That is too bad.

That’s bad news for the 5 people that actually bought the XLR, they must be inconsolable.

It’s ok for GM the new cts-v is faster and handles better they don’t need the XLR.
As for hon-DAAA they are fu**ed.

None of them are practicle. I’d have gotten rid of them first. Well, right after those huge SUV’s.

Well, it was only a matter of time, for the XLR. Come on, who really thought this thing was going to survive. Caddy doesn’t even advertise the thing.

The S2000 I’m surprised over. Especially the fact that they only sold 72 in December.

R.I.P. XLR YOU WILL BE MIST…..

As for Honda, it’s about time…

jesus can they keep a conv for longer then one cycle. This thing could have been great!! but damn it if they ****ed it up! hey lets spend all are time on one model. did they forget about everything else in their lineup besides the cts and escalade?????? two cars and the rest get nothing?

The XLR’s death is understandable. It was damn well near a 100k car that really was not worth the price tag when it is nothing more than a glorified Corvette. Honda on the other hand is the reason the s2000 is ’slow selling’ considering it is a car that has not seen a real make over in its near nine year existence and it was slow as crap compared to other cars in its market. I mean seriously, s2000 with 240hp and 140lbs of torque, or an 350Z spyder w/300bhp… not really what I would call a tough decision. Honda short themselves in the foot.

Eh…the XLR was cool, but even if it was a Caddy, it looked like a chick-car. They should’ve made it into a 2+2 Corvette. At least the CTS-V is still here. =D

I hate Honda…I’ve liked the Civics throughout the years and that’s about it. Everything else has just been meant for people with families.

XLR – has no reason to live.
S2000 — the Torque-less Wonder wasn’t that good even in 1999.

Good thing they spent the money updating the XLR for it’s final half-year!!!

what’s with the honda haters?
seriously, power to weight wins races as well, not just big v8 cars, why do you think the non Z06 ‘vette is still a beast, power to weight, victor, how much does that 350z weigh compared to the s2000? we can always compare the NSX if we need to, just a little ol’ v6 going head to head with super cars at it’s time, but of course honda never really updated the NSX just like the s2000, plus honda was going back to being more eco-friendly as it was, so welcome back the fwd cars –
the XLR? that was always a joke, no response needed there

Two beautiful cars, too bad, disappointing news.

darn I wanted to get an S2000 in the future too. What a shame. It was among the most efficient cars ever. The older model put out 120 hp/L

Its ok for GM to kill off the XLR….it is too expensive and it wasn’t worth the money…..but y kill the S2000? That is a great car!

The XLR? CADILLAC didn’t need that one anyway. The CTS is just too good. If CADILLAC had been allowed to take the plunge and build the CIEN I might be more upset with the news.

The S2000? Typical Japanese sports car: “Build it and leave it”. Honda made a really kick-@$$ car with the S2000 but then never updated it on that lame conceit “We made the car we wanted when we shipped it and we don’t need to update it.” EVERY SPORTS CAR EVER MADE NEEDS REGULAR UPGRADES OR REPLACEMENTS OR ELSE IT BECOMES AN “ALSO RAN”!

Return to FWD cars, jumpoffit? More like hasty retreat to FWD cars. One hot sports car is not going to tarnish HONDA’s record of fuel efficiency. For a company that is so quick to cling to their “racing heritage” they are mighty quick to ditch it. S2000 Dead and no replacement. Gen2 NSX Dead at 99% ready for production.

HONDA is one of the shakiest sports car makers in the biz. TOYOTA is not going to ditch the LF-A and NISSAN is going to expand on the GT-R35, HYUNDAI is readying their Genesis coupe, GM is holding firm on their performance cars, and much more. They are not giving in, why is HONDA, why not release the NSX as an ACURA. Why not delay the car instead of killing it off?

I feel burned by HONDA on this, I was looking forward to this three-way.

Don,

The S2000 had crappy gas mileage. The C6 Z06 gets better numbers at 85mph than the S2000 did at 65moh. The Rx-8 probably does slightly better than the S2000. It’s really because the engine has to work so hard to produce usable power, being a modestly detuned racing engine it was never really made for efficiency just running fast and free at the track. Nothing wrong with that, but the CORVETTE was just made as a better all-rounder and a better sports car overall than the S2000.

I would not state that S2000 has a crappy mileage. This is 8 years old car that pumps out 240 HP. Any car that pumps out that much ponies will need to feed those ponies. It rated 20/29 I believe. It was very good mileage for 2000, when gas was $1/gallon, it is average for now; but not crappy.

One was a stunning technological achievement, and a successful roadster in the US
The other was a Cadillac
DrFill

@ Jon Luc: Practical? Since when are sports cars suppose to be about practicality? They’re about fun! I can understand the XLR cancelation as it was just a Vette in a Caddy suit. But the S2000 was made for pure fun and driving. It’s sad to see it go, it the economy wasn’t in the crapper we would have probably seen a highly updated version in the near future. I love the concepts for the S3000. Now that was a great design.

I can’t pretend to care about hte XLR, I forgot it even existed.

But the S2000 was abandoned by Honda long ago, if they had kept it updated and given it a freshening up from time to time…..

What is the sporty car for Honda now? Are they going to replace it, because the ugly Civic SI is nowhere close to the S2K, which was a pretty great little car, I even had the pleasure to drive one a few times, and I gotta say, it’s no chick car…

A lot of Honda-haters at the start of the thread. Most probably never drove or sat in a S2k. A milestone when released in 1999 (AP1) but then left to die on the vine, even after the update (AP2). The digital display is kinda cheesey but the heart and soul of that engine / chassis is very go-kartish.

While the Miata (or MX-5 whatever it’s called) won the hearts of the ladies or the midlife crisis male due to its fun yet practical driving manners, the S2k was the raw sportscar that was packaged as a drop top. The Z was a hardtop (with the ‘vert as an afterthought when it was reintroduced) but a porky one at that.

Anyway … I’m saddened to see it go. The S2k was a car I thought would be a great weekend car but with my priorities the way they are, I suppose I won’t be buying one new before its final production run… (sigh). Same went for the NSX (first gen) … looking at the ‘near mint’ ones for sale on NSXprime … they haven’t lost their value since it’s like a cult car. I’m sure the S2k will hold up fairly well (but more easy to find at an affordable level due to its initial price point).

XLR? Nice try for Cadillac but a poor use of its (limited) resources. Tried to play with the Merc SL and got burned badly.

“None of them are practicle. I’d have gotten rid of them first. Well, right after those huge SUV’s.”

smart move on your part. GM is INCREASING production at its full size SUV plant to keep up with demand.

@ Blakkar – Regarding the fuel mileage, it’s not so much that the Honda motor has to strain itself causing gas mileage to go down compared to the Vette motor, it’s because all those LS motors are paired with a tranny that has a super tall 6th gear.

Mügen, that’s the advantage of high displacement: lots of low-end torque allowing for taller gears. I guarantee if you put that tall gear in an S2K, the car wouldn’t be able to use it, let alone cruise at 65mph in that gear. The S2K wouldn’t be able to climb a slight incline with that kind of gearing, which is why Honda gave it that particular tranny. But I wouldn’t compare the S2K to a ‘Vette. They are a very different kind of car.

It’s sad to see the S2000 go but I think it had a pretty good run. My friend just bought one and I have to admit it’s a joy to drive. A bit cheap on the interior but it’s not meant to be an extravagant car. The XLR on the other hand, it was basically like selling a heavier, slower vette. The vette serves its purpose, and quite well, but the XLR was kind of a pariah.

I liked the look of the XLR-V exterior. I really thought it was a great looking car. The interior style was a disappointment though (including the refresh), as was its price tag.

S2000>The only decent Honda car, needed upgrades in power and style to bee relevant..
XLR> Great engine, trans, brakes. Good chassis, Poor steering. Car was really let down by its interior. Which was a joke in a $100K car.

You can’t compare an S2000 to a Vette because the S2000 lacks the Vette’s key feature: that it turns your hair grey and/or makes it fall out, gives you man-boobs and a paunch, makes you dress in golf shirts 24/7, lightens your right foot to 1/4 of its normal weight and causes you to drive in the right-hand lane at 2 mph below the speed limit at all times. That’s a special Vette package, Japan never innovated in that fashion.

Little by little, all cars will be removed. Hybrids have come to stay and deprive us of the american dream.
how sad………

Blakkar makes some good points about Honda, but I think Honda might have the last laugh. I think their decision to can sports cars is based off of a genuine fear that the market will continue to dry up, especially as green tech continues to be emphasized.

The XLR was overpriced. I thought the $100k version was the XLR-V, but regardless, the XLR at any trim had SL or SL AMG competition, and the SL is a far better vehicle. So, bye bye.

But don’t bet me wrong, I am truly sad about the S2000–that was going to be my convertible. Blakkar’s “build it and leave it” statement is true. The S2000 was a great car and even better starting point, but they took it no where. And, the fact that it was always a true sports car and didn’t bleed into a grand tourer, I’m sure, hurt sales. Anytime you don’t even offer an automatic will slow, especially, U.S. sales.

And, when the economy was good and you took a look at Boxsters, Z4’s and TT’s, I think there was a market for an Acura-based S2000. You could up the S2000 base price by as much as $10k and avoid competing with yourself and still being a bargain next to the competition. Maybe all’s well since the economy tanked, but I still would have liked seeing Honda exploit the S2000 potential.

JSurfer, I WAS talking about doing that while the economy is in the crapper.