Car of the Day: Acura NSX

Often times I find myself thinking about the future, and as a car guy, that typically means endless hours spent perusing the internet for incredibly impractical used sports cars that my brilliant, dashing, well-traveled, and extraordinarily wealthy future self could potentially buy. A few weeks ago I became particularly intrigued by the thought of owning what was—until the launch of the Lexus LFA—the sexiest sports car to ever come out of Japan: the NSX.

A lot of people seem to hate on the NSX for it's sub-300 horsepower rating, but let's not forget what it was up against back in '91: Corvettes and Carreras at the time were putting out 250 bhp, and even Ferrari's 358 only made 300. Unfortunately for the 270 horsepower Acura, one year after its release Chevy's new LT1 V8 debuted in the C4, matching the Corvette's power with that of the 358—which sounded impressive until Dodge unleashed their 400 bhp Viper that same year. 

The years went on and power numbers rose across the board until the NSX was killed off in 2005 when comparably priced Corvettes were making upwards of 400 horsepower—not to mention the new Viper's 500—while the NSX seemed like it was still watching reruns of Darkwing Duck on betamax with its 290 bhp.

Not to worry though, yesterday's over-engineered future car is today's bargain, right? Well—slight problem: You can get yourself into a C4 Vette for the price of a handful of jellybeans and a used handkerchief, but if you want to park 3000 lbs. of aluminum Acura in your garage you'll be looking at upwards of $25k; double that if don't want the flip-up headlights.

For whatever reason though, none of this is enough to stop me from lusting after one. A properly set-up, lightweight, as-much-power-as-you-need exotic lite. Now seven years out of production, a used example is a cheaper alternative to a new Cayman R or Evora S with a sleek yet understated body that's not quite as ostentatious as a McLamberrari. The addition of a steering wheel and shift knob from the JDM-only NSX-R easily turns the interior into one of my absolute favorites, and makes a C6 ZR-1's look like a parts-bin sourced afterthought (which it probably is). Not only that, but with Acura's everyday supercar you get Honda reliability—plus titanium connecting rods.

Bring on the second gen! 

Honda NSX-R Interior [photo cred: netcarshow.com]

C6 Corvette ZR-1 Interior [photo cred: zorly.com]

Save the Manuals?

Not very long ago it may have seemed like manuals were here to stay. Their competition, the automatic transmission, had been absolute garbage since the dawn of the automobile—how so many people put up with them for so long is beyond me. Their delayed responses to input were intolerable, and they were so inefficient they could rob your engine of 5% more power over a standard trans, not to mention several MPGs. Pair one with an early drive-by-wire throttle system and the response was so slow and cumbersome you'd feel like you were driving the Curiousity rover. They were, and still are, a terrible curse bestowed upon untold scores of automobiles.

The Buick Reatta — Only available with a 4-speed automatic.

But those days are over, and the classic slushbox is finally being phased out. Every manufacturer from Ferrari to Ford is cramming the latest 13-speed quadruple clutch 'automated manual' into their newest models. They shift as fast as you can blink, and they know what gear you want before you do. They rev-match perfectly, and should you find yourself stuck in traffic you won't develop a case of tennis elbow in your knee—nevertheless, the enthusiast crowd isn't impressed.

Unfortunately, it wasn't just oddball 80s Buicks that lost their clutch pedals.

Arguments against the new automatics have flooded the web, and I just want touch on a few of the most popular to play a little Devil's advocate:

Dual-clutchs are too expensive! — Remember what a flat screen TV cost 10 years ago? New technologies always start expensive until enough well-off people pay for them. Once they do, the R&D can be done that enables manufacturers to bring the price down. Arguing that a car like the GT-R is undesirable because its transmission can be expensive to repair would be like telling a McLaren engineer that the MP4-12C is cool, but you'd rather it have a solid rear axle with leaf springs and a carburetor . . . Cars like the McLaren and GT-R pave the way for the technologies that later become available in cars we can actually, maybe, someday afford. 

Manuals promote driver attentiveness! — Many seem to be arguing that we should keep stick around because you can't text, shave, read, or put on make-up while trying to operate one. Not only can you do all those things while driving stick (don't ask me how I know), but even if you couldn't, it wouldn't do anything to lessen the number of distracted drivers on the road. The majority of people who succumb to these distractions would never buy a stick car in the first place. To them, driving isn't driving, it's commuting. It's taking a bus or a train except they're in control—though they wish they didn't have to be. 

Automatics require no skill! — Does your car have ABS? Power steering? Power brakes? Synchros? Radial tires? A locking diff? Yes? Then you may want to step back and reevaluate your argument. If it's skill you're after, perhaps Ford's Model T is the car for you. No ECU to steal your prestige here! You'll have to manually control the ignition timing as you drive—you may want to start doing some bicep curls though, hand-crank starters are a bitch. 

Automatics mean no control! — An older automatic or semi-automatic transmission would change gears based on RPM or throttle position regardless of your selected preference, but today's automated manuals typically have manual modes that put you back in true control.

Automatics aren't fun! — I could not agree more—but, did people not say the same thing about AWD? A new, expensive technology that, arguably, takes less skill to drive? And now we revere cars like the Audi Sport Quattro and Porsche's 959 as some of the greatest cars in automotive history. Cars that—even with the added weight of their AWD systems as a handicap—proved not only to be fast as hell, but damn fun too.

Believe it or not, Karl Benz's 1886 Patent-Motorwagen got 25 mpg, but its puny 1.5L fuel tank
meant for very short trips between fill ups. 

Whether or not the manual transmission is one of those technologies that's so good we keep it around long after its performance has been surpassed by new technologies is a hard question to answer. But, for the same reasons that people still drive rear- and front-wheel drive cars—not to mention ride horses and fixed-gear bicycles—I don't think we have to worry too much about losing our beloved transmissions.

We'll just have to pay more for them . . . 

AR

Photoshops created by Auto Reverie with photos used from:

Stamfordhistory.org
4wheelnews.com
Air-and-space.com
Media.salon.com
Naflaskodum.blog.is
Biography.com
Mplsrealtor.com
Web.educastur.princast.es
Latenightwithjimmyfallon.com