Honda's New CEO Doesn't Even Own A Car - Would You Want That From Your Industry Leader?

He probably is waiting to get the NSX.

Or some sort of crappy new ugly hybrid.

I guess we'll know in Autumn whether this guy is cool or lame.

he says he is waiting for the new Type R.

LOL, what the report did not tell you is this guy was forced to sell his Mercedes Benz SL 550 as part as his contractual agreement to Honda before his start date.

That precious three pointed star nearly cost this man his job...

I like this guy. If I'm not allowed to drive my Mercedes SL550 I will rather walk.

I think he should be driving anything but a Honda. In fact all of their engineering team should be driving competitive cars to the ones they are designing. This guy can drive any Honda he wants to for the asking, so owning one isn't necessary.

I'd tell him to drive a Genesis as a long term reminder of just how utterly terrible and overpriced the Acura RLX is.

He's waiting to buy a Civic type R - what a stupid thread...he probably can drive anything in Honda's stable of cars/bikes...doesn't need to rush to buy anything...

Makes you wonder what he is passionate about. Not best image to project. Would prefer my head of a car company own ten or more classic cars from around the world rather than art, coins or stamps. But that's just me.

When Alan Mulally was hired by Ford he extolled the virtues of the Lexus LS he owned, but was made to get rid of it for a Ford product.

The value to buying your team the competitors' vehicles to LIVE with is that the annoyances that ALL cars have in day-to-day use will be seen.

My company Fusion has a TINY plastic burr on the driver's interior door pull that is a constant annoyance.

The K900 I had for a few months was a great car but there were times when it felt like the chassis did not know how heavy the car was. Not enough to spoil the car, but speed bumps brought it out.

Our Flex is amazing all around but it gets floaty on the freeway in odd moments.

Living with cars should be an essential part of a company plan for designing cars.

I would comment on TVRs and their idiosyncrasies but with them you want to design more in.

All major and minor car makers have a fleet of cars to trade with their competitors as professional courtesy...what you suggest has been going on for years. I was in charge of our corporate fleet and traded cars with our competitors even when we had no model directly competing with other makes...

The fleet is there to drive, but I'm talking LIVE WITH. Huge difference.

For example, when Acura was designing its RLX flagship, it's quite obvious they DIDN'T live with the competition otherwise the RLX would not have been been derived Accord with a couple of inches spliced in to increase rear seat room and a $30K price increase. They produced a Honda Avalon rather than a true competitor to the A6, 5 Series, E Class, CTS, XF, Genesis, or GS.

The trades can last from a view days up to a few weeks or even few months. The RLX
has failed for a whole host of reasons. Not knowing the competion is not likely.
Being stubborn, bound to the beat of a different drummer even when the tried
and true works (sport hybrid SH AWD), and a lack of commitment to inefficient 'luxury' and all of what
that entails is more likely...