first or second gear, input from gear position, speed and steering angle sensors is used by the ECU to reduce power during acceleration, thus reducing torque steer. In first gear, torque can be reduced between 13 and 27 percent at full throttle, while in second gear, torque is reduced between zero and 10 percent. Torque output is reduced proportionately based on steering input—the larger the steering angle, the greater the reduction in torque. – Acura press
