The Dawning Of A New Leader? The Best Positioned Player Is Not Who You Think

I think honda is a good company but they need a car to fit between the civic and accord since the accord grew to a large car. They also need to get their act together with acura...get rear wheel drive, get rid of the bird beak, and turn out a LS level RL. Then people will see them as much stronger. The NSX is a good step.

Hopefully with the added revenue they're making with this boost in sales they'll invest more into the things that Peyton talked about.

But honestly honda always plays the safe route.

1. I doubt they'll continue development on that 420hp 4.0L V8 which would be perfect for the RL.

2. A new halo car like the NSX is due though.

3. I think that with the civic will move upmarket given that with every new generation the price and features goes up. Also they have the Fit and Freed (ugly IMHO) to fill the void.

but if the NSX looks anything like the concept...lord help acura

2 years ago Mugen RL was carry V8,but no production dou~~

I want the civic hatchback from europe.

Or it could be they knew what we needed all along and simply waited until the market saw the light.

Nope, sorry Agent009, is just brainwashing. Let's thing logically: What is sold as Acura(premium brand in US?!?) in America is simply the European Honda . What they sell under the Honda badge in America is a low, low quality car that is over hyped in Consumer Reports, JD Power and other American car mags. The average American buyer doesn't stand a chance against this "brainwashing machinery" called Consumer Reports. I take cars made by Mazda or Subaru any day over the "Kias" sold under the Honda badge in America.
To go even further the European Honda Accord(Acura TSX in US) competes directly against the Passat in Europe and loses. In America the buyer was brainwashed in believing that Acura TSX is a premium car(brand) and is somehow "superior" even as a brand to a VW. So in the end we have this equation:

Europe : Passat > Acura TSX
America: Passat < lowly American Accord

Rest my case...

The Passat is a nice car, however, the Accord is the better choice, hands down.

Take a look at the history of the 2 vehicles. Passats are overpriced, unreliable and the dealers are assholes.

Nice try.

Star...

apparently Americans are more concerned about reliability and maintenance costs then Europeans are. The Passat is a very nice car, but it doesn't stand a chance against any Honda for reliability.

except TSX and RL, is there any other Acura products that are "simply the European Honda"?

Meh...meh...CR told us Honda is good...meh...meh...

Star farted out of his mouth, meh...meh. Hondas have recevied many good reviews in many other enthusiasts' magazines besides CR.

Notice on the left corner on those mags front page says "FOR SHEEP ONLY". That's YOU.

You've probably never even owned a Honda, hater.

I've owned quite a few of them and even own one now. Try again, hater.

Me, a hater? What do I hate? We know what you hate though.

As bad as this guys negative boost is, I could only imagine Michael taylors negaive boos if he posted some ignorance here. Adctualy If I hadn't accidentally hit the +1 boost, he would be at -42 boost, and that has goptta be close to the record for deboos at autospies since the late houstoncutiie/David909/the late great MichaelTalor

Sorry for the fat fingers.

evilm's comments are as useless as "Tits on a Boar"...LMAO!!!

They are in bed with the OPEC nations?

that makes no sense

Honda and Acura make totally great, well-engineered cars & trucks.

IMO, one of the greatest car lines of all times - breakthrough even - was the 1986 to 1991 Honda Accord lineup. If you drive one today (and you can because they last so long and there are so many around) it would seem contemporary with things sold in 2008.

Good for Honda - heck they're even made in Ohio.

My first car was a 1987 Honda Accord LX-i. A truly 'loaded' car for the 80's standards. You could not kill the thing, it ran no matter what.

M35:

i had the same experience with my '89 accord lxi coupe. the car was indestructible. kept it as a second car for years after getting a new car in '93. ran for hundreds of thousands of miles despite being driven hard and withstanding a major collision.

89 accord rules. if my dad let me keep the car instead of donating it, I'd convert it to a manual, fix the moonroof, power windows, pop-up headlights and clean it up as a daily driver. their autos suck btw, but it still drove well, and looked nicer than any accord of now. its a shame we don't have it anymore.

and it was the best accord to date.

Folks, are we talking about 20 years old Hondas or current Hondas? Nobody says Honda didn't USE TO MAKE great cars but those days are over. Let's get real and take a look at the garbage they sell now in US. With the exception of the Honda S2000(I own one)the rest of the line is as high quality as KIA or Suzuki line.

Like we believe you, the materials and quality in the S2000 are average for Honda.

The S2000 is the only real Honda sold in US. The rest of the line is pure garbage.

The only "real" Honda, wow you are deluded. I don't think that anyone would agree with you.

