ecr527

Aside from the world renown Honda reliability, I don't think they have anything going on right now. They haven't had a hit with the last few models and their ergonomics has gone down the toilet IMO. Back in the day, car magazines would write saying switches/***** were all right where they needed to be, now they say "what's with all the buttons?"

I think Honda has gotten a little over confident and complacent, thinking that we, the general buying public, will buy anything, irregardless of what it looks like just because it has the H on the front grill.

Fizzboy7

My best guess as to what got them in this mess is arrogance. I have yet to hear Honda say, "we need to do this better, or we need to make it this way instead, or we need to meet this end of the market better..." It's like they don't even care things have been going downhill.

Someone above had a good point about them discontinuing some of the best they've done- Legend, RSX, NSX, Prelude, earlier Civic hatchback. This was an early sign Honda didn't have control of their business strategy. It's like they let those models languish without updating them, sales fell (duh), and all of the sudden the cars are pulled for "other" reasons. It's no one's fault but their own. I believe the market will speak, just as it did for GM, Chrysler, and Ford when their products reached poor levels.

stlgrym3

iTrader: (4)

i grew up with Honda. even now i'm dreaming of getting a used S2000 or a new Civic Si and mod the hell out it as my weekend fun ride. with that said, i think Honda is taking general consumers for granted. you can lineup a 2003 Accord and today's model side by side, style aside, drivetrain and motors are basically the same for both models other than the v6 gets bigger displacement nowadays. who uses a 5 speed auto today other than on some sub-compact class B cars? Honda are still using the ancient 5 speeder on their $30k Accord V6 and FWD Acura TL up until last year. this is their problem, just because there's a big H on the front hood, doesn't mean customers will automatically come, people are smarter with help from the internet. Honda needs to keep up with the rest of the car world in terms of their engine and drivetrain.

superchan7

Although most of Honda's models have become anonymous (Civic, Accord), technically primitive (hybrids) or...ugly (Crosstour, Pilot), there are a few great models IMO.

Euro Accord/Acura TSX - great entry level luxury car with a modern interior and the most correctly executed exterior of any Acura, with the RDX and MDX also looking decent. The TSX seems to be selling well.

Acura TL - the 2011 update really takes the car out of the "ugly" category. It still looks a little too robotic for my taste, but it is no longer offensive. As many journalists have stated, it's a very capable all-around luxury/sport sedan anyway, and the new 6AT helps.

Acura ZDX - a very unique, cool-looking...thing, although its utility and brand value are questionable. I can see many buyers looking at this briefly, then spending $20k more on a BMW X6 because of brand and maybe engine power.

Honda Odyssey - the new model is catching on very quickly, despite initial screaming over the lightning-bolt passenger door design. Looks better than the conservative Toyota Sienna IMO. Utility is competitive and I haven't heard major complaints about interior materials. Big minus on the 6AT being restricted to the loaded trim levels.

Honda Fit - the most spacious car in its class. Stylish, functional, efficient and not too expensive.

I think the main problem is that Honda is playing with fire regarding its bestsellers. The new Civic interior is universally criticized for hard plastics. Everything is softer except maybe road noise. The Accord is still going strong but we'll see where Honda takes it; I personally dislike its huge size. The 2010 refresh was absolutely disappointing...they changed the bumpers and put a "new" taillamp design that was already used in other countries. Oh, and new wheel designs, can't forget that!

mmarshall

Yes, a typo...I meant CR. Thanks for pointing that out. I spend a lot of time talking about cars, and sometimes a typo will get through.

mmarshall

El-Cheapo hard-plastic interiors are not confined to the Civic by any means. More and more cars, even some of those above entry-level, are getting them as manufacturers try and trim costs and weight. The new VW Jetta's interior, for example, compared to that of its predecessor, is especially disappointing.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Honda motorcycles are excellent.

Overpriced, but excellent.





Their cars suck.

mmarshall

They don't cost as much, on the average, as BMW bikes, do they?

TRDFantasy

Yet another article that is completely wrong about Honda being "first" to market with a production hybrid. Only in the US. Toyota, as Sulu pointed out, was the first in the WORLD with a mass production gas-electric hybrid.

This article just illustrates what many of us have been saying about Honda for YEARS. Nice to see the mainstream media finally picking up on it. It's about time major media started bashing Honda. They've had it coming for several years now.

TwiBlueG35

Honda should:

Make Accord smaller and better looking like the ones from 1990-1997(fourth and fifth generations)

Make Civic a better handler, look at Mazda 3.

Make less boxy hatchback mini-mini-wagon things, Fit and Odyssey are enough.

Put a stronger engine into CR-Z because it is the only good looking car in Honda's lineup imo.

Revive Prelude, S2000, NSX, Integra, or all of them.

Drop Acura unless they really make RL a true RWD V8 big sedan and TL a RWD sports sedan. I really don't see the difference between Honda and Acura products.

That's not too much to ask for.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

Yes.

BMW motorcycles, since most are sport-touring and off-road oriented, are much more complicated than Honda's street and track bikes.

However, Honda is getting more expensive than other Japanese motorcycle makes such as Yamaha and Suzuki (not to mention significantly more expensive than Korean and British motorcycle brands) because of their commitment to increasing technology, performance, and safety on their motorcycle models. It seemingly is disproportionate compared to the (lack of significant) improvements in technology and performance they provide for their cars. This also seems disproportionate when you think of the profitability and volume of car sales, versus the profitability and volume of motorcycle sales.

Hopefully, Honda finds a nice balance in the near future. It seems that they are doing fine with their cars for the moment by keeping it simple, well-built, and functional. The biggest problem is their failure to garner market acceptance by providing overzealous styling, and wishful promises of non-existent products.

mmarshall

When I was growing up decades ago, songs were actually written about Honda's simple but fun bikes....especially the little Honda 50, which was not much more than a Moped.

I don't know of any Korean-brand bikes , and only one British brand (Triumph)....but, unlike you and your vast bike knowledge, I'm admittedly no bike expert (and most of what I do know about bikes is rooted in the past). I generally do a much better job of keeping up with cars than bikes.

Don't forget, though, that a number of features that the auto industry uses today originally came from Honda. They were the first manufacturer to use VVT-i variable valve-timing (which they perfected in F1), the first manufacturer to introduce a comparably low-cost hydrogen fuel-cell car for the public, and, back in the 1970's, the first Japanese manufacturer (after the British Mini) to mass-produce a small transverse-engine FWD car. They also produced the first pickup truck (Ridgeline) with a unibody frame and independent rear-suspension, although the unibody actually has frame-rails welded into it. The 1975 Civic CVCC was the only car of that era that could meet U.S. emissions-regs without a catalyst or unleaded gas......though I admit that cold-drivability was awful, and for all practical purposes, it wouldn't run at all, even with the manual-choke, until the engine warmed up into the normal range.