Here's Proof The New Acura NSX Isn't Worth $200,000

The market has spoken.

Only a year or so ago, the hype over the imminent launch of the second generation Acura NSX was huge. It debuted as a concept back in 2012, so it took quite a while to reach production. Once it finally went on sale, there were a few anxious buyers who happily handed over checks for over $200,000. Unfortunately for them, that was a mistake. Why? Because the NSX isn’t selling well and in an effort to boost sales, Acura has been dropping the price tag.

According to Rob Ferretti, aka Super Speed Rob, owner of Gotham Dream Cars, it’s possible to buy a brand new 2017 NSX for $139,000 with just two miles. You read that right. So what’s going on here?

Ferretti figured something like this would happen over a year ago for a few reasons. First off, the NSX took too long to reach production, but that’s not the main culprit. Second, it was overpriced to begin with. Problem is the NSX simply hasn’t lived up to the great expectations of the original. It’s a great car, no doubt, but it shouldn’t have been called NSX. Aside from lacking a manual option (not a huge deal considering today’s industry trend), its handling and overall feel aren’t quite up to par. Ferretti predicted all of that over a year ago, and today he gets to gloat. But he also has a few suggestions for Acura on how to make the NSX better.

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Could The ZRX-05 Be Proof Acura Is About To Get Serious Again?

"What wins on Sunday, sells on Monday," as the old saying goes.

Aside from the NSX, the rest of the current Acura lineup is rather bland. Let’s face it. What happened to the Acura that we adored back in the 1990s with the likes of the Legend, Integra and RSX (especially the RSX Type-S)? Honda’s premium division has some work to do, but today we have some fresh confidence Acura is getting it together. Meet the ARX-05 prototype race car, joint Acura and Team Penske effort that’s having its debut at The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering, at Monterey Car Week.

A pair of these will actually race next year in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the prototype itself will debut at the Rolex 24 this coming January. Power comes from the twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 that’s under the hood of the Acura TLX, MDX, RDX, and RLX, only this time it’s been configured to produce around 600 hp.

This familiar and now more powerful than ever AR35TT engine has been utilized in motorsport before, specifically at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2011-13, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and LMP2 World Endurance Championship in 2012, and Petit Le Mans in 2016. "We’ve won with the Acura Integra Type R, the RSX, the first-generation NSX and with the Le Mans prototypes," stated Honda Performance Development boss Art St. Cyr. "Most recently, we’ve won with the new Acura NSX GT3. The ARX-05 is our fifth-generation prototype, and we expect great things from our partnership with Team Penske." Integra Type R? Did he just make reference to that? Yes.

You see, Acura desperately needs to get back into the performance car game if it plans on having a future. Six-figure supercars like the NSX are great and all, but that alone isn’t enough. Why isn’t Acura doing cars like the new Honda Civic Type R, only with sedans (or Cayman fighters)? Why isn’t the TLX the BMW 3 Series it needs to be? Perhaps Acura’s greater emphasis on motorsport, such as with the ARX-5 prototype, will lead to road cars that are actually worth their price tags.

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Rich Car Collectors Are Investing In Apocalypse Proof Warehouses

Matt Farah is one of them.

When a collection of cars gets either too big for a home garage or too rare and expensive for a simple storage facility, what should owners do? Ideally, they'd utilize a proper warehouse designed specifically for car storage, one that’s able to withstand, for example, a 12-point earthquake.

According to a report from Bloomberg, that's exactly what's happening with wealthy car collectors across the US not only storing their rare vehicles in such warehouses but investing in them as well.

Take Matt Farah, for example. The host of The Smoking Tire and all round upstanding dude is currently building a 13,800 square-foot garage in West Los Angeles that can hold up to 140 cars. Not all of the cars belong to him, but he does have a waiting list of 85 customers who are prepared to fork over $850-$1,500 per month for an indoor and protected parking spot. The warehouse, set to open next summer, is a $10 million project built to stringent fire and safety standards. Yes, it can withstand a serious earthquake, a known problem in California.

Farah searched for two years to locate the right property to build his warehouse and if this one proves successful he wants to expand to additional markets. “My business model depends on putting these things in places with a lot of money and no parking.”

