Honda has been behind their competition lately. In the 80’s and 90’s they were the Hyundai of the market. Churning out new cost effective products with cutting edge technology. Now they’ve become boring and are behind in technology. Their engine lineup is a bit weak HP wise and they haven’t invested in technology such as DSG’s and extra gears on their conventional transmissions.
I lol everytime hyundai is compared to 90s Honda. *disclaimer I am a Honda sack swinger....90s Honda at that* However, Hyundai does not have the racing pedigree nor the proper quality control that is going into their cars at this time. Exterior wise I find many of them to be quite attractive, more so that what Honda has produced lately save the Accord and Fit. After you get over the subjective looks Hyundai starts to not compare as well. Quality control is not there...ever wonder why there is such an abundance of 1 year - 2 year old Hyundais on the used car lots? New owners are not enjoying problem free ownership. Their 10 year 100k warranty is a joke, it covers very little and is not transferable. Their manual transmissions are horrendous in comparison to Honda, IMO makes the best true manuals in the sporty sub 35k area. And as far as the power numbers are concerned, Hyundai seems to be inflating their crank HP figures, their cars are not dynoing consistently and seem to be low on power. Whereas Hondas have always dialed in quite high. The last Civic Si rated at 197 or 198 crank hp was known to dyno mid to high 180s at the wheels stock. Show me another NA 2 liter that hits or damn near hits the 100hp/l mark. The K-series motor is now a decade old and still at the top of its class. Honda has been developing alot...continue on to my link below, I am excited for what is coming.
Even so, they've been competitive without that technology. The Civic gets just as good mileage as cars with dual clutch transmissions. And with a five-speed auto as well. You can have all the tech in the world and still manage to fuck it up, like the Sonic with six-speed auto that gets 35 mpg on the highway, and Ford dual clutch transmissions that drive horribly.
What they've slacked on is sports car, or even sporty cars. The 2012 Civic Si is embarrassingly soft.
Well put, but I have to disagree slightly on the last bit. The 2012 CSi is a step almost sideways, for the first time it lost weight (thank god), and gained something like a 30% increase in torque (everyone has been bitching about this since 90s Hondas were popular), and the cable shifter on the mt is easily one of their best to date. On the flip side the engine grew quite large and lost its super high rev quality (still revs to 7xxx) which is not as big of a deal to me since the tq increase is so needed, the suspension is a bit too soft for this type of car, and the exterior isnt as appealing as the previous generation. As I first said its like they didnt really progress, some good attributes we have been craving for some time but they are offset by some not so appealing ones. As a side note remember that Honda had an entirely different Civic (much larger) designed in 2008 or 2009 that was supposed to be the 9th gen but it was scrapped after it was nearly finished. That car was significantly all done in two years when a normal full model change is done in 4 to 5.
In regards to the integra, I have heard rumors of a 4 door with Hondas new 4cyl motor that will fill the slot from the integra/rsx and be sportier than the tsx for 2013 with a coupe variant being released in 2014. Acura will undoubtedly release the car under an alpha numeric name whether it be rsx or other since that is their current brand identity.
and lastly what i actually came here to post:
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News regarding the future Honda
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According to Honda Press:
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/honda-nsx-tokyo-motor-show-2011-11-29
1. Direct injection on all motors
2. Atkinson cycle on low cam and high performance VTEC on high cam for smaller high-efficiency motors
3. CVT transmission for small, medium and large vehicles
4. 7-spd DCT transmission (leapfrogging the competition)
5. Electric SH-AWD system that can apply negative torque (ie, regenerative capacity) to help induce a higher yaw moment as well as provide higher efficiency (two electric motors on the rear wheels plus V6 gas motor and electric motor up front). Honda is saying V8 acceleration with 4-cylinder fuel economy - time will tell but this system also allows pure EV mode with no gasoline being used for slower speeds, which should be great in the city.
6. New hybrid system including plug-in capacity (claiming top of industry efficiency) for smaller cars
7. Whole new range of engines including a 3.5L V6 with more power than the range-topping 3.7L they employ now
8. Lightweight diesel engine (world's lightest in its class)
9. EV drivetrain for new vehicle class
(summarized post taken from s2ki website)