Honda is probably loosing money with this car

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Apr 17, 2006
Messages
19,528
Location
Lake Forest, CA
Honda spent too much time and money developing/engineering 2017 NSX, they also spent good amount of money to convert a facility to virtually hand build the cars by 20+ years experienced technicians.

They are making this car probably for marketing/advertising purpose. They may get some good press to hopefully get someone into Acura showroom to buy 1 of their other vehicles.


Quote:
When Honda announced it was going to build its NSX supercar in Ohio instead of Japan, it caught everybody in the industry by surprise. No one expected this proud Japanese company to build its most technologically advanced sports car anywhere but in its home country. Now Honda has a supercar production facility in rural Ohio that would be the envy of any Formula One team.

Honda benchmarked the assembly operations at Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, and Bentley before work began on its facility.

This is a low-volume facility with production targeted at only eight to ten cars a day. The plant runs four days a week with one ten-hour shift.


Quote:
Each technician on the line has over 20 years of manufacturing experience.

But even with all this attention to detail there clearly is a steep learning curve. So far the plant has built 160 NSXs to test out the assembly process, a very high number of pre-production prototypes. Some of them will be used as test cars for the media and some will be used as demo cars at dealerships, but the rest will be crushed and scrapped.

While there are some welding and painting robots in the plant, the NSX is essentially a hand-built car. Every single nut, bolt and screw – all 547 of them – are hand started to make sure none of them are cross threaded. And there is no moving assembly line. Each car is pushed to the next station by hand.


Quote:
The engine comes from Honda's nearby engine plant in the city of Anna, where six master builders and two technicians make each one by hand. Every master builder has at least 24 years of experience and has been to Japan twice to learn how to do the builds at Honda's R&D center there.

The tool chests they use are made out of a special plastic that does not scratch or scrape, so that plastic shavings do not contaminate the machined parts. Each tool chest is washed after every engine is completed. Honda picked up this trick from its passenger jet assembly operations.


Quote:
It takes five to six hours to assemble one engine versus the 30 seconds that it takes for one of Honda's mass-production engines to pop off the line. One reason it takes so long is that they use shims to adjust the valves, and they have to measure the clearance of each valve with a special tool calibrated to micron accuracy. They also use hand wipes to clean every surface that gets a gasket or sealer. The cure time for the sealer alone can take three hours.

Though the engine is assembled in Ohio, all the major components are sourced from Europe. The block and the head are cast by Granger & Worral in the UK, which by the way does the castings for all the Formula One engines (except, ironically enough, for Honda's F1 engine). Other castings come from Fonderia Gatelli in Italy. All the machining for the head and block are done by Cosworth in the UK.


http://www.autoblog.com/2016/04/12/acura-nsx-honda-ohio-factory-autoline-video/
 
Only 547 nuts, bolts & screws ... seems low. Wonder what the MSRP will be. Hate to imagine what the dealer markups will be unless Acura forbids them from doing so.

The 2nd generation Ford GT should be pretty impressive too.
 
I agree. In one of my auto magazines they drove the new NSX and the new Mclaren. The NSX was only a few dollars cheaper but also was not even close in performance. Mclaren years ahead.
 
I wish they would have followed the old recipe. Build a lightweight, mid-engine chassis, and throw in a hopped up accord motor. The car still would have been decently expensive, but if it could have been under 100k, it would have made more sense.

Granted, if the weight number I'm seeing is true, 3,700 isnt terrible these days. but think of the weight savings without all the hybrid gear.
 
You defined "halo car". Everyone makes them, and the idea isn't just automotive. The fashion world loses money on the freak shows and makes mint selling the same name stuff off the rack.
 
Originally Posted By: rshaw125
I agree. In one of my auto magazines they drove the new NSX and the new Mclaren. The NSX was only a few dollars cheaper but also was not even close in performance. Mclaren years ahead.


In my poking around, the only McLaren I saw that was a clear step above the NSX in performance was the P1, which costs over a million bucks.
Which model did they drive in your car mag?
 
All probably true, but its often true of 'halo' vehicles. Lots of years the Viper didn't turn a profit all on its own, either.
 
I was referring to the new cheaper Mclaren. I believe the 540? Faster, lighter, and only a few more $. Zero to 60 just over 3 seconds and 199 top speed.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Honda spent too much time and money developing/engineering 2017 NSX, they also spent good amount of money to convert a facility to virtually hand build the cars by 20+ years experienced technicians.

They are making this car probably for marketing/advertising purpose. They may get some good press to hopefully get someone into Acura showroom to buy 1 of their other vehicles.


Precisely what a halo car is supposed to be. A bit of expertise and engineering that can be driven but is not produced in any significant numbers. Usually they lose a bit of money per unit but make huge gains in real world R&D. Only you pay for it!
 
Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
Originally Posted By: rshaw125
I agree. In one of my auto magazines they drove the new NSX and the new Mclaren. The NSX was only a few dollars cheaper but also was not even close in performance. Mclaren years ahead.


In my poking around, the only McLaren I saw that was a clear step above the NSX in performance was the P1, which costs over a million bucks.
Which model did they drive in your car mag?


Or just buy 2 of these..

http://www.caranddriver.com/chevrolet/corvette-z06
 
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
The new NSX is a disappointment, considering how much performance per dollar the original delivered.

Agree.

The original NSX was a much better car for the money.

It was better than other exotic cars at that time Ferrari 348, Porsche 911, Corvette ZR1 ...

MSRP of the first year was in the $60k(or $70k ?) but dealer markup was another $20-30k.

Every manufacture was surprise at that time that Honda was capable to produce such as car.

1990 Lexus LS400 and 1991 Acura NSX changed the automotive world.
 
Originally Posted By: HemiHawk
I wish they would have followed the old recipe. Build a lightweight, mid-engine chassis, and throw in a hopped up accord motor. The car still would have been decently expensive, but if it could have been under 100k, it would have made more sense.

Granted, if the weight number I'm seeing is true, 3,700 isnt terrible these days. but think of the weight savings without all the hybrid gear.


Better yet Honda should have brought the new S600 to the US market with the larger engine. It would have been more in keeping with what made Honda such a success in the first place, small, simple, lightweight, fun to drive, and affordable too.

I think this new NSX was yet another mistake especially since it doesn't follow the recipe of the original.

Exactly.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: HemiHawk
I wish they would have followed the old recipe. Build a lightweight, mid-engine chassis, and throw in a hopped up accord motor. The car still would have been decently expensive, but if it could have been under 100k, it would have made more sense.


Yep, and they could have supercharged/turbocharged the engine with all wheel drive and kept it around 100k. Just a tad above what the old ones cost.
 
Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel
I think this new NSX was yet another mistake especially since it doesn't follow the recipe of the original.

150K for a Honda? IMO They are going to hit the same brand name roadblock VW did with the Phaeton. No matter if its carrying the US market brand name Acura.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top