An editorial in Car and Driver given the subtitle "Deep Thoughts" tackles a favorite subject of the peanut gallery; the Decline and Fall of Honda's Empire. Unfortunately, rather than being a critical analysis of the real problems that Honda is prone to (which author Dave Mable mentions, albeit in passing), it's simply yet another softball lobbed at the sophists who have opinions on everything and know very little. Like C/D commenter "GolfTDI", profiled in the above photo.
Mable is able, in some respects, to cut through the bullshit and get to the core problem. While a bunch of journalists are bemoaning the loss of the RDX's turbo engine and SH-AWD, Mable calls out Honda product planners for green-lighting the car to begin with. Before anyone protests in the comments, it was not a good engine to begin with. The RDX is symbolic of the stifling stubbornness that plagues Honda, the belief that, as Mable puts it they are "smarter than the market" and that whatever they are doing at that moment is the right way, the only way and to suggest anything else is an act of capital idiocy. This is unfortunately a symptom of the fearless iconoclastic streak that runs at the core of Honda. This attitude brought us VTEC, the Integra Type-R and the NSX, but it also leads to the Crosstour, and a weak Acura lineup. Where Mable falls apart is falling into the typical enthusiast trap of thinking that his desires, and the desires of C/D's readers are also those of the market. All the world's damnation can't stop the Civic from being America's third-best selling car (just barely behind the second place Altima). The Accord, Odyssey and Pilot are also selling well. The CR-V, despite its lack of fancy technology or interesting styling is far and away America's best-selling crossover this year. This is what separates the Honda of 2012 from the GM of 1981, despite what Mable thinks. GM did create "…highly engineered but woefully underdeveloped products." Honda, on the other hand, is making products that may not be on the cutting edge of engineering, but actually add value and make the lives of customers easier. Nevermind the enormous delta in quality between the two companies. While most critics (and the B&B) were lukewarm on the CR-V because it didn't have GDI, turbocharging or whatever flash-in-the-pan technology was being touted by the buff books, I went long on the CR-V because Honda had created a well-thought out crossover with features that actually mattered to the people buying the cars. 9.9 times out of 10, a low load floor and rear seats that fold with one touch will beat MyFord Touch or Fluidic Sculpture styling every single time. Mable also admonishes the current Accord for offering a V6 when others are moving to turbocharged 4-cylinder engines, while noting the irony of Honda taking forever to offer a V6 despite dealers and customers begging for one. Mable must have forgot that the best selling car in America, the Toyota Camry, still offers a V6, while smaller players, like the Hyundai Sonata, the lackluster Chevrolet Malibu and still-unreleased Ford Fusion are moving to the blown 4-cylinders. If you're Honda, then you're gunning for the Camry, not the bit players. I'm starting to wonder if the press has reached their breaking point with Honda. No matter how hard they try to malign their products as boring, a waste of money or behind the curve, they keep selling. Could Honda really have their finger on the pulse of what the consumers want. You know, the people who actually spend their own money on cars? For every single segment Honda competes in, I can easily think of a competitive product that I'd rather have (ok, maybe not in the minivan segment). It never used to be that way. But if you really are only as good as your last product, well…maybe Honda isn't in such trouble after all? from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com | |||
| |||
| |||
|
Monday, June 4, 2012
Editorial: The Accord Might Not Make The 10 Best List Come December
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Archive
-
▼
2012
(7297)
-
▼
June
(664)
- Fifty Years of the Trans-Canada Highway
- Hammer Time: Finding A Cheap Ride
- LeMons Arse-Sweat-a-Palooza BS Inspections: Britis...
- This Week's Most-Read Stories
- Junkyard Find: 1980 AMC Eagle Coupe
- Most-Watched Video Reviews of the Week
- Toyota And BMW Plan To Take The Lead In Commercial...
- Phil’s Podium Of The Automotive Pure: Ten Trick Te...
- 2013 Dodge Dart 1.4 Turbo/Dual-Clutch First Drive:...
- 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed: What’s Headed Up ...
- Jaguar Adds V-6, Turbo Four, New Gearbox to U.S.-M...
- 2012 Jeep Wrangler Freedom Edition Proudly Wears t...
- The Continental: Another Detroit Designer for Opel...
- 2013 Audi A6 Allroad First Drive: Off-Road Looks M...
- Audi R8 e-tron Sets “World-Record” Lap Time at the...
- 2013 Ford Focus ST First Drive: The Hot Focus Deli...
- McLaren Officially Confirms MP4-12C Spider, Provid...
- Cars.com's Convertible Buying Guide
- New or Used? : Seeking A California Vintage
- Toyota and BMW Announce Further Ties, Adding a Joi...
- Mercedes-Benz Reveals the Not-a-Station-Wagon 2013...
- We Be Sippin’: Nine Technologies that Significantl...
