Honda Car Forum

Honda took the industry-standard beating last month, emerging with "only" a 35.4 percent sales drop. Unsurprisingly, Honda's hot Fit kept its head above water: sales increased 2.3 percent in February. Accord and Civic were both down over 30 points. In the SUV category, only the CR-V escaped 40 percent or higher year-on-year monthly sales loss [...]
Read More: Honda February Sales Slide 35 Percent | The Truth About Cars

On Mar 6, 2:14*am, sjmmail2000-...@yahoo.co.uk wrote:
> Honda took the industry-standard beating last month

as opposed to Subaru whose sales, at least in the USA, rose slightly.
point being that Subaru, by focusing its efforts on core products, is
able to offer exceptional value.
Honda, like other auto makers, decided it wanted to offer a wider
range of products and developed trucks and expensive cars that are now
dragging the company down. image how much better the Accord could be
if Honda hadn't wasted R&D on a $50K sedan or a lineup of $30 - $40K
trucks that now sit in inventory. I figure the Accord would offer many
of the features now available in the $35K TL.

ACAR <dimndsonmywndshld@yahoo.com> wrote in news:7719953f-7bf8-4579-bc46-
11a3d697f887@s36g2000vbp.googlegroups.com:

> On Mar 6, 2:14*am, sjmmail2000-...@yahoo.co.uk wrote:
>> Honda took the industry-standard beating last month
>
> as opposed to Subaru whose sales, at least in the USA, rose slightly.
> point being that Subaru, by focusing its efforts on core products, is
> able to offer exceptional value.
> Honda, like other auto makers, decided it wanted to offer a wider
> range of products and developed trucks and expensive cars that are now
> dragging the company down. image how much better the Accord could be
> if Honda hadn't wasted R&D on a $50K sedan or a lineup of $30 - $40K
> trucks that now sit in inventory. I figure the Accord would offer many
> of the features now available in the $35K TL.
>
>
>



I understand the only model actually making money for Honda right now is
the Fit.

However, Honda is well-placed for when the economy eventually recovers.
And, like Toyota, they have plenty of cash to help them wait this out.


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

"Tegger" <invalid@invalid.inv> wrote in message
news:Xns9BC655ADA942tegger@208.90.168.18...

> However, Honda is well-placed for when the economy eventually
> recovers.
> And, like Toyota, they have plenty of cash to help them wait this
> out.

So why is Toyota begging the Japanese goverment for money (just like
GM)?

Ed

I assume we are talking about the land that created the current credit
crunch/crisis/recession?

"C. E. White" <cewhite3@removemindspring.com> wrote in news:49b12ca1$1
@kcnews01:

>
> "Tegger" <invalid@invalid.inv> wrote in message
> news:Xns9BC655ADA942tegger@208.90.168.18...
>
>> However, Honda is well-placed for when the economy eventually
>> recovers.
>> And, like Toyota, they have plenty of cash to help them wait this
>> out.
>
> So why is Toyota begging the Japanese goverment for money (just like
> GM)?
>
> Ed
>
>
>



1) If free money might be handed out, you'd be a fool not to try and get
some for yourself, even if you don't really need it.

2) All the Japanese automakers are suffering in their home market, which is
pretty much permanently in the tank and requires constant government
intervention to exist in the first place..


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

"Tegger" <invalid@invalid.inv> wrote in message
news:Xns9BC689E3B4E48tegger@208.90.168.18...
> "C. E. White" <cewhite3@removemindspring.com> wrote in
> news:49b12ca1$1
> @kcnews01:
>
>>
>> "Tegger" <invalid@invalid.inv> wrote in message
>> news:Xns9BC655ADA942tegger@208.90.168.18...
>>
>>> However, Honda is well-placed for when the economy eventually
>>> recovers.
>>> And, like Toyota, they have plenty of cash to help them wait this
>>> out.
>>
>> So why is Toyota begging the Japanese goverment for money (just
>> like
>> GM)?
>>
>> Ed
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
> 1) If free money might be handed out, you'd be a fool not to try and
> get
> some for yourself, even if you don't really need it.
>
> 2) All the Japanese automakers are suffering in their home market,
> which is
> pretty much permanently in the tank and requires constant government
> intervention to exist in the first place..

