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Looking at today's industry, many can see that Honda is a bit behind, especially in the performance and bargain areas... people have been voicing opinions for awhile now, so i thought why not dedicate a thread to your opinions and your ideas for Honda/Acura to improve itself.

i will now offer some quick proposals for our Honda America President [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

[Honda]

Insight : Scrap it, and save some cash to promote the Civic Hybrid.

Civic DX: 15in hubcaps.

Civic LX: lower price by 1k, put on 15in hubs, boost hp to at least 120

Civic EX: put on 15in Rims. Boost HP to 140. lower suspension by 1.5 inch

Honda Civic Si: Scrap the current version. Import the European Type R with 200hp for 21k. THis will put it in good competition with the Celica and RSX.

Honda Civic Hybrid: Its ok, no improvements suggested.

*Offer a new Civic Ti trim - by using the Civic Coupe, have a turbocharger on the D17 to make 170hp, this will put it in contention with the SE-R and SVT focus.

Honda Accord: Since a new model is coming out this fall, i suggest that it make at least 240hp in V6, and 170hp in I4. have the coupe look distinctly different and sporty.

Honda S2000: Put on 17in rims, offer supercharger as option to boost to 280+ hp, this will put it within reach of the M3 and other high performance cars.

[Acura]

Acura RSX-S: Increase its engine output to 220hp, offer LSD as well as 17in rims with performance tires.

Acura CL-S: Offer a supercharger as an option (liscence it from Comptech), will make approx 320hp.. this will put it in competition with the upcoming 350z and G35 coupe.

Acura TL-S: same as the CL-S to compete with the G35 sedan.. offer better suspension.

*Offer a new model based on the TL-S body, but with Rear wheel drive.. the car should use the same engine but with RWD and LSD. offer 6 speed manual. sell for 32k.

Acura NSX: what can i say? lower its price down to the 40-50k range and increase its output, then it would be able to compete with M3s and corvettes. Increase its output to 350hp either by a new engine (V8) or by turbocharging the existing engine.

*and finally, put the Acura DN-X (Honda Dualnote) into production. it'll probabbly cost around 60k, but the technology, once in production, will be revolutionary. a 300hp v6 with a 100hp electric engine to make 400hp total. 40+ mpg along with 12s 1/4mi times.

your ideas?[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]

 
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hmmm... sounds like a good idea to me.

 
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well with all that boost you can throw the 36000 mile warranty right out the window [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

 
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I'm not going to read all that. . All I'm going to say is Honda Rulez. . They are awesome. . I don't care much what they do as long as they keep doing it. . They are awesome . . I love the cars the company and most of the people that work for them . . You pay for quality. . Hondas are high demand. . They'll cost more. . Can't complain you just have to laugh at the people who can only afford Foci, or Escorts, or Neons. . Honda is going to soon take over. . Did you hear they are making robots now for sale in Japan?? Real robots that'll go outside and get your newspaper and stuff like that. . Honda is A+ in my book and always will be.. .

BTW if you got to Yahoo and search for "honda asnot" you'll find what I'm talking about. . Also watch for the commercials. . Honda rules all over all other competition..

 
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[Honda]

CR-V: keep it the way it is

Pilot: new model coming out

Element: will be introduced later... so see how market reacts

Odyssey: drop price to compete better with domestic vans

Civic 5-dr / Fit / Jazz: bring over something to fight with Mazda Protege5, Toyota Matrix, Suzuki Aerio, and other sports wagon.

Civic 5-dr:


Fit/Jazz:



[Acura]

EL (Canada): standard 16" alloy, scrap the beige interior... wood trim should be made an option... hp increase on par with US Civic EX, perhaps our US neighbours would welcome an addition to their current line of cars... if that happens... there would be a reason to have a EL Coupe/Type-S, sorta like the Civic Ti mentioned above with Acura styling and added luxury stuff

NSX: obviously need a re-design in terms of styling... 10 years is a long time... still looking awesome though... Type R version coming out in Japan soon... bring it!

 
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i would have to say that i agree with most of that....but

why would someone want a 170hp forced induction civic (your Ti) when they can have the naturally aspirated 200 hp. you would say scrap the new version but bring over the Type R and i fully support that but if you say scrap it, do you mean the body style? because the type R body style is relatively the same (hatchback) just more aggressive.

a lot of people buy civics for their reliability and not for competition. so it would make sense to offer a wide variety of trim levels from which to choose, but they already offer 4 ( 5 if you count the Si) i definitely think they should offer more power out of their cars (even if it is just a little like you suggested) but essentially what you are asking is for them to spend a lot of money to change a lot of their cars, even ever so slightly, and not change the price tags. i definitely think this thread is worthwhile and can offer the company some new insights (no pun intended) as to what the people want.

