begin rant:
As Soichiro Honda, the founder of the Honda Motor Corporation in 1946, said, “If Honda does not race there is no Honda”.
It's interesting to try and figure out where Honda is headed. They've got a whole lot of cool advertisements which use "racing" as a way of marketing their products. "Without racing there is no Honda". The man behind Honda was into racing, the car/gift they designed and built for him, the S2K, is a powerful na, rear wheel drive, lightweight, 2 door sports car.
Yet...
It seems like they're pushing consumer products into the market with their "racing" heritage as marketing (selling lots of it too). One example is pushing the Fit (Honda Jazz) at SEMA. They handed a Jazz to tuning companies and asked them all to compete against each other to create the coolest Jazz (they did it with the new Civic too last year). Great marketing, great way to get people into the Jazz. But in some ways, it's a shame it's the Jazz they're turning into a race car, and not a sportier car to begin with (I doubt I would sit in a Jazz and feel Honda's race technology and development).
Shame that the focus and push is on turning an eco friendly people mover (which the Jazz is) into something it's not.
I know race cars don't sell well. The Type-R hasn't ever made them as much money as the Jazz... but is it all about the money? Manufacturers don't go into F1 to make money surely. I'd hope it's more about the passion of racing. As mentioned before, without racing there is no Honda and that comes from Honda himself. There are enthusiasts out there who need the Type-R and the Type-R has gained Honda SO MUCH RESPECT the world over, so much so it would be a shame for Honda to drop it.
Whilst other companies pushing performance cars (WRX, EVO, 350Z, MX-5, MPS, RX8, GTi, R32, GTA, Sport Cup just to name a few), it seems like Honda is pushing their base cars (Jazz base model, there was only the cheapest base model at the Motor Show this year and no VTi-S to be seen).
Take for example the all new EVO coming out, and the all new GT-R, they are not based on the every day consumer cars anymore. They are designed from the beginning, from the ground up, to be performance cars. I think that's the right direction.
I'd hate to see the death of sports cars in my lifetime and it scares me that Honda's axing so many cool cars. That loving your old stuff better than your new stuff feeling. That feeling about the DC5R being more compromised than the DC2R. That feeling of them making a great car into a heavier car that is more comfy, like the R33 GT-R to the R32 GT-R. Like the EVO7 to the EVO 6.5. That feeling sux ass and I'm getting it from Honda/Honda Australia.
:end rant
Comment