Ummmm?!

Thanks I guess......

 

That is the FN2, which is the European Version of the Type R, the FD2 is the four door thats for the Japanese market. Neither of which we will get. We might get a version of the FD2 around 2009 or later. But nobody knows.


As for the faces, I was just waiting for someone to lash, that this topic has been covered.

 

Never, no Type-R will ever make it to the States.

 

Just so were clear......that really isnt that new.....it came out in like 06.

 

the ITR did just without the front end..

 

Incorrect the usdm itr was a lot different from the jspec, from yes the front end, to the engine and transmission, brake master cylinder and if im not mistaken a few other odds and ends.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HA0LEFIED &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the ITR did just without the front end..</TD></TR></TABLE>

I am talking from now on. I am aware of the USDM R.

 

we wont get it because they are f-in greedy b@#$h's (i am refering to honda's bean counters) they kill everything good. it really makes me wonder how the itr managed to sneek out. honda has great designers and awesome cars but all they do is crap on us year after year and give us the mugen for our loyalty to their brand.
woo hoo !!!! way to go, give us a soccer-mom sedan with with a kit,rims and interior junk, oh and why dont they go ahead and teach their salesmen cpr so they can save us when we start choking on the sticker shock. i'll not be buying it, cause i can buy a kit,rims and interior junk that looks just as good, and go on a vacation while they all feast on cup o' noodles so they can make their car payments.
peace out

 

Cry me a river!

Get used to it man. Honda can be just as successful without even the Civic Si. So consider it a luxury that we even have THAT car.

They are the most fuel efficient and reliable auto maker out there....and THAT is primarily what they are known for.

Would it be nice to have a REAL die-hard performance car from Honda....of course. Is it necessary.....not really. They can do just fine without them. So if they DO decide to bring us the Type R...then that would be a nice treat on their behalf.

 

I think the FN2 is hideous!!! I dont want that in the states

 

Considering how competitive the American car market is, how important marketing and perception are (you think Acura isn't worried about the recent Consumer Reports perception survey ranking them dead last? Acura won't admit it; they'll say their own research shows they're "advancing" in technology, blah blah... but they care), it's perplexing to me that Honda would withhold its best product. Not only is the American market cut-throat, it's also easily Honda's largest market.

Honda has never laid down and given up in the face of competition with Toyota Camry, for example. The Camry and Accord have been rivals in the marketplace for three decades now. It may not be as interesting to enthusiasts as, say, the Evo vs. STi rivalry. The sports compact segment is much more of a "niche" segment than the midsize/large family sedan segment, no doubt. Sporty cars and sports cars aren't the largest sellers for the large auto companies. What they are though are cars that help spark imagination, daydreams, wants over needs. They bring buzz to the brand and people into the dealerships. They can bring bragging rights to the more 'avid' fans of the brand, who may follow the company's racing efforts.

So, there's this car called the Mazdaspeed 3. I'm not into Mazda. Their styling is often good, but their engineering leaves something to be desired IMO. But what they've done is bring out a 263bhp model of their 3 economy car.. some may call it a station wagon or whatever.. some may say Mazda had to resort to turbocharging to make good power. Others rave over it, as well as its less cartoony appearance than the Civic (not my opinion, but I've heard it). Anyway, point is, Mazda has this thing that sparks interest, wins comparos in paper and online magazines, gets a buzz going for Mazda. The perception is that Mazda is showing love for enthusiasts with Mazdaspeed, extending even to grassroots racing support. Honda has no answer on this continent.

Mazda's US sales are about 1/5 of Honda's. What Mazda is doing is trying to get 'em while they're young, and once they've got 'em, keep 'em with other sporty and interesting product in the lineup as they get older. Sounds a lot like what Honda is known for. Okay, so how does Mazda, being such a smaller company than Honda, manage to afford this Mazdaspeed 3 for America, among the other sponsorship stuff they're doing? How does Volkswagen, with piddly sales akin to Acura's, bring over their MK V R32? General Motors isn't fooling around with this turbocharged Cobalt that's coming, either.

I'm a long time Honda owner and fan. Call me a fanboy, I suppose. But it goes beyond just the surface, with the product. I'm into their whole philosophy, their engineering prowess, how they tick. I'm afraid they're getting lazy and starting to mimic Toyota a little too much in playing it too safe and showing too much interest in sales and profits. I'm not saying that isn't important, of course it is. Honda does spend a lot of money on racing in Formula One, so it's not that they're entirely too tight with the pursestrings. But some of the cost-cutting I'm seeing in product , leading to service bulletins and recalls, and issues that 12 years ago I'd never imagine with a Honda or Acura, has me concerned with what's going on.

There is a market for the FD2 Civic Type-R in America, with people who want more performance over the Si. If Civic Si sales are a small percentage of all Civic sales, then Civic Type-R sales would be a small percentage compared to Civic Si sales. But what's going to be discussed more, get more buzz about Honda with enthusiasts, have more potential to snag folks from other brands or at least get them into the dealerships; win more magazine comparos and bragging rights, increase the "track cred" (and I don't mean street racing or drag racing), etc. Some of this may sound juvenile, but it's honest. Type-R has become huge for Honda as a brand. In a country as friggin brand-conscious as the United States, how can that be ignored by Honda?

As the owner of a DC2 Integra Type-R, I want an FD2 Civic Type-R right now, as a daily driver, auto-x and lapping day/HPDE car. This car is right up my alley.. one guaranteed sale right here. Yes, Honda doesn't need to sell any performance model cars in the US.. until their brand image becomes so muddied, a shell of its former self, and people begin to wonder, "what happened to Honda? what happened to their little cars like the CRX, Prelude, Civic Si?" More people would notice than you think. Cars like those help keep the median owner age down. What happens when that median age creeps up year over year? Ask Toyota; it's why Scion exists today (even though old folks bought the xB in numbers that it seems like Scion's purpose has backfired). Toyota has become the Japanese Buick, seriously. Old owners. They end up dying, you know. Think of the perception Buick has with younger folks, aside from classic muscle from decades past.

Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I think tuner935 has a point. Honda cannot become complacent with their dozen-or-so straight years of growth and record sales. An increasing number of people who I consider Hondaheads think the company is too arrogant and spoiled, and need a big dose of humility, so they can return to the days of the 1980s, when they really seemed to try like hell to make a mark. It's great that Honda has a wave of buyer loyalty to ride on and a history of solid product to keep resale values and initial quality scores up top. I want it to stay that way. And I want to see Honda fight to keep sales in the segments they compete in. The small car segment is where Honda cars comes from. Hotted-up versions of those cars helped shape the whole import tuner thing in this country.