Htay -

Those pop up windows were a true 'novelty' on my car - didnt ever work when I had it (always had then 'open') of course I got the car with 190k on it and sold it for $1 with about 250k on it. Still ran, just a bit rowdy.

same here m35, but they stopped after someone bumped into our car, leaving the turn signals to flicker alot, and the popups to stay open. but still ran well. so far I've seen them closed on many cars that I end up seeing. pretty sweet.

Honda Rules!

Honda does need a car to fit between the Civic and Accord as mentioned before. Something small, crossoverish. Similar to a Toyota Matrix, Pontiac Vibe, Mazda 3 hatch.

Another big thing they need to do is not worry about being so gas friendly with their luxury market. Acura tries to compete (I say tries) with BMW, Merc, Audi, Infiniti, Lexus, etc. but it is still not quite entry level luxury. But one thing they missed the beat is that people spending 40K plus for a car are looking for some performance, a V8 option, and style. Not a redone Accord or Civic. If they want to make a small econo-lux car like Lexus is doing with the Prius soon, then bring us the CSX Acura from Canada. It's a Civic with Acura additions to it. But they will never be taken seriously without at least offering a limited V8 model RL.

As for the rest of their lineup, the Ridgeline is slumping, but nowadays, who wants a truck unless you really need it. And for the Element, it is time for a refresh and I would scale it back to compete against the likes of the Nissan Cube and Scion Xb, keep the engine, and the AWD and you would kill the competition.

And the Pilot...I think I just threw up in my mouth looking at pictures of it. I just read the review in this months MT. They never mentioned its fugliness once, just noted that it had a chiseled grille accompanied by larger more useful headlights??? What happened to they made it look like a four eyed dork on picture day.

good products. consistent traits. much more fun to drive than other reasonably priced cars.

i have a lot of respect for honda.

hondas bread and butter is the civic and the accord, everything else is icing on the cake, including acura.

alot of people are down on acura (me included) but i see a mdx and tl ever time i drive. i still think both honda and acura present a unique value other companies cant.

I want the diesel here, NOW.

I own a 95 Accord EX and its been a fantastic car. While no race machine, I do enjoy its ride and reasonable handling ability. 95,000 miles still no creaks or rattles. Fuel efficient, with a nice midrange punch (for the motor it has). The only thing this car has ever asked for is routine maintenance, and of course brakes and tires. Now if Honda would offer a Mugen or Si Accord with AWD, I'm a buyer.

And Whelan, I think you hit the nail on the head, nothing to add to that. I also had that sour taste of stomach acid upon seeing the new pilot.

For the people asking more performance/luxury from Acura, they are working on it, finally, and ironically while everyone wants to downscale:

http://www.leftlanenews.com/acura-rl-future.html

I was the owner of a 2002 Civic EX Coupe. My only gripe which was big was their warranties do suck. I had an oil burning problem at around 65,000 miles. I was using up to a quart of oil every month (determined through testing with the dealer). They could not locate the problem and suggested piston rings or engine tear down. Well Honda of America would not help me. They told me that if I wanted to have the work done they would do it, but if they tore it apart and could not find the issue, I would have to pay to have it put back together. My mouth dropped. Then they told me to my face that in their books, a Civic using up to 1 quart of oil every month is considered inside their tolerance levels????? I basically told them to go F" themselves, walked out of the dealer, continued to put a quart of oil in each month.

Saw no need for an oil change as it was getting 3 new quarts over the period. I sold it at 74,000 miles for $9,800 when the KBB was $9,600 in excellent condition. Gave the guy the stock exhaust, bra cover, winter tires, and sold him the warranty with it (25k left on it). Well there you go, his problem now. He can go to the dealer and see the issues. So from then on I skipped Honda, went and bought a used Toyota Matrix. Runs better than my Honda ever did.

Not so sure if Honda is necessarily the 'new leader'.

Rather Honda is the lucky recipient of having the right fuel-efficient line-up at the right time. Kind of like it was in the late 1970's.

I believe that Honda had the foresight to resist building huge engines and have a product line focused towards more fuel efficient ones. They knew that eventually gas prices would increase and that the environment would eventually become a bigger issue. It's part of the Honda tradition that stems way back. Go see their website and history. Honda is trying to become a company that "society" wants to exist, not just for enthusiasts pining for more powerful cars. The days of cheap gas are over and Honda is going to make tons of money.

mad respect is owed to honda. great job to them and their team

If you refer to their marketing team I agree.

Star, are you really that dumb, or are you trying to be funny?

