Unfortunately back in the early 90's the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4, Nissan 300ZX Turbo and Toyota Supra took away the attention from the crowd. They were like "LOOK AT ME" the car mags with these cars were drooling. When I first looked at the red 1991 3000GT VR4 in the magazine I thought it was a supercar and felt very special.. I heard about the NSX at the time but never really paid attention to the car.. It took many years for the general public to get to know the NSX and got very, very popular and still is special today. The Mitsu and 300zx no longer has that iconic exotic supercar feel like the NSX does.
For jdm yes. 90’s early 2000’s is their best. So many legend cars. But they havent produced a great car for the last 15 years. Besides the GTR which is technically 12 year old car. But best period of sports cars? Present is still best i believe. When you can buy cars now around 45k thats supercar specs back in the day. But predominated by euros and domestic. I dont know why jdm stop producing great sports cars.
One of my first jobs coming out of college was working at a Acura Dealership, doing car washing and detailing, and minor paint repair. I had the privilege of driving NSX's along with Integra Type R's, around. Behind the dealership we had what we called "The Loop", where the Tech's would drive the cars to diagnose noises, and check the repairs made. I took these cars around the loop, and what a precise well balanced machine this car was and is. These cars are not mass horsepower or torque, these vehicles are about Balanced Performance, a true drivers car. And don't worry, no NSX's or Type R's were harmed on my watch while I drove them on the loop. Just so glad that I got a chance to drive them. What a thrill. I miss these days of when Honda built performance oriented cars.
@@error.418 Understood. For me, the Golden years were 1988-2004. Loved the F1 inspired double wish bone independent suspension, the only computer the PGMFI, and having a stick.
I worked at a Honda dealership as an alignment tech and PDI tech. I got to do the loop as well, drove the first Civic Type R FK8 in my state. I got to drive Civic Si's and really loved driving all those!
antxmod12322 the new one is also a good car but most of the reviews say the opposite. That's just how media is........the new one can beat many supercars . Its just a little overpriced but isn't the old one overpriced as well ?
there is a huge difference between a "first generation" with high miles and a "second generation" with low miles. second generation cars with low miles used to be in the 70 to 80 thousand range, but apparently they have gone up in value
@Vinny Booboo I'll send you my old 8 track deck - of course it was in my 67 mustang and then I had another one in my 66 malibu - but hey, you wanna talk mac and cheese since that's what you know, right?
no it doesnt sound bad at all...i usually cant stand how v6 sound too...to get it sounding even decent gotta cam it and full exaust system change in my opinon.for stock that doesnt sound bad at all
the "clean" light was to tell you when you needed to clean the cassette heads. the magnetic tape would leave a residue and they had to be cleaned with special fabric wound cassettes and solvents. that's why i love having digital music now.
@@me6057 The ideal 1st gen NSX for me has to be those first years when it had a hard top instead of a targa top with pop up headlights. 1st Gen NSX is one of THE best looking cars I've ever seen with pop ups
I own one, and it's a wonderful car. Never had ANY mechanical issues with it (60k miles). Very neutral when driven hard. It is a real head turner! Despite all of that, I wouldn't pay more than 50k for one. It is, however, money in the bank! Supply and demand.
That's a camber thing. The first year ones had more radical alignment which made handling great but chewed up tires. The OEM Yokohamas were only lasting about six thousand miles, so after a lawsuit Honda changed camber setting. I lowered mine, made a similar adjustment and my tires last 30k
I lowered mine as well. I put new Michelins on the rear. Since I don't drive it that much anymore (500 miles a year), I hope they will last the life of the car.
Marvin Braun even if anything go wrong with this go to junk yard and u can find lot of Honda Accord u can find anything that u need for NSX it's Honda Accord engine in it
Josue Carranza How is a 20+ year old Honda underrated when it’s average price is around 100k? The correct term is overrated. The car simply isn’t worth that money. I mean, the dealers didn’t ask anywhere near to that when it was brand new back in the day..
Not Sure Where did you get that false fact? They were 60k brand new out of the factory. You’re telling me 5 years later it nearly doubled it’s price? OK...
