WHAT says: Honda is Failing

[-What-]

Honda is such an underachiever. They had the hype in the 90's to be a dominant manufacturer. Their decision making and designs hold them back. Lets start with the Civic.

Firstly, why did they kill the CRX?

Civics from 1992-2000 were awesome.

Sporty looking, easily riced, and reliable. Then Honda FAILED in 2001 with the boring, feminine update that no one really wants to modify. They continued the design mistakes over to the anticipated Si...which was offered IN HATCHBACK FORM ONLY. In American? Yuck. Also, what happened to the Del Sol? That was a cool car.

Today we have the popular minivan looking Civics. The coupes can look sporty but the sedans are just...ew. Lucky for Honda they are Honda...or they'd have a hard time selling the new Civic. Design failure. And with the Si...high revving weak-ass 4-bangers aren't as cute as they used to be. Nowadays econo cars are getting real power. Mazda has got an ENGINE in their MazdaSpeed3. TURBO-POWER. The Mini, MazdaSpeed3, GTi,...others are all more desirable to me than the Si.


The S2000...was cool for the first 4 years...

Then they forgot about it? Why hasn't the S2000 been significantly updated since 1999? This was an iconic car! But they let it go. I never liked the s2000 with its sissy 4 banger, high price, and small man seating...but I appreciated the handling. If I wanna drive a bitch, I'd rather a more tunable more affordable Miata. That's my opinion. Will Honda ever replace the S2000? The 350z is doing pretty good...


The Accord...looks like a Hyundai.

Honda had been pretty solid with their Accords up until recently. I don't fully understand...they witnessed a wonderfully designed Camry and they still managed to produce a Hyundai Sonata look alike. This new Accord is the first new-model car I've seen in a while where their sales DROPPED compared to the previous out-dated model. Yes...Accord sales are DOWN from the 07' models sold last January. Maybe it's a fluke or maybe there aren't enough new models available...but I personally don't know anyone that likes the redesign. The Hyundai Genesis will be a more desirable car.


Honda Hybrids...

Well, Honda has never been able to build a vehicle to match the Toyota Prius's extreme gas mileage...WAIT!! THEY HAVE?!?!? Why has Honda killed off the Insight...one of the MOST FUEL EFFICIENT mass-produced automobiles sold in the world...during a gas crisis? Why didn't Honda hype the Insight like Toyota hypes the Prius? Why hasn't Honda built a replacement for the Insight?

The Accord hybrid was a failure. Honda didn't seem to understand why people buy Hybrids. IMAGE and FUEL MILEAGE, not PERFORMANCE. They should have painted it lime green and attached the electric motor to a 4-banger, not the six.

Then they give us the Fit/Jazz...an old model established in another country...and I ask...why isn't the Fit fitted with a hybrid?


Honda Trucks...can not match its Japanese rivals.

Let alone American trucks. Either they failed to research properly or they went the cheap route towards development. I don't know.


Acura...is not a real luxury brand.

Acura is the weakest attempt on the market at a luxury brand aside from Lincoln. What is the badge-engineered bullsh*t? FWD luxury cars? Keep it. TSX? I'd rather an Accord. And their biggest luxury car (Acura RL) is a FAILURE. V6? 290hp? NO PRESENCE? No, aim higher. The price is right but why buy the RL when the TL is just as roomy and thousands of dollars cheaper? And...AND...why did they kill the RSX? To make room for the new Si? I can understand that a car like the RSX can hurt the "luxury image" but Acura isn't making a big push towards upping their luxury image in my opinion. The RSX was excellent. Of course they haven't announced a replacement.

Acura should model Infiniti.


Supercars...the NSX suffered.

Honda let the market rape the NSX for 15 years. Why didn't they replace one of the most influential supercars sooner? At least give the engine a SIGNIFICANT boost. 80k+ for that much power? Why did they let it sit? I see a trend...

So when Honda finally announces it is THINKING about replacing its most desirable car ever, it gives us a FRONT-ENGINE piece of design GARBAGE. The concept that Honda has finally pulled from the car shows for being horrible...was HORRIBLE. U-G-L-Y. Why not make the NSX replacement the way everyone wants it? MID ENGINE.



If Honda keeps dropping the ball with badge-engineered Acuras and taking FOREVER to update their popular cars, Honda may fail like Ford/GM/Chysler. Their quality remains though, but it seems like Honda is more about maximizing profits in the short run. Hyundai is fast becoming a more exciting brand than Honda.



Honda makes bad decisions. HONDA IS OVERRATED.


What do you think?

[The_Canuck]

Well i read the first bit and gave up, you're a fan of the CRX and Del Sol, there is no hope.

And you know what fails more? answer

[my porsche]

I think they are incredibly boring cars.

