Think Honda has Lost its Way?

Maybe they are finding their way back.

http://www.smautocar.com/video-the-new-honda-civic-type-r-is-faster-than-the-nissan-gt-r-and-gallardo-lp-560-4/

While I hope that they'd make it available over here, I have my doubts about that.

That said, everything I've read so far suggests its a pretty spectacular car.

Was this article auto-translated? it has awful grammar.

If it really did a 7:50, NICE!

Also, I predict that people are going to have to start quoting conditions and correction factors with 'ring times these days as so many things are running a time.

It'll be like drag racing. "I went a 13.2 @108, on a sunny, mild-november day, 67 deg farenheight, 2086 ft elevation, 28.86 inHg, 5 mph SSE wind, good track prep, etc. Woulda been a 10 second run at sea-level."

In reply to rcutclif:

different tire type and size used as well.

Congratulations Honda........on setting your goals low and achievable. You beat a miata with 1/2 the power by 8 seconds and only took you 7 more years to do it.

http://youtu.be/tQ3x462rlmg

I'll get excited if it makes it to the U.S.

It is supposed to be here in a few years.

Sign me up. My car plan can go to March 5, 2017 and then I have to get a new car. Will I see this car?

This powertrain in a Alfa 4C or Lotus....

Flight Service wrote: This powertrain in a Alfa 4C or Lotus....

or anything else that doesn't look like a 13-year-old's wet dream.

bravenrace wrote: Maybe they are finding their way back. http://www.smautocar.com/video-the-new-honda-civic-type-r-is-faster-than-the-nissan-gt-r-and-gallardo-lp-560-4/

All I saw is that Honda is putting a turbo engine in their Civic as a last-ditch attempt at relevance.

Why would I want a Civic when I could get a Focus ST, which is an altogether nicer car inside, outside, and in the driver's seat?

Also: Kudos to Ford for making that sentence able to be said with a straight face. Seriously. Also for making a car more badass than the ST available here soon.

Knurled wrote:

bravenrace wrote: Maybe they are finding their way back. http://www.smautocar.com/video-the-new-honda-civic-type-r-is-faster-than-the-nissan-gt-r-and-gallardo-lp-560-4/

All I saw is that Honda is putting a turbo engine in their Civic as a last-ditch attempt at relevance. Why would I want a Civic when I could get a Focus ST, which is an altogether nicer car inside, outside, and in the driver's seat? Also: Kudos to Ford for making that sentence able to be said with a straight face. Seriously. Also for making a car *more badass than the ST* available here soon.

Because the ST cars can't even last 20 minutes in a PDX session without overheating and don't have a real LSD and because it's a Ford....

Seriously though every time starts a thread about one car it turns into "I'd rather have this car"

How is adding a turbo a last attempt at relevance? Pretty sure I always skunked ST cars at local autoxes with my crappy K-series Honda with only 200hp. Hey and at least I know I could beat the living piss out of it at a track day and drive it home and to work the next day without any issues.

Seriously looking forward to all of Honda's new sports models. Revamped CR-Z, 10th gen Civic (all models), possible S2k successor, etc.

In all seriousness I'm happy to see Honda getting back to performance. I will be even more happy if they bring this type R and that mid engine kei car to the US, but I'm not holding my breath.

Ford has been in the hot rod game alot longer than Honda has been a car company so show some respect. Honda has lost it's way and I am glad to see the turbo didn't die with that useless SUV, and it is far from what will make Honda relevant. Honda is realizing it needs swagger like Ford realized it needed to get back to building cars and not just F-Series and Explorers.

Kudos to both companies for building some damn fine equipment.

I think what we are watching is the last great hoorah of the ICE. Enjoy it. It looks to be one hell of a finale.

Yes, I think Honda has lost their way. They lost it very shortly after this:

...and I have no hope of them ever finding their way back.

Needs more RWD

And yeah...it is ugly.

In reply to Flight Service:

Oh, we still have at least another generation to go through before that is a concern. Probably 2-3. Sure, EV's are useful for urbanites, they aren't for everyone else.

At long last, the $40,000 civic we've all been dreaming of.

Ugly, FWD, and fast. The company that made the NSX and S2000 needs to find it's way back to that before my give a berkeley meter will even register a blip.

I'll admit beating a GT-R at ugly must have been hard to do so kudos for that effort.

Knurled wrote:

bravenrace wrote: Maybe they are finding their way back. http://www.smautocar.com/video-the-new-honda-civic-type-r-is-faster-than-the-nissan-gt-r-and-gallardo-lp-560-4/

All I saw is that Honda is putting a turbo engine in their Civic as a last-ditch attempt at relevance. Why would I want a Civic when I could get a Focus ST, which is an altogether nicer car inside, outside, and in the driver's seat? Also: Kudos to Ford for making that sentence able to be said with a straight face. Seriously. Also for making a car *more badass than the ST* available here soon.

That "more badass ST" was 45 seconds slower around the Nurburgring than Honda's "last ditch attempt" Civic R's 7:50.

The point of my post was that the Civic just blew away the FWD Nurburgring record, and all you guys that have been complaining about Honda losing their way can't even give them credit for it. It makes perfect sense to me that the company that made FWD common would strive to design and build a high performance FWD vehicle that works. Look at the list and see all the cars many of us lust after that were significantly slower. Its an engineering accomplishment that deserves some props. Do you haters just have to complain about everything? Sheez.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_N%C3%BCrburgring_Nordschleife_lap_times

We need to consider that Honda's priorities may not be the same as our own. I can say that my wife's 2013 Accord V6 is a perfectly comfortable 278-horsepower mile-eater that gets a solid 34 mpg highway.

I don't think Honda has lost their way, just that performance cars never were part of their path. For decades they have built solid reliable lack-luster cars with weak tires.

Yes, they have made the sporatic sportiesh car. And once they even built a true high performance car. But other than that, if Honda had a corporate color, it would be beige.

Didn't that lap happen about a year ago and we had a similar thread about it then?

Honda is an interesting company. I would say their color is beige, but don't forget that they work out everyday, bench 300 lbs, and have the leathers, brass knuckles, and steel toe boots in the closet to go with it.