Can Honda get its mojo back?

anythngbutgm

Civic Nabs Highest-Ever Safety Rating for a Small Car

Honda Vehicle Ratings by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)

2013 Honda TOP SAFETY PICK+:
Honda Accord Coupe
Honda Accord Sedan
Honda Civic Coupe
Honda Civic Sedan

2013 Honda TOP SAFETY PICKS:
Honda Fit
Honda Crosstour
Honda Civic Sedan
Honda CR-Z
Honda CR-V
Honda Insight
Honda Pilot
Honda Odyssey
Honda Ridgeline

:shades:

benjaminh

#s from tsx69 at vtec.net:

Civic 32,416
Cruze 25,447
Corolla 24,463
Elantra 23,958
Focus 16,764

CR-V 27,226
Escape 22,343
Rav4 19,538
Equinox 18,507
Rogue 16,992

Odyssey 13,261
Sienna 10,608
Caravan 8,583
Town & Country 8,060
Flex 2,689

Camry 34,780
Accord 31,507
Altima 29,534
Fusion 20,522
Sonata 18,903

anythngbutgm

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/08/08/six-12-small-cars-do-well-in-front-cra- sh-tests/#ixzz2bNk5YdIr

anythngbutgm

Honda Accord Hybrid and PHEV win 2014 Green Car of the Year

stever

"Honda says it is the number one brand in its class for product longevity.

No other mainstream brand had a higher percentage of vehicles on the road from 1988-2012, the automaker said.

Honda is basing the claim on Polk vehicle registrations from 1988-2012."

Honda Vehicles Last Longest, Automaker Claims

stever

"BrandIndex is a tool created by market research firm YouGov. Among its metrics is something it calls the "buzz score."

On Sept. 7, Honda's buzz score was 20. In the latest round of surveys, YouGov spokesman Drew Kerr said that reading slipped to 14.

"That is still above the average for the entire car sector, where the current buzz score is 8," Kerr said.

Edmunds.com also tracks the percentage of all visitors to its car-shopping web site who consider each brand. Over the past five months, Honda's consideration rate has ranged between 9.5% and 11.5%, although it has trended downward over the last month."

Air bag recalls have little impact on Honda sales (Detroit News)

hpmctorque

One thing that Honda could do to recapture its popularity, especially among young buyers on a budget, is to increase the number of derivatives off of the Fit platform, in particular, and also the Civic's. The HR-V is a good first step, and I look for it to be a big seller, but how about a Fit spyder to compete with the MINI 'vert, for example? It could undercut the MINI in price and cost-to-own (regular vs. premium gas, conventional vs. run-flat tires), beat in in reliability, and match it in performance and driving dynamics.

I'm very happy with my Fiat 500 as a practical fun car, but would trade it for a Fit spyder. Hmm, it just occurred to me that if you remove the third letter in Fiat, you have a fit, Fit. A restomod ala cheap. Imagine, a fix-it-Tony, done right the first time.

.

hpmctorque

The 2016 Civic may be a good start for Honda to get its mojo back.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/2016-honda-civic-strives-to-be-premium-again

anythngbutgm

hpmctorque said:

The 2016 Civic may be a good start for Honda to get its mojo back.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/2016-honda-civic-strives-to-be-premium-again

That profile is certainly unique, especially the tail. I'll be curious to see it in person, but I'm really looking forward to seeing these design elements on the Coupe!

Seems like a missed opportunity they don't offer a lift back with that sloping rear. Could grab a few RSX owners looking for an upgrade...

tlong

I still find the current CR-V ugly. Perhaps its just me, but I liked the previous generation a lot better. Will probably get a Mazda CX-5 if I go the small ute route.

fintail

The entire D-pillar on the CR-V makes me twitch, its just clumsy and over-wrought. They also seem to attract a lot of less than attentive drivers (might be a Seattle thing, ask isell).

CX-3 looks like it could be neat.

anythngbutgm

tlong said:

I still find the current CR-V ugly. Perhaps its just me, but I liked the previous generation a lot better. Will probably get a Mazda CX-5 if I go the small ute route.

My BIL has a CX-5 and he loves it. His is the 2.5L which he selected after finding the base 2.0L too slow. His wife has had 4 Honda Civics in a row so naturally they crosshopped the CR-V and HR-V but like the Mazda more. The Subaru Crosstrek was a strong contender but like me, hated the noise from the CVT. Same with the Forester.

Btw, they also crosshopped the CX-3 and it was a hoot to drive but the back seat room was non-existent as was the cargo capacity.

stever

The CX-3 was just a wee bit cramped for me. Fun ride though. Should be able to drive my sister's '15 Crosstrek tomorrow.