[fpv_gtho]

Its an interesting read. You could also draw similar conclusions for the direction Toyota has taken. As a brand they had far better products 10-15 years ago, with models like the Celica, Supra and MR-2 still in production. Honda doesnt seem as bad down here, probably because some of the models the US gets badged as an Acura we get straight up as a Honda.

[Timothy (in VA)]

I'd never be able to address all of your points, but I feel the need to address some of them. Certainly you are entitled to your opinion, and I am entitled to disagree.

Your comments about the Insight in particular bothered me. The Insight was a small 2-seat coupe with oddball styling. Certainly it was an innovative car and incredibly fuel-efficient, but the market for coupes is far too small in America for such a car to be profitable, especially considering that hybrids are still more expensive to build than convential cars powered by unassisted internal combustion. Honda cancelled the Insight because it didn't make sense economically to continue building it. Despite their environmental efforts, Honda exists to make money. That is the point of all businesses.

[-What-]

Your comments about the Insight in particular bothered me. The Insight was a small 2-seat coupe with oddball styling. Certainly it was an innovative car and incredibly fuel-efficient, but the market for coupes is far too small in America for such a car to be profitable, especially considering that hybrids are still more expensive to build than convential cars powered by unassisted internal combustion. Honda cancelled the Insight because it didn't make sense economically to continue building it. Despite their environmental efforts, Honda exists to make money. That is the point of all businesses.

Did the Insight cause Honda to lose money? Also, I don't care about the environment, let the Earth burn. Maybe we are polluting the world too much, but Global Warming is a scam.

Its an interesting read. You could also draw similar conclusions for the direction Toyota has taken. As a brand they had far better products 10-15 years ago, with models like the Celica, Supra and MR-2 still in production.

Toyota ditched the Celica, MR2 and Supra...but it has the Scion brand, a world leading hybrid, a competitive TRUCK, and a real luxury brand.

[baddabang]

Toyota is much worse. I see their quality slipping more than Honda.

[Fuerte100]

Global Warming is a scam.

Don't you think it'd be better to be safe than sorry? Anways, in order to not go into a different topic,
Thanks for writing such an extensive article on why you think Honda is failing. I agree that two big Japanese manufactures (toyota+Honda) are starting to slip because they are not looking at what pleased the people most.

[acfsambo]

The reason why honda and toyota are goin 'Bland' ( even though Toyota has been for a while) is that the quirky designs did't appeal to enough people. Look at the Corolla, it is very bland but also very popular as it doesn't stand out (less of a theft risk) reliable (many parts + anyone can repair them). Its all about making money, the toyotas and hondas from the 80's and 90's just wernt selling enough.

[-What-]

The reason why honda and toyota are goin 'Bland' ( even though Toyota has been for a while) is that the quirky designs did't appeal to enough people. Look at the Corolla, it is very bland but also very popular as it doesn't stand out (less of a theft risk) reliable (many parts + anyone can repair them). Its all about making money, the toyotas and hondas from the 80's and 90's just wernt selling enough.

I don't mind going bland, I mind going STUPID. Hondas from the 80's and 90's established the brand. Have you ever driven an Acura? Do you think THEY are selling? Do you think the Accord hybrid sold? And like I stated, after the redesign Accord sales have DROPPED. Honda seems to have dropped everything from their brand that was hot while not increasing the interest in the rest of their model lines.

The Genesis and the new Mazda 6 may further steal Accord sales in the future.

How much will the Hyundai Genesis cost?

[zeppelin]

Although I think what's points are a touch extreme, there are some valid ones in there that will perhaps be overlooked because it's what. Compared to brands like Lexus or Infiniti, Acura fails as a luxury brand in comparison. They are all beautiful looking, but lack the cachet and power to really compete, and I definitely agree axing the RSX was horribly idiotic. The new Civic is hideous, although I do really like the latest Accord (at least the Canadian one, not sure what everyone else's is like). As far as trucks go, I also agree Honda's are lackluster.

However I disagree about the new Camry redesign, it's hideous, and Toyota has been just as bad with decisions regarding its sporting cars as Honda/Acura has. They are on the ball with trucks though. Either way though, the Japanese manufacturers have to start taking threats from Korea and North America more seriously, because the competitors may finally be beginning to catch up.

[coolieman1220]

i agree and toyota is on the way following honda

[The_Canuck]

Have you ever driven an Acura? Do you think THEY are selling? Do you think the Accord hybrid sold?

The TLs are massively popular here, as well as the TSXs and MDXs...and RDXs...

[Niko_Fx]

i agree and toyota is on the way following honda

You criticize Honda continuously yet you just bought a Honda Civic? Nice

I think they are incredibly boring cars.

Hopefully that RS6 that u have is a lease... if not, good luck reaching 60k miles without a major visit to the mechanic. Heavy-ass boat, that transmission will die along with the rest of the car in no time.


As for WHAT, I can't be bothered...

[kingofthering]

What's wrong with a hatch Si?

That's how they built the EG series.

Other than that, yeah, you're partly right.