Kevin Solomon It’s due to inflation. That could be said about any car, not just muscle. You could buy a performance car for 5k. 5k these days buys you a old truck with 200+ on the dash. Vehicles that are more rare and sought after further increase in price. I’ve loved the Nsx since 1997, but that doesn’t justify a 100k price tag, when you can buy a supercar for those prices that would mop up the floor with it. Same goes for the Supra or GT-R. They’re asking more for a clean R34 than a brand new R35. That’s plain stupid. You’re paying for an iconic name, not the product in most of these cases.
I have been on spirited drives in my 1991 NSX with very experienced drivers that brought their Ferrari 458's, 430's, and 360's, Porsche's including the GT2, GTR, and McLarens. And the common comments tend to be, "what did you do to the NSX?", "Is it turbo charged?" "Did you add a super charger?" "Did you modify the engine?" which I respond: "Nothing, no, no, no. It's completely stock" As a long-time owner I have discovered that Honda did a remarkable thing with the original NSX (early 1990's) where the sum of the total yields more than the specifications on paper. When driven properly it is an astonishing car able to keep up with the modern big horsepower supercars of the day. How? I believe one factor is the minimalist approach Honda engineered into the NSX. Just enough horsepower, no power steering, superb aerodynamics, excellent weight balance, a low center of gravity, and lighter weight using composites, aluminum, and plastics in all areas. All that means you don't need a bunch of things including: You don't need bigger tires which add drag. You don't need a bulked up drivetrain. You don't need massive brakes which add weight. No need for a larger gas tank as the NSX has incredible gas mileage for an exotic. Lighter tires, brakes, and suspension is lower unsprung weight, which provides for a quicker response in acceleration and for handling. In real world driving the NSX is truly remarkable. AND, you can completely trust it to get you there and back on long drives in all kinds of weather - because it is a Honda! And maintenance costs, that is where the NSX is in a different league from a Ferrari, Lamborghini or other exotic. I saw the comments about tall drivers fitment. I'm 6'2" and had an upholstery shop take about an 1-1/2 inch of foam out of the bottom of each seat and I have plenty of headroom without sacrificing any seat comfort. And the steering wheel telescopes and tilts which is tremendous for those of us with long legs. It fits great!
Awesome review dude, its nice to hear it from someomne who has owned the car. I would like to hear your thoughts on the new(er) NSX if you've driven one and how it compares to the 1991 model.
Nice review Doug. The nsx is a true enthusiast car. Saw one at a local cars and coffee event with over 500,000 miles. Yes I did type that right. 500,000
ALi Ta well the ones selling for that much don't have anywhere near that many miles. And these are pretty hard to find stock and the year he reviewed is a pretty rare year and very desirable.
I still talk shit on my dad every time I talk to him for selling his back in 2002. I think he paid around $80,000 for it new back in 1997 or 1998, and then he just _had_ to go and sell it early. Why? *It couldn't fit a set of golf clubs*. God. Dammit.
I remember because I was looking in the auto trader ads. If you had the money it would have been sooo easy to make the money. I know of many other cars that will shoot up in value even more from that era but I'm not going to name drop because you're probably thinkin the same thing as I am... will I ever afford my dream car if these 90s/early 2000s gems keep going up in collector value?
Why would you pay $60,000 for a crappy car that's not even fast 290 horsepower is f****** s*** compared to today. You can buy cars that are 5 times faster or buy three cars that are two times faster than this f****** car
Works at 8.6k, 86k, 186k. The other vehicles you mentioned won't sniff those latter numbers. Still, i wish they weren't so crazy expensive. Still gorgeous
Alex F but then again I think the whole reason why they are slowly going up in price is the amount of people who want a sport car that they could daily drive and just do normal maintenance and not have to worry about expensive parts or special services that only a dealer can do
Joshua Definitely. it's also a driver's car unlike so many new vehicles that seem to be electronically assisted. It's a knock I've heard on the new NSX.
sigilwig444 For real, functionality and sport cars don't mix lol. He'd probably get wet over a Corolla XRS, since he really loves "sport cars" that are "functional" lol
A little bit functionality is quite nice if you don't happen to have a range of cars. For example I can take my Z4M for a week long driving holiday though the Alps and Italy for two people and I can just buy a few regional bottle of wine without worring if they will fit in the trunk.
dralenvan 1. There are just two public videos in my channel 2. There is nothing so far I want to publish about my Z4M 3. Because that video was shot when I attended the presentation of the then new Z4 E89. That was not my car and the video is 7 years of, I bought my Z4M last year.
