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
Concepts, NSX
I know is an s2000 blog, and while the NSX is a quite different car than the s2k, it has a similar following and set of enthusiasts. The NSX, which was in production for 15 years ended its long run in 2005 and since then, Honda has been doing R&D on a possible NSX successor. However, with the worldwide car industry facing difficult times, Honda last week announced that the V-10 NSX that it had been working on to replace the classic NSX will be canceled, and all of the research funds dedicated to the project will be diverted to other Honda projects such as it’s Hybrid cars.
While Honda has faired better than the US automakers during this recession, they’re still being hit pretty hard with fewer people buying new cars in all markets. Honda has announced that it will cut production by 119,000 cars in the first quarter of 2009 over the same period last year.
Concepts, Honda, NSX
Earlier this week, the list of the most stolen cars in 2007 was released. According to the study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the 2005-2007 Honda s2000 was the 10th most stolen car. No wonder my insurance bill is so high! The IIHS uses insurance claim data and the number of insured vehicles to calculate the top 10 list based on the number of vehicles stolen per 1000. The 2005-2007 s2000 had an average loss of 8.1 per 1000 insured vehicles, bringing it’s stolen rate close to 1%. The average loss claim was $13,624, likely a mix of total loss and recovered vehicles.
While the report only includes data for the 2005-2007 models, I imagine the likelihood of all s2000 models are pretty similar. The majority of the other vehicles on the top 10 list are SUVs and large trucks.
You can check out the entire top 10 list here:
http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/774/americas-mostand-least-stolen-cars
Insurance, Theft
This isn’t as much about s2000’s as it is about old drivers, but since it involved the death of a fellow s2000 owner, I thought it appropriate. A member on honda-acura.net was killed a few weeks ago while riding his motorcycle down the street in broad daylight. An 87 year old woman made an illegal left turn in front of him and he hit the car’s passenger side door and went over the car. When asked by police what had happened, she apparently had no idea what she had done.
Link to the original article:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/accident-police-saw-2233700-car-neighbor
Now I understand that in this day and age, everything is about not restricting rights to certain individuals, but I think something needs to be done about senile drivers that pose a danger to other motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, etc. It just doesn’t make sense, when old people are killing or injuring young people and they aren’t being stopped because AARP and other organizations have such strong lobbyists to prevent restrictions. Now I don’t necessarily think that a certain age should mean that a license is taken away, but I think age should trigger some mandatory testing, to make sure that these people are still safe to be on the road. An annual vision and driver’s test past 70 for instance would likely revoke the license of many dangerous drivers and allow those who are still good drivers to keep driving. Unfortunately, aside from strong lobbyists, the majority of law makers are approaching older age and are reluctant to make laws that will restrict them personally.
Owners, Tragedy
For the 9th year in a row, the LA auto show has had the Honda s2000 at the Honda display. Last year they had a Club Racer, and this year they had a standard Spa Yellow one with Club Racer wheels. It was getting as much if not more attention than the other Hondas on display (including some pretty wild concept cars), which is nice seeing that it’s a 9 year old body style. Still no word on an official replacement, or any concrete concepts for a new body revision.
And here are some other concepts, the Honda CR-Z:
Honda FC Sport Concept:
Overall it was a pretty good show. The new Nissan 370z is pretty hot, and I’ve been a fan of the Nissan Cube for quite a while… not sure why they waited so long to bring it to the states.
Car Shows, Concepts