"answer",

Hey pussycat, should you not be somewhere reading a fashion magazine? Don't waste my time.

That's an odd thing to say to a guy.

so does that mean when big trucks and suv's were the thing to sell.

Honda was a complete failure?

Judging by their profits over those years, I don't think so.

Honda needs to do something with that ugly new 2009 Pilot. The front end grill on that new vehicle looks awful. What was the desisgn team thinking on that one. Seems most people on this site didn't like that change. Honda don't fall into the trap GM did (when they put the heavy cladding on the side of almost every vehicle). Get rid of that ugly front grill on the Pilot.

at times like this where gas prices rise, it would be long before Honda would be even be looking at V8s. and as they suceed, they won't be needing V8s.

Honda is a good company and always has. They haven't always been in the limelight like Lexus has but I think in due time they will do some good things.

I think they should really work on the Acura line up as it has so much potential. Acura's fit and finish is not shabby at all. I think it's well put together. They need an LS competitor and something big, v8-powered, RWD and handsome will definitely gain some recognition.

Where is the CRX?

Honda has the Civic and Accord, but they need a car to compete with the Avalon.

Why? Those 70 year-old buyers buy Corollas if they don't have money, and Avalons if they do.

The new Accord coupe is actually very impressive looking. If only they can create a 4 cylinder that's as awesome as VW's 2.0turbo, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Honda? Is this some kind of a joke?

I mean Honda is like for the people who are poor. Acura is for the poor people who want to feel this "luxury-kinda" car.

Whenever I think about the Japanese automakers, I think maybe Toyota and Nissan are doing good, but Honda? Honda cars are as reliable as Hyundai cars. And actually some of the Hyundai cars look better than Honda, seriously. I mean, who designed that new Civic anyhow? Actually, the Civic never looked good.

"Whenever I think about the Japanese automakers, I think maybe Toyota and Nissan are doing good, but Honda?"

what about toyotas infamous recalls and statements on rusting trucks? how about their gas-guzzlers? wheres that headed to? you really need to get out of your cave. hondas has been doing fuel-efficient cars for sometime. have you realized gas prices are up mister?

Right, you're most likely white trash judging by your insensitive comment.

evilMonkey, what kind of car do YOU drive? whatever it is, and whatever ZOOzneBsedecreM or ZOOmBenz drives...

those heaps would be BLOWN INTO THE WEEDS by ANY tuned CIVIC riced out by any half smart SoCal asian dude! LMAO!!

Blah, Blah, Blah....

its Michael Taylor's evil twin: Huu
"the great clueless one"
Don't let facts get in your way, huu...

I used to love Honda, but now I'm not so sure. Their styling direction is all wrong. They're trying to be edgy but are failing miserably. The Accord is horribly bloated--it's now considered a "large" sedan by the EPA. It is actually larger than the Jaguar XF, which is the biggest sedan in its class. It is only two inches shorter than a SWB Audi A8, BMW 750i, Lexus LS460 or Jaguar XJ.

The vehicles in their lineup really don't share many design cues and their engines are still great, but don't always lead their classes like they used to. Fuel efficiency is good but I want old, light, agile, timeless Hondas back.

I think my favorite entry-level brand is now Mazda. Perfect styling, fun, well-built, reliable, somewhat efficient, inexpensive. What more could you want?

Honda makes more gas engines than any company on earth.
Their engineering is very good, their cars are good value, and their handling is sportier than Toyotas.
They are positioned well.
Toyota only brought out the Prius marketing-tool to get the tree-huggers to stop spray-painting their gas-guzzling SUVs (remember that?)
Toyota led the SUV craze with more gas-guzzlers than anybody on the planet ... although GM eventually caught up.
Now GM, Ford, Toyota are caught with their pants down ... big on SUVs but light on practical cars, although Toyota is in much better shape than any of the American companies.
Europe's equivalent of Honda is VW, who happen to build more diesel engines than anybody on earth, and also have excellent engineering and better handling than competitors.

Watch Honda and VW grow while gas is way up.

honda will grow. but vw will have to struggle for every car they can still manage to sell.

diesels or no, they have to FIX the rep they have for shitty quality/reliability.

honda and toyota are 180 degrees on the other side here.

good point, huu! just this past week, there was a story on NPR on the BOOMING motorcycle and scooter sales in recent weeks.

unless there's specific reasons for me not to, i ALWAYS hop on my honda bike for runs to town.

faster than 99.9% of all 4-wheeled cages, yet still capable of 48 - 55 mpg! (and SWEET MUSIC too, emanating from the v4 engine!)