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?