AUTOMOTIVE FREAKS

I came across these cool pictures from a couple of years ago where one of the first test platforms for the now canceled 2009 NSX used some stretched out AP2 s2000 body panels. Again, I know these are old, but yeh, this is what our s2ks might have looked like if they put a v10 in ‘em.

You can read the entire article (including a video) from 2007 on the now defunct 2009 NSX Prototype here:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/GeneralFuture/articleId=120921#3

With the recent news that Honda has ended R&D on the V8 NSX revision, comes more news from a British magazine, that Honda is also cancelling its work on the CR-Z convertible and not going to persue replacing the Honda s2000 in the near future.

The s2000 has never been a money maker for Honda, but it’s remained in the lineup as an example of fine craftsmanship from the company and a tribute to its long racing heritage. However, with a sliding economy that is hurting not only domestic, but foreign auto manufacturers alike, Honda is scaling back R&D for its sports cars in favor of fuel efficient and hybrid models that will be marketable for people looking to save, not splurge.

I for one wouldn’t mind much if Honda didn’t succeed the s2000, simply because it would make the car more of a classic instead of just being an older model that I would be reminded of every time I saw the new one. I’m sure if this rumor is true and Honda really is stopping R&D on these cars, that they will pick it back up sometime down the line. After all, it’s in their blood.

Yesterday, Honda officially announced that it will stop production of the Honda s2000 roadster at the end of the 2009 production run. Honda had already announced it would stop R&D on the s2000 and NSX successors, so this marks a (hopefully temporary) end to Honda sports cars.

10 years is a really long run for a car that’s remained largely unchanged since its debut. Since 1999, there’s only been a few changes, most notably the 2.2L engine and front/rear bumpers in the 2004 AP2, and the Club Racer version in 2008. But other than that and a few dash, wheel and control changes, the s2000 stayed the same for longer than most, and I think the descision to end the run is justified. Not to mention, the end of production will help make the car a bit more special. Only about 65,000 were sold over the past 10 years in the United States (110,000 worldwide).

Hopefully when the economy kicks back up and people are looking to spend money on sports cars again, Honda will introduce another s2k-like car and stay true to its racing heritage.

The weather here on the west coast has been a bit lousy the last couple of weeks, but my buddy and our wives decided to take a roadtrip up to Santa Barbara anyway. On Friday night the rain was just too heavy so we just blasted up the 101, but on Sunday morning, it was pretty clear for the most part so we took PCH from Ventura down to Santa Monica. That’s probably one of my favorite drives, and although the wives were with us, so we weren’t driving as spiritedly as we sometimes do, it was still a great way to break the stress of the week.

Last week, Honda rolled out it’s 20 millionth produced vehicle in North America. The Japanese car company started production locally in the US in 1982 in it’s Marysville Ohio plant.

President & CEO of Honda America Manufacturing, Tsuneo Tanai:

The production of 20 million cars and light trucks in North America was achieved through the ultimate in teamwork by our suppliers, business partners and dealers working together with Honda associates to create joy for our customers. Most importantly, we owe our deepest appreciation to our customers, as none of our accomplishments would be possible without the loyalty they have shown to their Honda and Acura products.”

Honda is committed to producing its vehicles as close to the customer as possible. Last year, 77% of the cars sold in the US were produced locally in North America. Ten of Honda’s models are produced exclusively in the US, including the Accord and Civic coupe/Si/GX, the Odyssey, Pilot, Element, Ridgeline, and the Acura TL, MDX, RDX. This year represents the 50th year that Honda has been producing cars in the United States, it’s first subsidary production outside of Japan.

Yesterday, Honda released sales and production data for the month of January. Domestic production decreased for the third consecutive month and production for overseas sales decreased fro the fourth consecutive month. Similarly domestic (Japan) sales decreased for the third consecutive month, and exports decreased for the fourth consecutive month.

The full production and sales report is available on Honda’s website.

Honda has announced its intention to establish a research and development facility in the Chiba prefecture of Japan that will enable the company to work towards establishing practical used of bio-ethanol fuels and the production technology of non-edible cellulostic material such as plant leaves and stems.

The planned facility will be build at Kausa Akademia Park in Chiba in a 1000+ square meter building and a 5000 square meter testing facility. Construction is scheduled to begin in April of this year with a planned completion date of November 2009.

Honda began its research on bio-ethanol fuels, in collaboration with the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth in 2006. The new plant will be required for large-scale testing and experimentation of the data and research already conducted.

or my s2000’s twin i mean.

I’ve always disliked the amber side markers and finally got around to replacing them on my s2000. I bought Honda OEM markers for about $20 for the pair. Part numbers 33851-s2a-j02 and 33801-s2a-j02. They’re actually the same except the orientation that the socket is cut leaves the wires pointing up or down; either marker will actually fit on either side… it’s just cleaner if on both sides the wires are pointing down.

I also bought amber LED lights for the side markers. I was afraid that the lower voltage of the LEDs might trip the system into thinking that a bulb was dead, and cause the system to blink quickly, however the blinking is normal, and the markers and amber bulbs (which are clear when not on) look very cool.

I still hadn’t aligned the car after the conversion and I knew the weight changed plenty so it needed to get done. I finally made an appointment and took it in yesterday. My biggest concern was having somebody drive it, so I made sure to explain to the guy I was checking in with what needed to be done. It’s nothing hard, but a few tricks that your average guy would think the car was broke when it didn’t turn over

Long story short, Honda didn’t get much work done that morning. I had about 15 of their employees looking at the car and asking questions. It was great to hear from all these guys how clean the job was and how much they liked it. There were a ton of questions from them and it was great to be able to show some people that this kind of thing IS possible despite their beliefs. I also found it interesting that they were impressed with a car that could go 80 miles on a charge. The typical reply was, “hey that’s all I’d need to get to work and back”.

Towards the end of the actual work the mechanic brought me back to explain something on the alignment. He said because of the weight difference in the front the caster couldn’t be brought back into specs on the front, but it was very close. I asked if shifting more cells to the rear (which was something I was thinking of doing down the road) would help and he said no. The rear settings were maxed out on camber and adding more weight to the rear would put it outside the range as well so things will just remain as they are. It definitely makes me glad I went the LiFePO4 route, any amount of lead that could get me to work would kill my little car.

The icing on the cake for the day was I got the employee discount rate for the work since I made their day by bringing the car in. They all knew me by name now and kept thanking me. It was a great day but my wife couldn’t understand why it took two and half hours until I explained the story.