-fire

 
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I am all for the suggestions above, I dont know what else I can add to it but some of the suggestions sound really good to me. Keep em commin boys.

 
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honda want to make a car that would REEEALLY sell?

design a unibody vehicle along the lines of a civic. take a nice, vtec equiped v6 engine, mate it with a 6-speed manual, and make it rear wheel drive. make it in several trims, with no engine or transmission difference between trims. At the lowest trim, offer cloth seats, no radio/speakers, and no sunroof.

most of us swap radios, why not just prewire and not include an oem one...

 
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Couple things you have to think about are they need to keep their cars "cost effective" and yes, Honda is behind as far as performance but the Civic's were never designed to be performance cars. Hate to tell you but they are economy cars at a "reasonable" pice. That is all relative but hey.


<< Honda S2000: Put on 17in rims, offer supercharger as option to boost to 280+ hp, this will put it within reach of the M3 and other high performance cars. >>


The S2000 has a supercharger option that will add at least 100 hp at the flywheel at peak power and it comes with either 16s or 17s stock not much improvement needed there.


<< Honda Civic Si: Scrap the current version. Import the European Type R with 200hp for 21k. THis will put it in good competition with the Celica and RSX. >>


One question why would Honda want to compete with themselves?


<< *Offer a new Civic Ti trim - by using the Civic Coupe, have a turbocharger on the D17 to make 170hp, this will put it in contention with the SE-R and SVT focus. >>


That is really sad that Honda would have to have a car with forced induction to keep up with Ford's naturally asperated car and the SE-r which might I add is also naturally asperated.


<< design a unibody vehicle along the lines of a civic. take a nice, vtec equiped v6 engine, mate it with a 6-speed manual, and make it rear wheel drive. make it in several trims, with no engine or transmission difference between trims. At the lowest trim, offer cloth seats, no radio/speakers, and no sunroof. >>


Uh well that's a nice thought but most likely not street legal.

All I have to say is now that Honda has started changing their product in the past couple years they have began to show their true colors. Toyota is taking them out and Nissan is working on it. Ford beat Honda on sales and as far as I'm concerned product. It is a really sad day when an american car company like Ford can take out Honda. Dodge will be killing them when the new Neon comes out and Mazda has started. That's my 2 cents.

 
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Well they are good ideas, but if you really think about, it isn't. Honda is a business and is trying to make money. If they brought out all those "sports" car, they will all be competing each other in the market. Its like Honda vs. Honda, it can't be like that. If they were to bring the CTR, no way in hell they should make a "Civic Ti." Both cars are in the market targeting the same group of people. It just won't work out well.

 
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I agree with 2cute on that "Ti" bit...that would be sad to have to strap on a turbo to compete with two N/A cars.

Personally I dont think the Si should be scrapped, I think it should get some weight reduction and a higher redline (The new NSX is a 3.2L V6 and it redlines at 8K, so don't give me any Displacement bullsh!T!!!)....all the other models I think are fine as they are.

 
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and as for a 220hp RSX, there is one, we just don't have it yet (Type R).

 
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You guys are looking it at the (modders) point of view. We like to mod our cars, change stereos, put rims, clear lights, blahblahblah WE LOVE THAT

We are only a small percentage of Honda's sales. There are thousands of cars out there unmodded (family cars). The good ol 30+ year old teacher driving our cars, the "Just married" couple driving our cars without any plan of modding it. If anything they need to research the market and figure out if there's any profit in it for them, and I am sure they've done that already.

I personally love the idea don't get me wrong, but everything is business...

I would like the idea of having a clean cut v6 Engine (no stereo, no nothing) you customize your car type of deal. Like those barebone computers they sell out there.

There just aren't enough of us out there....

 
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I don't think honda needs to change anything really. They could have made the si a little more potent but that's about it imo. Honda isn't a niche car company. They make cars for the masses and are obviously very good at it. Other manufacturers are coming out with little "hot-rod" econo boxes because they desperately need something to compete. Nissan doesn't have anything but the new altima at this point. Ford would die if they didn't make trucks and suvs, mazda..hmm...don't know much about them...Toyota fine just like honda.


You may see some changes as manufacturers began to be forced to recognize the gen x/y market. Especially, as this segment begins to get older. I don't think honda is really paying much attention to this market yet. We shall see.