I owned a 92' NSX for 5 years and loved every minute... they are underpowered but in every other sense a great, reliable, comfortable sports car, that gets TONS of looks, photos etc...I was stopped many times at intersections, parking lots etc, mostly because people loved the style and wanted to know what it was . Very rare to see them on the streets. It was an "experimental car", so very unconventional for Acura...
sptrader it was the driving experience overall that's so nice. so many young kids leaving comments it was slow or couldn't beat a lambo. who cares the car felt amazing.
I had a 95 NSX-T ... black and tan. Was my dream car at the time when I got in 2004. Wish I could have kept it longer but had some financial issues and had to let her go near 2008. Of course now the prices have really started to rise. But it's ok.. Unfortunately I have terminal cancer now but I'm glad I had that experience of ownership even if it was just for a few years. And being that I wasn't 'rich' my exotic car experience wasn't watered down with a ton of other great cars (I still love all different kinds of cars). I remember anytime I parked I ALWAYS looked over my shoulder and admired her.. every single time. Definitely not the fastest car by any means but a fun car that always got looks wherever I went.. and the occasional "hey is that the new corvette?" LOL.. go
Chris Durst man back in the early to mid 2000s I remember the first gen models going for as low as 20k. I think those days are gone. It's rare finding one under 35k now.
Honestly I feel like the 1st gens are far better looking tham the new ones, it has a beautiful simplicity that clearly and very classicaly says "I'm a sports car" and I feel like the new one just says "look at alllll mahhh anglez! Im totally cool!!!"
honestly, the new NSX is the most mediocre looking modern sportscar ive seen, idk why, they spent so much time developing it and its design, and still it just looks so generic
You need to sit and drive one of the newer NSX coming from someone who owns one it's a pretty decent car as for being flashy getting is space grey really mellows it out
Yeah, I have always thought he would make a great column in a car magazine or website . I mean team up with consumer reports or something. Oh well, guess we are stuck with the videos for now.
Wow, so many opinions and a lot of bullshit in the comment section yet nobody has mentioned about the aluminium body, frame and suspension ? which was in this case the first production car that had it...
Yes, pretty much entire car is aluminum yet sturdy. Another cool thing is each fender (front and rear) can be removed/replaced unlike most cars where the rear fenders are part of the frame. So if I get a bad dent, just get another fender and bolt it in.
No mention of that or the fact that Ayrton Senna helped develop the car's chassis and handling. It's funny that Doug talks about this being a car for 'people who know', but he misses out some glaringly important points :/
The NSX is still a great looking car. Low and sleek, awesome lines! I wish the new NSX was an updated version of this car with similar lines. Drop in a twin turbo V6 with 600hp. Update suspension, interior, tech and seats. Price it at $150k...they would have sold a lot of them! #Acura
indeed...not sure why +Doug DeMuro thinks it doesn't look exotic..there are several unique and interesting designs cues on the nsx will always be a classic
blackvr4tt I totally agree. I would have loved to have seen some type of lineage. If you put the old and the new nsx side by side they look so different.
That V6 sounds great! The NSX is about quality and refinement for daily drivability. It's probably not worth 125k but that is a beautiful specimen in red.
Acura did this, Acura did that... There is no Acura to do anything, that's just what Honda calls their sporty cars in the USA. (this car is the Honda NSX in the rest of the world) So it's Honda did...
There is no Acura. It's just a word Honda printed on their performance cars in NA to trick Americans into buying their cars who would otherwise not consider a sporty Honda vehicle. There is no "Acura" company, they are Honda Motor Co., Ltd. cars and anything done with or about them is "Honda did". e.g. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_NSX
Sort of right, partially wrong. It's their luxury brand for North America, specifically. It definitely was to move away from the Honda "boring reliability" kind of stereotype though. A rebranding for a different "feel" of cars.