So we trash GM for doing what Japanese car makers do all the time?
Suppose the US Govvernment protected the US market the way the
Japanese did in the past openly and still do through non-tariff means
today. Don't you think GM might be in a stronger postion then?

Ed

"ACAR" <dimndsonmywndshld@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:7719953f-7bf8-4579-bc46-11a3d697f887@s36g2000vbp.googlegroups.com...
On Mar 6, 2:14 am, sjmmail2000-...@yahoo.co.uk wrote:
> Honda took the industry-standard beating last month

as opposed to Subaru whose sales, at least in the USA, rose slightly.
point being that Subaru, by focusing its efforts on core products, is
able to offer exceptional value.
Honda, like other auto makers, decided it wanted to offer a wider
range of products and developed trucks and expensive cars that are now
dragging the company down. image how much better the Accord could be
if Honda hadn't wasted R&D on a $50K sedan or a lineup of $30 - $40K
trucks that now sit in inventory. I figure the Accord would offer many
of the features now available in the $35K TL.

Had a new TL pass me a couple of days ago on I 75 on the way to work. I
could not help thinking how ugly the car is -- particularly from the back.
The old TL was a real winner on the other hand in my view. But, our local
Honda dealer is not desperate at all -- our local unemployment rate is
running at 6.7%, so he must be selling despite no discounts. I am looking
at a Hyundai for my daughter rather than a Fit for 16k or so.

"C. E. White" <cewhite3@removemindspring.com> wrote in news:49b17d42$1
@kcnews01:

>
> "Tegger" <invalid@invalid.inv> wrote in message
> news:Xns9BC689E3B4E48tegger@208.90.168.18...
>> "C. E. White" <cewhite3@removemindspring.com> wrote in
>> news:49b12ca1$1
>> @kcnews01:
>>
>>>
>>> "Tegger" <invalid@invalid.inv> wrote in message
>>> news:Xns9BC655ADA942tegger@208.90.168.18...
>>>
>>>> However, Honda is well-placed for when the economy eventually
>>>> recovers.
>>>> And, like Toyota, they have plenty of cash to help them wait this
>>>> out.
>>>
>>> So why is Toyota begging the Japanese goverment for money (just
>>> like
>>> GM)?
>>>
>>> Ed
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 1) If free money might be handed out, you'd be a fool not to try and
>> get
>> some for yourself, even if you don't really need it.
>>
>> 2) All the Japanese automakers are suffering in their home market,
>> which is
>> pretty much permanently in the tank and requires constant government
>> intervention to exist in the first place..
>
> So we trash GM for doing what Japanese car makers do all the time?




Who's "we"? Have I ever trashed GM?

GM did screw itself by giving in to the union in the '80s, which is
mostly what got them into the current mess. Caterpillar, as a contrast,
never gave in to its union back then, endured a lengthy and bitter
strike (which Cat won), and is far stronger than GM today.




> Suppose the US Govvernment protected the US market the way the
> Japanese did in the past openly and still do through non-tariff means
> today. Don't you think GM might be in a stronger postion then?
>



Nope. GM might be stronger, but we'd be weaker as a whole. Trade
protectionism does not benefit anybody except the companies that end up
with that lucrative monopoly or near monopoly. Trade protectionaism
means you end up paying more for less, subsidizing the companies that
benefit from the protectionism.

If the Jap auto companies had to rely exclusively on their own market,
they'd be entirely creatures of the state, like the former British auto
industry.


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

C. E. White wrote:
> "Tegger" <invalid@invalid.inv> wrote in message
> news:Xns9BC655ADA942tegger@208.90.168.18...
>
>> However, Honda is well-placed for when the economy eventually
>> recovers.
>> And, like Toyota, they have plenty of cash to help them wait this
>> out.
>
> So why is Toyota begging the Japanese goverment for money (just like
> GM)?

Pretty ballsy of GM to beg the Japanese for $$$, I'd say.