- GM’s Brazilian Spin: Dog Of An Engine Devours Any ...
- Where is Gas the Cheapest?
- Toyota Expands Floormat Recall
- Overcapacity In Europe: It’s Worse Than We Thought
- General Motors Looking To Cut Engine Lineup By 40 ...
- BMW And Toyota To Jointly Develop Sports Cars And ...
- Daily News Briefs: June 29, 2012
- Canadian Auto Plant Caught Up In Abortion Debate
- Take That, China: Japan Finds 200 Years’ Worth Of ...
- Adventures In Marketing: The Cocainiest Car Ad of ...
- Junkyard Find: 1969 Volvo 145 Wagon
- The Secret Of The Tiffany-Blue LFA, Or How Those A...
- 2013 Subaru Impreza: What's Changed
- 2013 Audi Allroad: First Drive
- Best Selling Cars Around The Globe: The Millionair...
- 2014 Chevy Tahoe / GMC Yukon Spied: Next Generatio...
- 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Postponed...
- 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Spy Photos: The Next-G...
- Mazda Considers Hotter Miata with 205-hp MX-5 GT C...
- The (Nearly) 1.0-g Nissan Leaf: Getting an EV to G...
- Next-Gen Alfa Romeo Spider Won’t Be An Upscale Miata
- Aston Martin Produces Another 77 One-77s: Okay, Th...
- LeMons Good/Bad Idea of the Week: Twin-Turbo Taxi!
- What’s Right With This Picture: A Father’s Advice
- 2012 Chevrolet Equinox: Car Seat Check
- C/D Video: We Thrash the Ariel Atom 300
- Trackday Diaries: How’d that Cadillac crash, anyway?
- Consumers Want Backup Cameras, Blind Spot Systems
- Hyundai Generation Why Intramural League, First Pl...
- Edmunds Issues June Sales Forecast: No Major Changes
- Ford’s Traffic Jam Assist Combines New and Existin...
- Cars.com Reviews the 2012 Chrysler 200 Convertible
- Mazda Can’t Make Its CX-5 Fast Enough
- GM Preps for Wireless Charging Tech by Filing to T...
- Daily News Briefs: June 28, 2012
- How to Drink Less (Fuel): Five Tips for Efficiency...
- Ford Predicts 47 mpg for C-Max Hybrid
- Generation Why: Throw Some D’s On That Spark!
- Carbuzz Builds Chinese Firewall To Lock Out Lone D...
- Chasing Perfection: 1000 Miles in the McLaren MP4-12C
- BMW/NedCar Now In Talks
- Junkyard Find: 1987 Chevrolet Nova Sedan
- Fun at 40 mpg: Real-World Mileage Test with Chevy ...
- Fiat’s Viaggio To Bolster Chinese Exports
- 2013 Nissan Altima: Explaining the Trim Levels
- The Zen of Cupholders
- World’s Largest Automaker 2012: Toyota Leads After...
- 2013 Porsche Cayenne GTS First Drive: A Little Mor...
- Here’s Why Your Mileage May Vary (A Lot) from the ...
- Toyota and Gazoo Racing Twincharge a GT 86 for Goo...
- How Dampers Work: We Slice Open Four Types of Shoc...
- Ladies and Gentlemen, Mazda’s Rotary Has Left the ...
- Trackday Diaries: I can tell you how to win a Lemo...
- Cadillac ELR: More Details On How the Volt Will Be...
- Ford System Could Block Incoming Calls While You M...
- 2013 Subaru Forester: What's Changed
- Cars.com Reviews the 2012 Volvo XC70
- Hyundai Generation Why Intramural League, Second P...
- 2013 Dodge Dart Video
- Daily News Briefs: June 27, 2012
- Carnewschina: Carbuzz Is A Bunch Of Thieves
- Ask An Engineer: Natural Gas For Dummies
- Ford Developing Traffic Jam Fighter
- Question: What Car Most Needs a Spec Racing Series?
- Cars.com Family Reviews the 2012 Infiniti QX56
- Junkyard Find: 1996 Volkswagen Jetta Trek Edition
- BMW And Toyota To Make Announcement This Week
- Opel Restructuring: Baby Steps Instead Of Big Bang
- Piston Slap: Of Winter Tires and The Nürburgring D...
- Vellum Venom: 2012 BMW 750Li
- Best Selling Cars Around The Globe: 1992, The Year...
- 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo First Drive: A Sportie...
- 2011 Mini Cooper S Countryman ALL4 Long-Term Wrap
- Four Hundred And Thirty The Hard Way: Porsche Intr...
- BMW M School: Learning How to Go Fast in German
- Name That Exhaust Note, Episode 141
- 2013 BMW 640i Gran Coupe Tested: Six Plus Four Equ...
- Ford Aims for 47-mpg City Rating for C-Max Hybrid,...
-
▼
June
(664)
No comments:
Post a Comment