The same is true with all of Hondas sports cars. Even with the entry level civic si, you get a perfect pedal position, gearing, rev band etc... They make excellent drivers cars, something that other manufacturers really struggle to do regardless of how much power they output, features they have etc...
I own CBR's... Honda really does make super reliable and functional things. It's actually great. I've rode quite a few bikes at this point(I realize we are talking about cars, but it still applies) and Hondas are always super usable and functional. Usually less power than everything else. But the power is also so usable and tameable that it doesn't matter that it's less IMO. It gives their stuff a wonderful feel for driving/riding well. The one gripe I have is the lack of aesthetics a lot of the time in comparison to other companies. But the functionality makes you forget that. I have also absolutely thrashed my smaller CBR(in terms of driving abuse, maintenance I keep as pristine as possible), and it just keeps fighting as though it's brand new. I used to dislike Honda until I owned some. Now I think they're great.
No one in the comment section has mentioned the link to the late ayton senna he helped design this car in the way it handles to make this car a true drivers car plus Japan had a gentleman's agreement that there cars should not exceed 280bhp well if u actually rolling road these cars ie skyline makes more like 320bhp same with supra and 300zx and of course the nsx still 320bhp is fun on UK roads but with a little tuning these cars can become true lambo and ferrari killers in straight lines and handling another league and back in the day they were made to compete against the Porsche 911 not against lambos so he got that wrong that's why they were priced similar to the Porsche when new similar power and reliability an every day super car of the day u can't compare them to a modern lambo just stupid like comparing a standard golf against a focus rs cars in 2 different leagues
The senna link is one of the main reasons I always wanted a 97-01 Nsx.. Pop up lights still and best Nsx. I always ended up with a Porsche or Lotus instead. The car is kinda slow and the brakes aren't great and maint on a 20 yr old car.. Despite the legendary reliability
Doug not only are your vids interesting but you seem like a pleasant approachable honest down to earth individual that’s into cars. That’s why its worth watching your videos . Merry Christmas !!!
doug, I don't know what youre talking about.. I get noticed and feel like a celebrity every time I get behind the wheel of my berlina black 1991 NSX! I break necks every single time. To the point valets tell me how much nicer my car is than the snobs in the Lambos and Mclarens. You must have driven this NSX in a vacant parking lot lol
The "CLEAN" light for the cassette player is probably to let you know that the heads need cleaning. They made cassettes that were specifically for cleaning the dust from inside of the players.
I would love Doug to do a re-review of this car again now that he goes into so much detail. Also, this is one of of the most gorgeous cars I’ve ever seen, and the sound from that VTEC is arousing.
Nissan TitanWarrior Also in 2019 do a '98 Nissan Skyline GT-R (R-34) because 25 ywar Import law. Just blow the money and buy one Doug you know you want to.
The technology in this car at the time, changed the way supercars from all manufacturers were to be built moving forward. First car with titanium connecting rods, etc....
i bought an 07 honda accord with 87k miles and the leather looks better than this car. (as far as cracks and suff, not going into original quality or anything)
Both the 1st Gen and 2nd Gen NSXs are great cars that are underappreciated during their production runs. Exotic car performance with Honda Accord maintenance requirements for +200,000 miles. We will being seeing similar prices and signing high praises for the ignored 2nd Gen NSX 15-20 years from now.
Watching this again 11 months later. Cringed at seeing you sitting on the side bolster and decided to put in comments then noticed I already did a year ago LOL. You sit on those side bolsters in every review! Terrible. Good reviews though. Man that example is MINT! I'd rock one of these!
Scott Sherman Well, genius- the car only has 8k miles on it, so...you tell me. Do you really see anybody paying this much for a car like this then actually using/enjoying it, let alone barnstorming it? No. It's more likely that it will go in some rich old tool's garage/"galleria" and won't be seen again until they die, or it changes hands again.
Scott Sherman Wrong. Those types aren't true "enthusiasts" - as far as I am concerned - they are "collector/investors", and I don't see much similarity between the 2, other than automobiles are involved.
revolutionday1 To be a car collector then you must be an enthusiast as if they were purely in it for the money then there are much better returns on other investments. They may not drive them as much but they still love the cars.
