Do you think Honda/Acura will ever offer a large V8 sedan? (Accord, automobile)

[f_m]

Originally Posted by Tennesseestorm

Its a shame too imo. V8s can be made to be pretty fuel efficient. My 1991 Lexus LS400 has a 4.0L V8 and no kidding, I get 21 mpg in town and 27 on the highway... not as good as a 2009 4-cylinder Camry of course, but with the technology they have today, I would think they could make a very fuel efficient V8.

The new CAFE standards will require 35.5 MPG fleet by 2016, with 42 MPG for passenger cars. So meeting that will mean keeping engines somewhat small, or at least more hybrid style products. I mean, they could make a V6 turbo with 400+ hp, but it's not really going to be worth the development costs relative to the sales figures. Acura sells less than 1/10th the number of cars that Honda sells.

[le roi]

Originally Posted by Tennesseestorm

According to this... NO!

New Honda Motor president says RWD, V8 sedan 'meaningless emulation'

While I agree that a RWD V8 sedan is not what Acura/Honda needs to be worrying about, I think it is a big mistake for Honda to ignore the RWD market completely.

[hoffdano]

I think Honda is making some strange decisions these days. They have always been a very conservative company - that is part of their character and formula for success. But they are going overboard in some areas. There are many people who still want performance sedans - and FWD is not adequate. AWD is OK - ala Subaru or Audi.

I'm disappointed where Honda is headed. They don't even have a great V6 anymore. Their 3.5L is a very nice engine, but Ford, Infiniti, Toyota, GM, etc. have more impressive V6s now. The Ford Ecoboost is very impressive so far.

[GTOlover]

Originally Posted by rubber_factory

While I agree that a RWD V8 sedan is not what Acura/Honda needs to be worrying about, I think it is a big mistake for Honda to ignore the RWD market completely.

why I think the big three have the V-8 market cornered it would be a waste of time on money and they would have to develop the motoer so even if they do decide to. it would be years of testing before it became avalible if you want RWD V8 sedan get a BMW 5 series are a dodge hemi charger

[Eastern Roamer]

Originally Posted by Sayantsi

Honda has zero interest in V8s. Its practically killing its v6s in fact. Honda decided to go "green" in a big way - small engines, many hybrids, and smaller cars for them. Honda is downsizing the next gen Civic chassis, and that means the cars based on it will also be smaller, like the CR-V and CR-Z.

Honda is going to all small cars, all super economy vehicles. If you want a V8, look to the other auto makers.

I don't know... the 2010 TSX got a V6 and the RL's V6 got bigger. They killed the Accord Hybrid. And even the new Accord's V6 with VCM gets a little more power but MPG is not improved by much.

Hopefully they will tweak the SH-AWD and keep making the same great engines, but better. They stayed in the black when other companies were loosing money. They seem to know what they're doing. Now if only they'd fire the Acura designer who came up with that grill...

[Sayantsi]

Originally Posted by GTOlover

why I think the big three have the V-8 market cornered it would be a waste of time on money and they would have to develop the motoer so even if they do decide to. it would be years of testing before it became avalible if you want RWD V8 sedan get a BMW 5 series are a dodge hemi charger

Or buy a Hyundai Genesis sedan - its the large rwd (V6 or V8) luxury car Honda refuses to make. Or buy a genesis coupe, its the less expensive rwd sports car Honda refuses to make since it abandoned the S2000.

[Sayantsi]

Originally Posted by Tennesseestorm

According to this... NO!

New Honda Motor president says RWD, V8 sedan 'meaningless emulation'

Seeing what Honda has coming out these days, I wonder what exactly qualifies as meaningless emulation? Honda won't sell a high-profit margin large sports sedan that can compete, but it will emulate Toyota's Venza with the Crosstour, the BMW X6 with the ZDX. Go figure.

[Steve-o]

Funny how a Vette's 400hp V8 can get better highway mpgs than many of Honda's smaller-engined vehicles.

A V8 can be made to be quite fuel efficient if enough research is done, the right materials used, and a lightweight vehicle to put it in. I would love to see a RWD, 4 door Honda to compete against the 5 series.

[f_m]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Funny how a Vette's 400hp V8 can get better highway mpgs than many of Honda's smaller-engined vehicles.

There's a huge difference in aerodynamics between a 2 passenger Vette and 5 passenger Accord. The frontal area alone is probably half that on the Vette, meaning the drag will be at least half. That's a tremendous difference.

Originally Posted by Steve-o

A V8 can be made to be quite fuel efficient if enough research is done, the right materials used, and a lightweight vehicle to put it in. I would love to see a RWD, 4 door Honda to compete against the 5 series.

Honda and Nissan did start carbon fiber research so they plan to make use of it in mass production vehicles. Of course it's going to be some time away.

[Sayantsi]

Actually, the Accord's drag is .30, the Vette's is .31
- Automobile drag coefficient - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia