Honda News: Honda Wants Sporty Cars For U.S.

[William Maley]

Honda has apparently rediscovered its sporty side when they announced that the Civic Type R would be coming to the U.S. in the near future. But Automotive News reports the Japanese brands wants more sporty cars. Speaking with executive vice president of American Honda, John Mendel, Automotive News asked if the Honda S660 - a roadster that is about two feet shorter than the Mazda Miata would be coming the U.S. Mendel said no.

 

"I wouldn't put my chips on that," said Mendel. "When the practicalities of the market come in, and the car only so big, that might not be the best car for the U.S. market. It might be better for India or China or somewhere else."

 

But the idea of a sports car is still alive and well at Honda. The company filed patent drawings for a mid-engine model this year, and at the opening of their Silicon Valley r&d lab, there was a full-scale exterior design study looking very familiar to the drawings. When asked about, Mendel only said it was a design study from a team. But he did admit that dealers are wanting a sports car of some kind.

 

"They want anything in the sports car world," Mendel said. "They're going, 'Gimme a sports car.' They want a retractable hard top; they want a high-horsepower $20,000 sports car. Because that's the nature of what they do."

 

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

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[G. David Felt]

They have a HUGE mountain to climb as their whole product line is a sleeper. Talk about conservative BORING.

[Frisky Dingo]

I'll believe it when I see it. Overall, their lineup is no more exciting than Toyota's. The only mainstream brand worse is Nissan.

[bobo]

Bring back something along the lines of the Prelude or Integra, which were sporty, practical, and affordable.  Not some niche vehicle like the NSX.

[daves87rs]

Bring back something along the lines of the Prelude or Integra, which were sporty, practical, and affordable.  Not some niche vehicle like the NSX.

+1

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

They have several GTDI engines in development, so I expect that to find it's way into a sporty variant or two.