I love this car to its bits and I would choose it over and Italian any time, But 140.000?! Hell nouuu, 50.000 to 60.000, yeah definitely, and most likely to tune later
FUN FACT Ayrton Senna helped Honda tune the suspension on the NSX without him the car would have probably been a DOG. sadly ill probably never get the chance to drive one. your livin the dream Doug!!!!
I think the reason the nsx was so good was because they didn't have any competition. They didn't give a shit about other companies and what they were producing, they wanted to make a mid engined sports car and see what they could do.
I have a Yellow 97 in my garage where it's been since 1997. I could tell you all the things this guy said wrong but I don't have the time. But I will say drive it a week and see how many times YOU GET NOTICED. I have been chased down more times I can count by people that want to see it talk about it. I can't go out without getting waved at or honked at period. This car is a legend no pun intended. Oh and drive it trough a tunnel with the roof open, You will think your in Monaco not downtown Detroit.
this is for the people who grew up with a poster of it on their wall, like a countach. 125k. gets you a much better car but that will always be the case with "classics"
johnny cake found a black one in the EU as mint as this one plus i didn't have cracked leather , although it did have like 23.000 km but it was just 65k Euros which is like 80k dollars.
Honda owns Acura. Just like Toyota owns Lexus, Volkswagen owns Porsche, etc. Hence the reason you see similar cars in each of those because they each get their own versions.
The NSX (1st gen) is my favorite car of all time. I remember a full poster of it that came in the Vancouver Sun, listing its price at $63,000 back in what must have been 1990 or 1991. After seeing the poster, I hoped to see one on the street to the point that when I saw a Nissan 240SX drive by, I wondered if it was it, but of course it wasn't. When I saw an NSX for the first time, I was mesmerized--it was so low and so wide. And even now, I amazed how modern the car still looks. I just watched Doug's video on the Porsche 928 and can't believe how old that car looks in comparison. Of course, the 928 came out in the 70s, so that's probably a bad comparison.
My buddy who owns a 2003 NSX his father left him when he died loves it and so do i. It was the first ever powerful mid engine car I ever rode in or drove. Feeling that stout 300HP v6 Mounted right at your back was a great feeling and it handled amazing, great acceleration and better turning
Yo I got a 1993 VW Golf 3 that also has a clock that works 24/7, regular door handles and locks and all of the 3 functions the car has are easily accessible. Anyone willing to cough up 50-60k just shoot me a PM.
Why does the $125K price tag surprise you for this kind of car? The NSX was a specially built car originally designed to compete against lower end Ferrari's but with the added benefit of being able to drive every day. To actually be "surprised" that the car was priced higher than you thought it should (even if it was 13 year old Acura) is quite insulting. This car is definitely _not_ of the same class as say, a Toyota Supra or Nissan 370Z if this is what you were alluding to; it's _way_ above them.
I had a once in lifetime chance to drive a brand new 1990 Acura NSX some 40 miles from a Northern Cal Acura dealer to the SF port to export it back to Japan. Back in the day, many US NSX's were shipped back to Japan due to high demand there and Acura had to ban dealers to sell it to obvious exporters which I was. While driving it through a traffic jam on a FWY there was this huge billboard of the very sexy red Acura NSX which I was right underneath. Boy, did I feel gooooooooooooooood!
The boot ( or trunk for the Americans ) on the NSX is just like in the MG MGF :-). For the people that don't know what the hell an MGF is it's a British 2 door sports car that was a competitor to the mk1 Mazda MX-5 Miata. And the MG-TF which is a newer model
Zack Halverson and a 69 Camaro restored, will go for 50k easily. it's a niche market. not everyone wants to be a copycat and buy what everyone else thinks is hot, like a Ferrari or Lamborghini. unless you go to a track, you'll never be a le to use it to its full potential. some people are okay with that but I like to think for most, what's the point of what might as well be a trailer Queen?
The NSX was never a $40k car like the FD RX-7, 300ZX TT, Mitsu 3000GT, or Toyota Supra. At its lowest price point it was in the mid-$60k range, and by the time it was discontinued it was over $90k. That's basically an increase based on inflation over the 16 years it was on sale.
