My latest article on Canibeat.
Here's my latest piece on Canibeat, I'd like to hear everyone's opinions. The pictures are not mine.
2012 is a tough year to be a Honda/Acura enthusiast. The Civic Si, once the poster-child of the import scene, has become, at best, an also ran. While the car isn’t terrible, this year’s Civic marks the 12th year of the ~200 hp K-series motor as the heart of Honda performance. The announcement of Acura’s new ILX brought nothing to the table either, sharing the same 2.4L powerplant as its Honda twin (and the TSX seen here). While the CR-Z should serve as a shot in the arm, the two seater’s hybrid setup brings unwanted cost and complexity, and falls short of what enthusiasts expected from the long-waited CR-X revival. While there exist some excellent choices in slightly older Hondas and Acuras, the performance and luxury options have changed significantly since import fans first scooped up Integras, Preludes, and Si’s en masse. Those in the market now have the options of used Evo’s, 350Z’s, WRX’s, and RWD Lexus and Infiniti luxury sedans that offer significantly more performance and status than a TSX, RSX, Accord, TL, or Civic could possibly offer.
Despite what the forum junkies claim however, there are those that still buy into the FF Honda mantra. Some lambast owners of 90′s Honda hatches as nothing but broke ricers, forced into their econoboxes through a lack of funds and an ignorance of sliding Nissans, vintage Toyotas, or boxy BMW’s; and as many would admit, that’s the truth. The Civic hatch is the easiest point-of-entry into this scene. Parts are cheap, information is everywhere, and there is no element of the unknown. Everything has been tried and finished. But there is something else to Honda FF than a price point; every TSX, TL, RL, and 8th gen Accord enthusiast you see made a decision to go with a FF Honda rather than another more powerful or more prestigious vehicle — including many of us here at Canibeat. Lester Bracero and his TSX represent an important facet of this scene that many, including Honda itself, seemingly ignore.
The hesitancy towards Honda’s latest crop of vehicles is larger than a simple RWD performance bias. Many of the brand’s own enthusiasts, champions of the 1990′s golden era, simply have no interest in 21st century Honda cars. In the same way that the TSX and TL compete against other brand’s performance models, the classic platforms have their own loyal following that has nothing to do with budget size. One has to only review West Coast event coverage to see shell-up EG Civic builds with modifications worth 10-15 times the price of the actual car. Point being, as a Honda enthusiast, there are a lot cheaper ways to turn heads than starting with TSX. As amazing as this car is, with the bevy of JDM parts and 10.5″ CCW wheels, Lester could have gone bigger if he’d started with a Civic shell, and he’d still be part of the Honda ubiquity of consciousness.
The truth behind the new breed of Honda FF driver is really quite simple. Lester contends, “…I’m 32 and I felt like I needed to be driving something more mature, but sporty as well, and to keep it a Honda”. Despite the brand’s mainstream reputation as a manufacturer of vanilla people-movers, this is an enthusiast’s company with over 50 years of motorsport heritage; but that’s the same entity that our economical parents trusted to get from point A to point B twenty years ago. And when we got those hand-me-down hatchback’s as scrawny teenagers, Honda became our brand as well, a somewhat perfect alchemy of the reliability of the Accord and Odyssey with the performance of the NSX and Type R. And so the Honda enthusiast pushes forward, not out of compromise, but because it’s what they know, and what they’ve come to love. But this is where Honda needs to pay attention; when you have a company that lacks entry level enthusiast support, you don’t get raving fans that buy into your more mature products 10 and 20 years down the road.
I’m not sure if Honda is creating new fans anymore. Most kids are probably being shuttled around in a Sonata or Sorento, and will be more than happy to get their first Veloster or slightly used Genesis when that time comes. There are children being born today whose parents weren’t alive when the CRX last rolled off the line. The 90′s can’t carry a brand forever, and there are only so many cars that Lester Bracero can buy. Wake up Honda, your days as an enthusiast’s choice are numbered.
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