After Falling Into High Profit Mediocrity Honda Struggles To Gain Relevance Again

The future of Honda Motor Co may rest with a pair of contrarian Japanese car engineers working from a drab Tokyo suburb with a hotline to the boardroom. Their mission: just say no.

Honda's creative directors Toshinobu Minami and Yoshinori Asahi are out to kill any mediocre car designs rumbling down the pipeline. In short, they have been told to stop anything like the 2012 Civic, a cheapened redesign that prompted critics, consumers and rivals to wonder how Honda had so badly lost its way.

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PLAY - 3/2/2012 6:37:59 PM

+8 Boost

Relevance? They have an 8% market share in the US. Honda will be fine.

llaroo - 3/3/2012 10:35:28 AM

0 Boost

and give the TL a style it can be proud of and get a hold of their interior design. The dash designs are about as cluttered and unresolved as you can find out there. Enough of the curves !

irishmike - 3/3/2012 11:38:52 AM

+1 Boost

Bring back the Civic hatch. How about a diesel? Could we have something smaller than an Odyssey, but bigger than the Fit? Trim up the Accord, get rid of the bulbous "geezer-car" look, and create a sport version with better steering feel. Accord wagon w/AWD. Smaller version of Ridgeline, styled by someone who is not blind.

llaroo - 3/3/2012 11:47:19 AM

-1 Boost

and rethink the Accord Coupe. Stupid huge ass on it and no refinement or attention to scale and proportion. Lets see, what else can we critque ? ok change the Honda logo too :)

IhavearedS2000 - 3/4/2012 8:59:06 AM

+4 Boost

For Asahi and Minami, the pressure is on. They must ensure the next generation of Honda vehicles wow consumers. "What we need to do is to raise the quality of the output by such a high margin that it will shut everybody up," said Asahi.

Best and most hopeful quote from someone at Honda in a long, long, loooooong time. Has all the criticism aimed at Honda (justified no doubt) woken up the Tigers from Tochigi (ok Wako) - I really hope so!

The rumors of Honda's death have been greatly exaggerated!!!!

t_bone - 3/4/2012 11:59:22 AM

+1 Boost

I think they should shock the automative world by bringing back the Integra Type R as a nearly pure re-release. No bloated, sculpted sheetmetal crap, just pure 90's style. Add a DFI engine, HID, updated electronics, but otherwise a blueprinted design. And then kick some Toyota/Subaru butt.