Honda Announces End of Production for the S2000

*thought* it odd... (darned edit button, where art thou?)

Honda has started to frustrate me lately. They used to build a number of high-revving, driver-focused cars, but now they're killing everything that used to make them, IMO, the BMW of Japan. No more F1, no more Prelude, no more NSX, and no more S2000. Don't even get me started on the recent offerings from Acura. It's like they're not even trying anymore. The TL is an abomination, the RSX-Type S is long gone, the TSX is a shadow of its former self, and the RL seems to have been completely forgotten. As I see it now, Honda only offers one car for enthusiasts: the Civic Si, and even that has some issues (torque anyone?). Is it just me or is Honda turning into Toyota?

Honda -->= Toyota? Ouch.

I think it's safe to say now that the true BMW of Japan is Mazda.

Honda has really slid downwards lately in terms of styling I think - the Civic, CR-V and the Pilot.

Part of the deal is they see the Obama administration as effectively allowing California to write the national emissions standards, and realize Americans will be forced into buying the equivalent of Mustang II's and Chevy Citations for quite some time, just as was legislated in the 70's.

i'd say that the true BMW of Japan is Infiniti. neither Mazda nor Honda has a car that will outhandle or outperform a G37.

I used to have a e46 BMW sedan. Love that sweet inline 6. fixed it all up with Mtech gear. 19 inch M3 rims. was a Xi AWD model with 5speed manual. Fun car to drive. looked damn sexy. in the winter. 4 wheel drive works great with winter tires. I live in very cold Edmonton, Canada. where it can get to -40 C. with the wind. thats where BMW killed me. No factory block heater. have to add 3M oil warmer.the ignition coils suck. cold weather is not BMW's strong suite. noisy heater blower bearings making noise, and so many more problems begining to make me go broke fixing this car. Got rid of it. And now drive a Acura TL. it's front wheel drive but has Honda reliablity. wont leave me stranded like my BMW on a cold winter night needing a battery boost after the electricle system draining my battery. Acura has a sweet 3.2L engine. lots of power. And actually looks good. Interior is very nice with navigation system. better factory stereo then BMW. the new TL with SH-awd. is what I want now. and for 2010 it will be coming with a 6 speed manual. That car is going to kick the Euro cars butt. The Auto TL with SH-awd already has killed most on the race track. Honda is still in the game with there TL. Acura is for the driver that loves cars. like Lexus. Honda is for your daily driver. as Toyota is. but step up to Acura and Lexus. is for those who want more while still keeping the reliability of there parent company cars......

"I'd say that the true BMW of Japan is Infiniti"

BMW and Infiniti are very similar on paper but when it comes to refined tactality and eager rev-happy drivetrains Honda and BMW are much closer.

As AP1 S2000 owner (soon to be AP2 also) I really would have liked to see how a 2nd generation S2000 would have performed. It just sucks to see Nissan get all the glory with its GTR and 370Z.

This is sad indeed, no more Honda sport cars.
If you think they're car division has lost their mojo, don't even look at theie bikes.
Apart from the cool CBR600 and ok 1000 (it is reputed to burn up to 1 qt oil/500 miles. Which is NOT good!), they are focussing on their laaaame cruisers and just introduced the Fairy I mean Fury chopper onto the market. About 5 years too late...

"Americans will be forced into buying the equivalent of Mustang II's and Chevy Citations for quite some time, just as was legislated in the 70's."

Meanwhile the Golf GTi, BMW 2002, Saab 99 Turbo, and Audi Quattro were becoming legends. Just because Detroit was running around like a headless chicken doesn't mean the rest of the world was clueless. There will always be someone out there figuring out how to have fun whith less petrol or CO2 (Mini, Tesla, Atom, etc...).

farewell S2000

would've liked to own one, but i guess it wasn't meant to be.

Honda going the route of Toyota...Crappy SUVs and econoboxes....

It's been around since 1999 and hasn't had any major makeover. The day had to be coming soon...

"Meanwhile the Golf GTi, BMW 2002, Saab 99 Turbo, and Audi Quattro were becoming legends. Just because Detroit was running around like a headless chicken doesn't mean the rest of the world was clueless. There will always be someone out there figuring out how to have fun whith less petrol or CO2 (Mini, Tesla, Atom, etc...)."

Except for the BMW 2002, were any of those cars RWD? No. FWD is wrong wheel drive, and AWD doesn't fix that. With the 135 being not particularly fuel or cost efficient, it looks like the only choice for non-rich car enthusiasts going forward will probably be used German cars. Not that they're bad or anything, but its a shame new affordable RWD cars are dead just because they get, what, 1 mpg worse than a wrong wheel drive equivalent?

Sad.

"Except for the BMW 2002, were any of those cars RWD? No. FWD is wrong wheel drive, and AWD doesn't fix that. With the 135 being not particularly fuel or cost efficient, it looks like the only choice for non-rich car enthusiasts going forward will probably be used German cars. Not that they're bad or anything, but its a shame new affordable RWD cars are dead just because they get, what, 1 mpg worse than a wrong wheel drive equivalent?"

There's also the 370Z, new Camaro, Mustang and MX-5 if you're not into FWD. Like I said, there will always be someone out there trying to figure out how to have fun with less.

"i'd say that the true BMW of Japan is Infiniti. neither Mazda nor Honda has a car that will outhandle or outperform a G37. "

lol. The Miata and RX8 outhandle a G37 (and any other Nissan product) easily.