 
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<< Other manufacturers are coming out with little "hot-rod" econo boxes because they desperately need something to compete. Nissan doesn't have anything but the new altima at this point. Ford would die if they didn't make trucks and suvs, mazda..hmm...don't know much about them...Toyota fine just like honda. >>



Mazda will soon have the RX-8 they had the RX-7 they have the MP3, the Protege 5, the Miata ( which sells more than we think), the Protege, soon the Protege with the turbo charger. Mazda has something that no other car company has and that is the rotory engine.

Toyota has the Celica, Corrolla, Camry, Matrix, Avalon, they have the Soarers and the rest of the Lexus line. They have a VVTL-I engine which is great. They have reliability that Honda no longer has. They don't have a chip on their shoulder like Honda does if they know something is f*cked up in their cars they WILL fix it unlike Honda. Toyota sold their engine to GM as you probably well know the engine is in the new Vibe.

Nissan has the Silvia's the Skylines, the 300zx the Sentra SE-R and the Spec V, the altima, maxima, the new Z car soon they have the entire Infinity line. They offer SUV's with superchargers and great packages.

Yes like i already said Honda was never based on performance that was the job of Acura here in the states. Honda is a "practical" "reasonably" priced car.

 
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Honda still has their reliability and reputation. You don't think so because of your experience. Anyhow, when I talk about the other manufacturers only having a certain car, it is because it's the only one that is selling very well. Look around and see what's on the road around you. Yes, the some companies have a lot of sports cars or niche cars but that is only because they can't make a car that the masses will buy like toyota and honda. That's how you make money, selling millions of cars.

Nissan may sell a few maximas, altimas and sentras, while honda is selling thousands of civics, accords, cr-vs and toyota is selling thousands of camrys.

 
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for the love of god just make a cheap RWD ride to modify

 
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hmm.. all those turb'd and sup'ed cars in mind.. now.. please name one current honda in the us market that's equipped with either one? these guys are out there trying to save gas and give good performance, turbo and supers will reduce gas milage. that's also the reason the insight and the civic hybrid was created, to save gas. i think honda is turbing from a tuner friendly company to a earthfriendly place. doubt you'll see any turbo and super'd factory honda drive around. plus honda already has the answer to turbo lag = battery power. more horses for less gas

 
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i have to elaborate on the Ti part.. the only reason i proposed that is because it would be (to an extent) a cheap way for honda to boost the civic's hp and keep the car under 20k.. , the CTR would then compete with cars from 20-25k .. i know most of you are against honda turboing cars, and i have to admit i was too.. but from the likes of the WRX stealing the import spotlight and defeating the RSX single handedly in performance, turbo (or electric turbo, see below) might be required in the future for honda to keep up (performance wise) since VTEC is no longer something to brag about (unless ur in a S2000) get by drift?
voiceofid just mentinoed something i forgot and i even wrote it myself.. to introduce the electric turbocharger that was proposed on the Dualnote.. i guess i'll just wait anxiously until honda decides to put out that tech[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

the reason i wrote this is because i see a trend moving towards performance again, which is why more companies noadays are coming out with more cars with more hp etc.. the sport compact car is coming back as well, after all of that SUV trend, so honda should get its act together because many of its cars fall short of competition performance wise in the same price range.. its just my opinion i guess.. maybe i just see things differently[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]

 
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Honda is a good car company and they make good cars. They have excellent reliability but all of you know this. I do agree with some of you that Honda now has some catching up to do.

The NSX's price defintely has to be lowered. The power output has to be raised also because right now it performs about the same as a S2000 which is only $30k.

Also I think that RSX or no RSX, the Type R's would be a good car to bring over. Bring over the CTR in unchanged form. Make the RSX more luxurious. That way they won't be in competition. We always knew that the Integra/RSX is the cheap Acura. So just make it more expensive. Add some more higher quality leather, better sound system, better wood interior. All of that good stuff. Now that I think about it, that might compete with the CL Type S. Oh well. Or just rebadge the RSX as an Integra. Some people don't like that Type R hatch look. Maybe scrap the base RSX, and just keep the Type S and R.

The point is the performance market is getting bigger now. Sentra SE-R, Lancer Evo, WRX STi, Matrix. There's more power in cars now than there ever was. Either way the auto market is becoming very interesting.