Not everyone is rich enough like Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld to be able to afford a large private garage of their own, so entrepreneurs such as Farah have spotted an opportunity. Not all of the collectors, however, are purchasing expensive supercars, but also 1960s muscle cars, vintage Porsches and Mercedes, and even old VW buses. Why? First off, they like cars, plain and simple. But also because they see car collecting as an investment.

“Rather than play the stock market, I collect cars,” said one owner interviewed for the article. As such, they need to protect their investments from the elements, and other business-minded people like Farah are stepping in to help.

View the original article here

Could The ZRX-05 Be Proof Acura Is About To Get Serious Again?

"What wins on Sunday, sells on Monday," as the old saying goes.

Aside from the NSX, the rest of the current Acura lineup is rather bland. Let’s face it. What happened to the Acura that we adored back in the 1990s with the likes of the Legend, Integra and RSX (especially the RSX Type-S)? Honda’s premium division has some work to do, but today we have some fresh confidence Acura is getting it together. Meet the ARX-05 prototype race car, joint Acura and Team Penske effort that’s having its debut at The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering, at Monterey Car Week.

A pair of these will actually race next year in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the prototype itself will debut at the Rolex 24 this coming January. Power comes from the twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 that’s under the hood of the Acura TLX, MDX, RDX, and RLX, only this time it’s been configured to produce around 600 hp.

This familiar and now more powerful than ever AR35TT engine has been utilized in motorsport before, specifically at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2011-13, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and LMP2 World Endurance Championship in 2012, and Petit Le Mans in 2016. "We’ve won with the Acura Integra Type R, the RSX, the first-generation NSX and with the Le Mans prototypes," stated Honda Performance Development boss Art St. Cyr. "Most recently, we’ve won with the new Acura NSX GT3. The ARX-05 is our fifth-generation prototype, and we expect great things from our partnership with Team Penske." Integra Type R? Did he just make reference to that? Yes.

You see, Acura desperately needs to get back into the performance car game if it plans on having a future. Six-figure supercars like the NSX are great and all, but that alone isn’t enough. Why isn’t Acura doing cars like the new Honda Civic Type R, only with sedans (or Cayman fighters)? Why isn’t the TLX the BMW 3 Series it needs to be? Perhaps Acura’s greater emphasis on motorsport, such as with the ARX-5 prototype, will lead to road cars that are actually worth their price tags.

View the original article here

Here's Proof Porsche Taycan Is Being Benchmarked Against Tesla Model S

Just watch this video.

Last March, when the Porsche Taycan was still being referred to as the Mission E, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume stated that “Tesla is not a benchmark for us.” Well, that’s not exactly accurate. How do we know? Here’s proof, thanks to the folks at Taycan Forum. This recently filmed spy video shows not one, but two Taycan advanced prototypes testing with a Tesla Model S P85D on Italy’s famed Stelvio Pass. No benchmarking, right Oliver?

Can’t say we’re in the least bit surprised, but why did Blume even state that in the first place? The most likely answer is that Porsche wants the Taycan to be seen as a Porsche first and an EV second.

Porsche also probably doesn’t want to admit it’s being forced to benchmark against what many consider to be a California-based startup that has no business being in the car business. Tesla doesn’t play by the so-called industry rules and established brands don’t like that.

Also interesting to point out here is that the Model S in question is not the most powerful trim you can buy today. That would be the P100D, which can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds and has a 315-mile range per charge. The P85D had a 253-mile range a 3.2-second sprint to 60. Shouldn’t Porsche be benchmarking the top trim Model S? It surely is, but these Taycan test mules could themselves be lower trims.

Set to go on sale for 2020, the Taycan will be the first all-electric Porsche; more will come soon. But even if the Taycan initially outperforms the Model S in every major category for all trims, we need to take another factor into account: a major Model S update is planned for some time in 2019 or 2020.

Early reports suggest this update will mainly focus on the interior, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see exterior styling changes as well. Will Porsche’s benchmarking that’s not really benchmarking ultimately pay off? We’ll find out next year.

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