Toyota ditched it's Celica and MR2, and Honda killed the S2000. It seems that neither has any real sporty car in its line-up or none that I have heard of in the future. The CR-Z is neat looking, but performance-wise, appears to be a dog. Anybody heard of anything else coming? I would hate to have to go back to a Mustang or Camaro for something really fun.

 

Everyone's probably taking a break. Until the Toyota FT-86 rolls out, other manufacturers may do the same.

 

why would you hate to go back to a domestic for an affordable, reliable performance car? if i wasn't trying to save my money, i'd be very, very interested in a new 412HP mustang GT that gets 26MPG hwy.

 

Re-phrase my statement: I had Mustangs for many years, and while they had problems, they were fun to drive. I have just gotten used to Honda quality. The best of my Mustangs couldn't compare to my Fit, quality wise. I have had 3 Solstices, and quality was all over the place. I currently have 2 '08 Solstices, and one has been perfect, and the other has had 22 warranty visits in 2 years. I see both Honda and Toyota with good, practical cars, but no real fun stuff in their line-ups. Dull, but very well made Hondas. How about well made, and fun to drive? They are sort of getting like GM was. Boring. (Boring but well made, that is)

 

well if your buying something soon look for an 09 S2K
they are still out there in dealers and new

 

I have added $4400.00 in performance modifications to my GD that I will have owned 4 years tn July and I think of it as a sports car..... I have had 3 liter 2 seaters that wouldn't stand a chance against it on a lot of the more challenging roads I drive on..... That was a long time ago though.

 

civic si, nsx is planned to return. ft 86 is going to be the next eclipse gs-t imo. a bunch of ricers will snatch up a bunch and rice them out to no return and everyone will want one and get one.

strange thing, i see a lot of newer civics 06+ coupe and sedan alike riced out.

 

Honda currently sells three cars that could be considered "sporty:"

1. The Fit.
2. Civic Si.
3. Accord coupe with the 6-speed manual transmission.

Dropping the S2000 was dumb, as all it really needed was an update to make it relevant again. I bet if they added a slick retractable folding hardtop like is on the new Miata sales would have picked right back up. Same thing with the Prelude, there was no need to discontinue that car, all it needed were updates.

 

Honda's Current Sporty Cars:
Accord Coupe
Civic
Civic Si
Fit
TL
TSX

 

The V10-powered NSX replacement got cancelled - blame the recession.

Your only real "sports car" choices, if cost is no object, are:
1) FN2 Civic Type R EURO
2) FD2 Civic Type R

Now if all you want is a sporty car, Honda still makes 'em.

BTW first-drive impressions of the CR-Z are pretty encouraging - seems to be more about driving enjoyment than just power power power.

 

regular civic, accord, fit, tl and tsx come on dude give me a break

 

theyre a hell of a lot better than a corolla, camry, yaris, or lexus ES (the IS is better than the tsx because of RWD, but the ES is still a boat compared to tl). And three of those cars won't try to murder you. I do get where you're coming from though. On the hierarchy of mainstream sporty manufacturers, I consider Honda/Acura to be in the lower middle, but still above of toyota/lexus (not counting LFA or ISF).

 

The S2000 is probably the best affordable Hondas to come around in some time (what other car that's affordable and not italian has a 9000 RPM redline?). Sadly the general public doesn't like cars that dont come with automatics. The S2000 was a Honda engineer's orgasmic fantasy come true and that's what made it appealing to enthusiasts. I'd rather it stay dead than come back alive in the form of a soft roader hard top with a slush box that's perfect for the Beverley Hills milf wannabe, that's what the Camry Solara is for.

 

I liked the performance of the S2000, but the styling was hopelessly outdated. That's why I bought Solstices. Not up to the S2000 performance wise, but great styling, even if the build quality was not so hot. I guess my point is: Why are the sporty cars being dropped? They sold 100,000 Solstices and it's knock-offs, and the new Camaro has already sold 100,000. The Mustang is still selling strong, and better than ever. Why nothing now from Honda? Just dull people haulers. (The Fit is fun, but not sports car) They need to spice up the line-up.

 

To each their own, but the Solistice/Sky were ugly to me! Rolling bubble of a design. Never mind their aneimic platform. The S2000 always looked a lot better to with it more wedge shaped profile, even after 10 years. Hell, there's a reason the majority of the super cars out have a wedge profile; it tends to age better as a design. If you still don't drool over a 80's Countach or Testerossa, or 308, then I don't think you like cars! Not picking on you, just saying in general.

 

I would take a Countach or NSX any day, but the prices are, or were, way to high!
You are right, to each his own, but I like the styling of the Solstice, and it is no slouch in performance. (Not as good as a S2000, but beats the hell out of a Miata!)
If Honda would have done something with the styling of the S2000, it might have sold better.

 

I don't really think the styling was ever the issue. The car was designed specifically with a design that would age well. Yes, while 10 years is a long time, I think it still holds up well. The real thing with the S2000 is that it was always a very narrow niche car. I'd bet sales were steady for 10 years, and they have just wrung out as much as they could with the niche it served.

I mean look at the Miata, while never a direct competitor to the S2000, it started off as a very niche car, and very exceptional at would it was aimed at, which was a great handling car. Sure not really fast, but fast enough in the turns to make their niche very happy. It's when they started softening it trying to broaden the appeal, that the current MX-5 is so far from it's original intent that it suffers for it. Sure it's updated, and sells more to a broader market,but it's true hardcore fans still cling to the original lightweight toss-able Miata.

I'm sure it he solstice is "faster" than the Miata, but speed isn't everything. The Miata(original) still eats the solstices' lunch in the corners. Myself, I prefer cars that handles the twisties very well, over cars that are just "fast", hence my love of Hondas.

 

If Honda offered the S2000 with a super charger out of the box it would have sold better. They didn't need to get rid of it. Chevy has the turboed Cobalt and soon to be turboed Aveo. Dodge had the turnoed Neon and many other company's have cars that come with stock turbo's. If Honda slapped a nice turbo kit on the civic Si it would move. I don't know why they stay away from it.

 

My idea of sporty does not need to be a 2 seater, necessarily. My '01 Mustang GT ragtop certainly was not, and I enjoyed the hell out of it, until the tranny went south. (and I was not hard on it) The Celica, while not necessarily fast, was still fun to drive and had (usually) good styling. It is gone. The Supra is gone. The MR2 is gone. The Prelude is gone, and the S2K also. When Chrysler finally dies, the Challenger will be gone, and all we will be left with is a Mustang and Camaro. Not much choice. We used to always have some fun cars from Toyota and Honda, but it seems they have gone to dull boxes now. I will always need a fun car, and when my Solstices die, and they will, I guess I will have to go Ford or GM again. Fun, but nowhere near the quality of a Honda. It's too bad Honda went this route.

 

The Cobalt, Aveo and Neon? Really? You want to use those as comparisons to Honda?

With turbos come more power, and more potential for problems. Yes Honda offers a turbo on the Acura RDX, but that market can absorb the higher than average maintenance cost associated with a turbo. Honda is their bread and butter line, known for their near bullet proof reliability and quality, so probably best not to rock the boat too much with that side of the brand.

Yes, I have driven turbo and they are hella fun, but I hated the maintenance especially when it's my daily driver. Personally I prefer ringing out as much performance from a normally aspirated engine than a turbo myself, but to each their own.