Civic Type R $39,990 + On Roads

One thing for sure... sports car sales are dying "slowly"... look at the market now... Toyot stop Supra and Celica and only making Aurion (big bulky car - sounds like a family car to me) as their sports car? Honda stop Integra (and Jap dealer told me when I was there that they will soon or later stop S2000 as well) Mitshubishi stop their 2 doors car (only EVO left as their sports range - 4 doors? again... family car?).

Well most of the customer wants is, like aarong sed, value for money. some minor ppl (especially for 1st time car buyer - like myself and other P Platers) might still want to get power + sporty looks on their car...

but yea... i think there wont be much to choose in terms of sports car form Jap manufacturer...

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Originally Posted by UNLS1

Japan is totally different, look at the cars they have....

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Believe it or not UNLS1, u barely seen any Sports car on Tokyo streets most of the time. they only out around midnight on weekends around some "gathering" area... daily, ppl drive fit (jazz) or smaller cars... No more "wow" looking car on Tokyo on daylight for sure...

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Originally Posted by slipangle

Porsche are a publicly listed company with probably the largest brand awareness of any car manufacturer. They know how to do business in the car world and they are very good at trading off their brand. Their success is not a product of Government protectionism unlike our local manufacturers. In fact a lot of their business comes from consultancy so they know a thing or two.

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Yes, they are publicly listed. But the German government is pretty protective of their national "assets" :)

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Originally Posted by slipangle

What Honda Aus are risking are the loyalty of a group of their devotees. Having said that, I don't doubt that they will continue to make money, and that you can't please all people. They will probably gain followers from this venture, but every once in a while, at least throw us a bone to keep us types happy, and don't try to tell me this orange is the latest and greatest apple!

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Unfortunately for those in their 30s and 40s with lots of money, they don't have brand loyalty. And this bone costs a lot to make if they can only toss one or two hundred bones. They need a market of at least a thousand a year I think.

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Originally Posted by aaronng

I don't see the comparo on their website: http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/cargrouptests/archive/

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I think it was evo mag 102, they don't publish all the magazine articles on the website. I have it somewhere at home.

Anyway, to all you CTR buyers, enjoy the car. Whether it's true to what we perceive as `Type R' Heritage doesn't matter if you like the way it looks and goes.

4 door vs 2 door thing? Come on I thought you were a honda fan! There have been 2 highly acclaimed 4 door Type R accords already... once again the point is about the substance and ethos of the car.

http://www.honda.co.jp/ACCORDEURO-R/

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Originally Posted by mpd076-chuck

There have been 2 highly acclaimed 4 door Type R accords already... once again the point is about the substance and ethos of the car.

http://www.honda.co.jp/ACCORDEURO-R/

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again like I sed... another "family car" to me...

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Originally Posted by mpd076-chuck

4 door vs 2 door thing? Come on I thought you were a honda fan! There have been 2 highly acclaimed 4 door Type R accords already... once again the point is about the substance and ethos of the car.

http://www.honda.co.jp/ACCORDEURO-R/

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LOL, the EuroR is not a Type R. :) It's just an Accord with a k20A and Recaros. The suspension is still softer than a TSX. There is no additional chassis strenghtening nor bracing over the standard model. Weight reduction? None at all. It still gets the full interior, dual zone climate control and even the sat nav option.

Also, if I can quote Tsuchiya Keiichi, "アコドはタイプRじゃない。イユロRよ。". Or translated loosely, "The Accord is not a real Type R. It is an EuroR."

I want to add that there is one thing that indicates whether the car is a real Type R. That is when Honda uses a thinner windscreen for weight reduction. Whether the UK CTR has a thinner windscreen, I do not know. :)

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Originally Posted by Zdster

I think we also need to remember that most people here are not true representatives of the car buying public. Most here are enthusiasts, who know (or want to know) about their cars which is fairly different to the average buyer.

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How true!

Keiichi does have good opinions, but EVO rated them both. So I need to expand beyond EVO, but obviously your Japanese is better than mine! (well you probably used google)

Anyway aaron, if the CTR is a Type R in your eyes, then so be it. For me, I watched the DC5R come out in 2001 and now 6 years later in 2007 I see very little difference between it and the CTR. What is a Type R fan boy to do?!

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Originally Posted by mpd076-chuck

Keiichi does have good opinions, but EVO rated them both. So I need to expand beyond EVO, but obviously your Japanese is better than mine! (well you probably used google)

Anyway aaron, if the CTR is a Type R in your eyes, then so be it. For me, I watched the DC5R come out in 2001 and now 6 years later in 2007 I see very little difference between it and the CTR. What is a Type R fan boy to do?!

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Defect to a Megane R26 :) The RenaultSport boys are also quite good at creating sums greater than their parts.

Honda DB8R anyone? LOL!

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Originally Posted by mpd076-chuck

Keiichi does have good opinions, but EVO rated them both. So I need to expand beyond EVO, but obviously your Japanese is better than mine! (well you probably used google)

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Thanks for the complement. I did Japanese at school. Helps with all the new Best Motoring issues that have no subtitles. But the volume with the EuroR had english subtitles too (which was pretty terrible in my opinion)

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Originally Posted by mpd076-chuck

Anyway aaron, if the CTR is a Type R in your eyes, then so be it. For me, I watched the DC5R come out in 2001 and now 6 years later in 2007 I see very little difference between it and the CTR. What is a Type R fan boy to do?!

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I don't really care if the CTR is a real Type R. To me, all it is is a sub $40,000 hot hatch, in the same class as the GTI. Just because a car has the Type R name doesn't mean that it is good. Judge each car individually I say. Heck, if the JDM CTR was called a Civic Extra, if it had all the necessities of a track car, then I'd consider it a good daily driver that can go on the track (i.e. the original objective of a Type R).

Honda DB8R

Ha Ha! oops...
:thumbsup: