Look at the stock 1/4 mile times of Honda's cars vs. other manufacturers:
| Car | Price as Tested (US) | 0-60(sec.s) | Elapsed time 1/4 mile | Horsepower | Info Source |
| '97 Acura Integra Type R | $25,435 | 7.0 | 15.30@93.4 MPH | 195@8000 RPM | MotorTrend |
| '96 Ford Mustang Cobra | $25,630 | 5.5 | 14.0@101.7MPH | 305@5800 RPM | MotorTrend |
| '98 Chevy Camaro Z28 | $24,340 | 5.2 | 13.34@105.75 MPH | 305@5200 RPM | Hot Rod |
| '95 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX | $25,020 | 7.0 | 15.4 | 210 | Road & Track |
| '95 Honda Civic EX Coupe | $14,812 | 9.1 | 16.8 | 127 | Road & Track |
| '97 Plymouth Neon Highline | $12,770 | 7.5 | 15.8@86.1 MPH | 150 | MotorTrend |
If you believe what the Honda and Acura guys say, Hondas and Acuras are great cars to modify for drag racing, and that they are always so much faster than the V8 powered Camaro or Mustang. This is pure fantasy.
Honda engines can be built to produce high horsepower numbers, but the cost is very high. For the same price as one Honda engine, two more durable American V8 engines could be built. Click here for more detailsHondas, and all front-wheel drive cars, for that matter, have very little traction in a drag racing situation. Under acceleration, weight transfer shifts to the rear wheels,away from the drive wheels of a FWD car. Plus, most FWD cars have open differentials, so they don't even get power to both front wheels if one wheel spins.
Read this account of what went on at a recent "Import Drags" event. Notice that it was the VW Bugs, not the Honda Civic or Acura Integras that dominated.
| A lot of Honda fans have written me saying, "Look the import drag racers are running 8 second 1/4 miles!" But they're forgetting that the fastest import drag race cars are Mazda RX-7s, NOT HONDAS. I don't know how they could confuse an RX-7 with a Honda... |