Honda fights back

Hope they do continue and this is not just a hype story to counter the GM and Toyota announcements. We can all benefit by having Honda as a strong competitor to the Prius. They, at least, have tried to compete and if they do come out with a new line, then we know that the quality will be there.

By the way, did you note the comment from Toyota - that they are considering a Prius line and a separate section to sell the line.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AussieOwner @ Aug 27 2007, 04:43 PM) [snapback]502892[/snapback]</div>

We've known about that for awhile now. But since Prius supporters are well practiced in the art of patience, you get less hype from us than others.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AussieOwner @ Aug 27 2007, 05:43 PM) [snapback]502892[/snapback]</div>

Could it be that Toyota is considering the Prius RUV? (Road Utility Vehicle)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(zenMachine @ Aug 27 2007, 12:02 PM) [snapback]502762[/snapback]</div>

That picture is just a concept from a auto show earlier this year. The new Honda hybrid will look nothing like that. It will be a small 5 person car for the world market. To me that means a 5-door hatch like the Fit but with distinctive sheetmetal.

 

The car pictured isn't the 4 door hatch described but a sports car version you will not likely see on the road. I don't like the look anyway.

 

Somehow, I think Honda is missing something here. I looked at their hybrids (both the Civic and the Accord) before I purchased my Prius. After all, I was a very satisfied Acura owner for 12 years before I bought my Prius. My decision to buy a Prius was partly based on the size of the cabin. The cabin in both the Civic and the Accord felt cramped to me, while the Prius had plenty of room to spare. Another deciding factor was the fact that the Prius MPG rating was much higher in the city than the Honda hybrids and city driving is the majority of my driving. If Acura or Honda had a hybrid that compared in cabin space and city MPG, I just might have gone with with that instead of the Prius, however, Acura seems not to know what a hybrid is at this point in time, nor did they then.

As well, I could care less what people think of the car I drive. I drive what I drive because it is right for me, not because it presents a certain image of me to others. IMHO, buying a car for the image it presents to others is the wrong reason for buying a car. I don't follow fads, I follow my sense for what is right for me.

IMHO, Honda takes the marketing approach and assumes that the fads are what people want. I.e., with Acura, people want performance - translated high HP engines and good handling with a tight racing style cabin rather than translating performance to high MPG and roomy cabin while still delivering plenty of pep for the average user and good handling like the Prius.

So, I might look at the new Honda hybrid, but if the cabin is just as cramped as most of their vehicles are, I'll probably pass on that one, too.

Toyota, IMHO, delivered a very practical car in the Prius, not something meant to fulfill a fad niche. IMHO, Honda suffers from the same thing that plagues US automakers. US automakers are fulfilling the fad niche by their insistence on delivering gas guzzling SUVs. So now, Honda, by making a "distinctive" hybrid is trying to tap the fad market, too. Personally, I don't think this is the correct approach.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Aug 27 2007, 03:17 PM) [snapback]502832[/snapback]</div>

I agree, The NEW civic was supposed to be different. And it is to some degree, like those 1969 Pontiac Catalina tail lights & the wide body stance.

But it still looks like a small family sedan, unlike the prius. I mean Honda has the Civic & the Civic Hybrid (they look the same) kinda like the Toyota Camrys.

 

Or Honda is choosing to compete in the niche created by the Prius, a practical, distinct hybrid. It seems Toyota plans to widen niche with a Prius brand. Or perhaps they realized that for a hybrid to be successful, you need to design it from the ground up to be a hybrid.

 

Now, will they only sell it in limited markets, the way they did the insight? Then wonder why sales are tepid? Then take it off the market?

 

as long as there is more GOOD hybrid options, i am all for anything anyone wants to do. i would like to see better all electric or plug in options, but for some reason, there does not seem to be much going in that direction other than small independents and that is disappointing

 

Honda realizes that there are people like me who bought many Honda/Acura vehicles started buying Toyota because of Prius.
They have to take action. They fumbled once, but Honda is a strong technical company. They will be back.
I will bet my money on a Diesel Hybrid from Honda before Toyota does (if ever). Toyota is not strong in diesel technology. They
have to cooperate with Isuze for diesel engines. 80mpg can be easily achieved. Toyota bet the whole company future on
gas-hybrid while Honda bet on variety of fuel sources (gas, diesel, bio-diesel, CNG, fuel cell, etc.).
We will see which company is gonna prevail in the long run. Whoever eventually wins,
competition is always good for consumers and, in the case, for the environment.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(zenMachine @ Aug 27 2007, 12:02 PM) [snapback]502762[/snapback]</div>

Here's what Grist (an environmental newsletter) said about it



Classy Consciousness
Honda to release unique-looking hybrid for conspicuous greens

Honda plans to make its hybrid cars more visible by 2009 by redesigning their exterior to stand out from the rest of its models. One of the reasons Honda has been trailing hybrid-market leader Toyota by such a large margin, according to industry analysts, is the Toyota Prius' unique shape that helps the public identify it as different from Toyota's other offerings. And, consumers hope, the people inside the Prius also stand out as unique and eco-friendlier. "Owning a hybrid is all about saying 'Look at what I'm doing for the world,'" says auto analyst John Wolkonowicz of Global Insight. "If you can't say that, the whole purchase is a waste of time." Honda says its redesigned 2009 hybrids will be five-seater cars sold for about $22,000 -- about $1,000 less than a Prius. Honda VP John Mendel admits Toyota has marketed more successfully so far. "The Prius has become synonymous with hybrid; it's the Kleenex of hybrids." Presumably that's a reference to the deep brand-product tie and not a comment on snotty Prius owners. Or maybe it is.

 

I wonder if the Honda FCX hydrogen fuel cell vehicle offers a 'hint' as to what the new Honda Hybrid will look like?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(joe1347 @ Aug 28 2007, 03:24 PM) [snapback]503462[/snapback]</div>

That looks just like a Prius that spent a little too much time under the heat lamps. :lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(N_IL_Priusfan @ Aug 28 2007, 05:53 PM) [snapback]503447[/snapback]</div>

Then again, maybe the whole image thing is the press or "market researchers" who think they know what us hybrid drivers really want. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

"Larva" ?! That's a new one. How long before we see "maggot"?
.
_H*

 

Honda would never release a car that looks like that. Why? Because it looks too good. It looks just like every other concept car that comes out recently. I'm glad that Honda wants to compete again, but I'm remaining quite skeptical since they haven't really said anything on the car other that it's going to go up against the Prius and will be under $$22,000, or so they say. I haven't heard anything on it's potential gas mileage. I don't need exact numbers, but if it's only 1-2 MPG better than the Prius then they are gonna have to lower that price a bit more, or make the car bigger and more powerful.