 
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Toyota sold their engine to GM as you probably know the engine is in th new vibe Toyota and GM has been in a partnership for over 10 years the chevy prism is a rebadged corolla and in Japan Toyota sells th Toyota Cavalier the vibe is the Matrix with different body panels Honda is currently in negotiations with GM to build V6 motors for GM we may see Honda V6s in GM cars in the future
as far as what Honda should do with their cars is put 2.0 lt motors in the civics and bring the type-Rs to north America and make a cheaper S2000 to compete with the Miata

 
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You all talk about how good the new cars by Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, etc. are, but you're forgetting that the Accord hasn't had a major revision since 1998, and the new ones are due within a year. How much aftermarket support is there for the Nissan Altima? The new Corolla and Camry? Not much difference between those and our Civics. You all are basing the reliability issue on the 2k1's. Look at the 2002 Explorer and how many recalls it had. The reliability issues on the 2k1's suddenly don't look so bad. VW Makes 180hp turbo Jettas, GTI's and Beetles with beautifully designed interiors and high quality bodies. Too bad so many of them are lemons. The Prelude has been discontinued, but does that mean it's gone for good? I doubt it. Look at what Nissan did with the Z. There's gonna be a bigger, badder Prelude within the next few years, I'm almost sure of it. Honda doesn't seem to be losing too much in the way of sales, considering the number of Civics and Accords on the streets. They may be fewer than Camrys and Corollas, but not by far, and they still beat the pants off the rest of the competition. As for the S2k competing with the Miata, I think it's pretty reasonable as it is, since a loaded-to-the-gills Miata costs something around that of a S2k. The Miata's gotten porkier and more civilized over the years and the S2k is definitely one wild machine. They cater to slightly different crowds. Give the S2k nappa leather and a bose system if you really want them to compete with Miatas. Give the Miatas another 30-50 horses if you want it to compete with the S2k. The S2k could use a $2000-3000 price drop, but not much further than that.

My 2 ¢

 
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Civic DX: put a tach in the gauge cluster... at least on all 5-speeds.... and mandatory a/c, none of this extra **** And maybe a little more HP would be nice too... or at least start using engines that we can get more performance out of rather than these D17's.... don't get me wrong, the ULEV is nice with the great gas mileage I get, but I'm sure I'd get pretty much the same with the LEV.

Insight: get rid of it.... I've only really seen like 2 of them other than on the lot at a Honda dealership. I agree with putting more money into other things instead of this

Civic Type-R: bring it over here!!!

I didn't know Honda was working with GM....

I agree with giving their cars (in general) more HP to compete with other cars on the market. Sounds like a good idea to me!

 
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I'm with dragoon and 01BlackEM2...those are the most viable things...the rest of it it's just performance oriented which is a small part of the Honda customers. Not everybody that buys a Honda is an import freak that all it wants is to race or show...Honda has a reputation for selling realiable cars...not race or show cars....

BTW 01BlackEM2, I also have a 5spd DX, but it has A/C and I installed an EX gauge cluster...

 
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I want the CTR......other than that, I could care less what Honda of America does.

Actually, I think a 300hp i-VTEC engine would be great in the S2000

 
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<< turbo and supers will reduce gas milage. that's also the reason the insight and the civic hybrid was created, to save gas >>


Actually the reason that all the car companies are coming out with hybrid vehicles is because when Clinton was in office he passed a law that said that all car companies had to create an alternative fuel vehicle that met certain standards within so many year.

As far as Honda bringing over the Type R they never will you all are lucky the Si is here. They are no cost effective Hondas. No one wants to pay $20,000 for a civic let alone the price tag that would be on the Type R. The Civic is a "reasonably" priced economy car. I am not basing my opinion of Honda on the 2k1 Civic. I am basing my opinon on the company, their ethics, the polices they follow and how much the company and product have depreciated in the past few years.



<< The Prelude has been discontinued, but does that mean it's gone for good? I doubt it. Look at what Nissan did with the Z. There's gonna be a bigger, badder Prelude within the next few years, I'm almost sure of it. >>



The RSX was designed to replace the prelude and the Integra.

 
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anibal: ya, I have a/c too... it's just damn expensive... i think it was like $1200-$1400 installed. I just think it should come with the car... not as an extra. I have the A'pexi rev/speed meter for my tach. But I think that a tach is important for 5-speed. And it's bs that it doesn't come with one.

Just my $0.02 [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

 
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Is Honda going to provide a manual option for the 6 cyl. Accord? Add that to the list of requests...

 
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You can't have all the options on the lower models. That's how they keep the price low. Some of you want the options included for the same low price and it is just not possible. That is the whole point of the stripped models. Why would one buy a car with no tach or a/c? Maybe they don't want them or just don't care and want basic transportation. Afterall, if they really wanted those things they could buy a nice used car for 13k easy.

 
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I say bring back the prelude and let it compete with the celica