The Downfall of Honda (In America)

[Kitdy]

Is 407 the highway that secretly masquerades as a toll road that all GPSes make you pass through? And then they'll send you a traffic fine through the mail afterwards?

I was there visiting family a couple years back, that's an evil road right there.

Oh yeah. The Spanish own it after our provincial government foolishly sold it to balance the budget for one year. It's great to drive on if you don't mind paying; I use it rarely in my personal life as it is awkwardly north, but all the time for work. Its wonderful, but loud as the surface is concrete.

They will hunt you down too. It says non Ontario plates will be billed, and obviously they found you. Where were you in Ontario? You soulda holla'd at me.

We do not accept toll roads in Ontario. And Canada as far as I know. The last few times I have been to Buffalo I have been shocked to see personed toll booths you have to pull over to and pay at. That is very 1955. I thought Toronto was behind in digital terms compared to Tokyo, London, etc.

[Ferrer]

Toll roads here are everyday business, and even the roads they are on (sometimes) are in a dire state.

As an example, if I want to go from Girona to Barcelona and I don't mind paying, it's 105km. However, if I do not fancy paying and I still want to use dual carriageways throughout it's 160km.

[NSXType-R]

Oh yeah. The Spanish own it after our provincial government foolishly sold it to balance the budget for one year. It's great to drive on if you don't mind paying; I use it rarely in my personal life as it is awkwardly north, but all the time for work. Its wonderful, but loud as the surface is concrete.

They will hunt you down too. It says non Ontario plates will be billed, and obviously they found you. Where were you in Ontario? You soulda holla'd at me.

We do not accept toll roads in Ontario. And Canada as far as I know. The last few times I have been to Buffalo I have been shocked to see personed toll booths you have to pull over to and pay at. That is very 1955. I thought Toronto was behind in digital terms compared to Tokyo, London, etc.

Yeah, I heard that they would hunt you down so I was paranoid because the GPS is too stupid to reroute us immediately.

Oh wow, that's a strange way to pay off a road. Yeah, I think I was there summer of 2011. It was a weekend thing where we met up with family so we were really rushed. I will keep it in mind next time I'm in your neck of the woods!

[RacingManiac]

Worst part about 407 and the whole scheme of privately owned and operated toll road, the tolls for a PRIVATE company is enforced by provincial government. Because if you have unpaid toll, they can deny your plate renewal.

If that was only it then it that's fine, but then they are also known for seedy underhanded billing practices...like withholding bill until near due then charge you for late fee...

Tip of the iceberg here...
Ontario unable to help resolve 407 ETR billing disputes

[kingofthering]

Heh, after owning a "golden-era" Honda for the last few months I'm not really surprised that they stopped making them.

For one, it's nice to have torque. I don't have torque but I have a gearbox so I can manipulate that into a tolerable speed when merging into traffic. Trying to merge into traffic in 5th in most cases is like playing a game of "how big does the Dodge Ram in the mirror get?"

It's also loud. Not stripped-out race-car loud or listening to a jigsaw cutting through plate steel without hearing protection loud, but just loud enough that your passengers must shout to get their point across, and this is with the stock exhaust/muffler. As a 20-something I like the noise, but I can quickly imagine that the stockbroker with a wife and two children might not be so enthusiastic about paying the equivalent of $30,000 for this experience. They had to cut weight somewhere: I've got two airbags and no sound deadening.

But with that said, I do enjoy the driving experience. Every button and knob falls within reach of my ungodly shaped arms and the sightlines are great even though I'm 3/4 the size of every car on the road. My window seals are shot and my passengers hate the foreboding sense of death every time we go for a drive. And oh yes, the VTEC sounds amazing, though I don't think the neighbors like it!

The only car that comes close is the Acura ILX/Civic Si. I've long since argued that the ILX is a car in search of a question as the Civic Si is a leather package away from rendering it useless.

The problem with Acura is that Honda - the market, really - has gotten too good. In the '90s nobody thought it weird to buy a new Civic with drum brakes, no A/C, and without airbags, but today we all expect Lexus-like quality, leather-trimmed interiors covering twelve airbags, and MP3 connectivity to coddle our asses to the mall and back. With the Integra, we could at least argue that the bigger engine, standard A/C, optional leather interior, and larger dimensions made it a worthwhile step-up from the top-grade Civic.


...and now, back to your regularly scheduled program, Canadians Ranting About Toll Roads.

[NSXType-R]

Which generation Integra do you have? We had a 1987 Integra that was in terrible shape. In our defense, the car had been waterlogged at some point so it was mostly running on 3 cylinders. We still got an extra 90,000 or so miles out of it.

[Ferrer]

Heh, after owning a "golden-era" Honda for the last few months I'm not really surprised that they stopped making them.

For one, it's nice to have torque. I don't have torque but I have a gearbox so I can manipulate that into a tolerable speed when merging into traffic. Trying to merge into traffic in 5th in most cases is like playing a game of "how big does the Dodge Ram in the mirror get?"

It's also loud. Not stripped-out race-car loud or listening to a jigsaw cutting through plate steel without hearing protection loud, but just loud enough that your passengers must shout to get their point across, and this is with the stock exhaust/muffler. As a 20-something I like the noise, but I can quickly imagine that the stockbroker with a wife and two children might not be so enthusiastic about paying the equivalent of $30,000 for this experience. They had to cut weight somewhere: I've got two airbags and no sound deadening.

But with that said, I do enjoy the driving experience. Every button and knob falls within reach of my ungodly shaped arms and the sightlines are great even though I'm 3/4 the size of every car on the road. My window seals are shot and my passengers hate the foreboding sense of death every time we go for a drive. And oh yes, the VTEC sounds amazing, though I don't think the neighbors like it!

The only car that comes close is the Acura ILX/Civic Si. I've long since argued that the ILX is a car in search of a question as the Civic Si is a leather package away from rendering it useless.

The problem with Acura is that Honda - the market, really - has gotten too good. In the '90s nobody thought it weird to buy a new Civic with drum brakes, no A/C, and without airbags, but today we all expect Lexus-like quality, leather-trimmed interiors covering twelve airbags, and MP3 connectivity to coddle our asses to the mall and back. With the Integra, we could at least argue that the bigger engine, standard A/C, optional leather interior, and larger dimensions made it a worthwhile step-up from the top-grade Civic.

Today if a car doesn't have screens, turbos, is sporty and has a silly ride it is not liked...

[kingofthering]

Which generation Integra do you have? We had a 1987 Integra that was in terrible shape. In our defense, the car had been waterlogged at some point so it was mostly running on 3 cylinders. We still got an extra 90,000 or so miles out of it.

It's a third-gen sedan bought off a mechanic friend my family knows. All original (minus the consumables) right down to the OEM Koito lightbulbs in the trunk. I was a bit surprised when I swapped them out.

Front end is a mess after almost 120K miles of freeway traffic and urban driving. Still, it's nothing that a good buffing and a bit of body filler can't fix...

Today if a car doesn't have screens, turbos, is sporty and has a silly ride it is not liked...

Heh. Most of my friends prefer the mid-sized Chevy Malibu that has sound-deadening, a modern stereo, and multiple airbags owned by our other friend. I'm glad the motorsports club I hang around with appreciates it!

[Ferrer]

Well, bad news as it turns out.

Honda CEO says we shouldnt expect any new sports cars - Autoblog

[RacingManiac]

Just bring the damn Type R to US already...

[NSXType-R]

Well, bad news as it turns out.

Honda CEO says we shouldnt expect any new sports cars - Autoblog

Not surprising...

Just bring the damn Type R to US already...

See! Even you're impatient now!