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Honda's recent launches like the Ridgeline, Insight, Crosstour, and CR-Z have all hit with a resounding thud. Weird styling, larger dimenisons than previous models, and mediocre driving characteristics. Honda used to be about making a simple car that drives well, and they have really moved away from that concept in recent years. Cars like the former Accord Hybrid and upcoming CR-Z are answers to the question that nobody asked. Honda's bread-and-butter, the Accord, looks like it was designed by three or four different stylists. As little as a few years ago, Honda led in areas of interior quality and fuel economy. Now other manufacturers are passing them by. Acura is in even worse shape...that brand has been bleeding market share for years.
Are these privately- or commercially-owned vehicles?
I'm pretty sure the allpar site is privately owned, but that doesn't mean that some of them aren't used in a commercial business, like a plumber or electrician.
The point of the whole thing would be that getting your car to last for a long time has as much to do with driving habits and proper maintenance as it does with how well it is built. In most cases the KISS philosophy prevails and the more basic vehicles are the ones capable of holding up for a long time.
Most overrated? I disagree. I think BMW and Mercedes Benz are the most overrated. Crazy expensive, beautifully built, but mediocre reliability and way too expensive to maintain out of warranty.
I agree. You really are paying for the name with those cars.
Honda's still pretty reliable. Their problem, however, is that their lineup lacks style and they don't seem to be keeping up with a lot of the features offered in other cars. The big threat now isn't Subaru. It's Hyundai. Most Honda owners I know don't care for Toyota and this was before all the brake problems. But many are switching to Hyundai.
When we looked at Honda's, I was struck by how much more expensive they were for less equipment.
No smart key, no Bluetooth, no nothing. And it costs more than other comparable vehicles.
Honda seems to reserve the most advanced electronics for Acura. The CD changer in my Ridgeline won't play MP3 CDs. It would cost a dollar more to add that chip. The audio in the Acura TL is very very good.
As for smart keys - thanks Honda for avoiding some of the silly gimmicks in cars today.
Most people want that stuff. I won't buy another car without smart keys, they're fantastic.
But regardless, it's stupid to charge more (a lot more) for a vehicle significantly less equipped. We looked at a CR-V and it was older, less comfortable, and markedly less features than the Rogue. But it was $2500 more.
Honda's recent launches like the Ridgeline, Insight, Crosstour, and CR-Z have all hit with a resounding thud. Weird styling, larger dimenisons than previous models, and mediocre driving characteristics. Honda used to be about making a simple car that drives well, and they have really moved away from that concept in recent years. Cars like the former Accord Hybrid and upcoming CR-Z are answers to the question that nobody asked. Honda's bread-and-butter, the Accord, looks like it was designed by three or four different stylists. As little as a few years ago, Honda led in areas of interior quality and fuel economy. Now other manufacturers are passing them by. Acura is in even worse shape...that brand has been bleeding market share for years.
Agreed. The Acuras are dog nasty and especially with the Crosstour and CR-Z you have to wonder what someone was thinking there. They used to be at the forefront of innovation and efficiency and I think that bus left the building a while ago.
Honda seems to reserve the most advanced electronics for Acura. The CD changer in my Ridgeline won't play MP3 CDs. It would cost a dollar more to add that chip. The audio in the Acura TL is very very good.
As for smart keys - thanks Honda for avoiding some of the silly gimmicks in cars today.
It used to be that the stuff in the luxury brand would trickle down to the parent company. Reserving the most advanced features may make Acura seem more luxurious, but ultimately, it just makes Honda customers feel shortchanged cause they know how little some of these things cost. For example, turn signal mirrors. One should not have to pay over 30K to get them. As for smart keys, they may seem like a silly gimmick, but I remember people saying the same thing about things like power door locks and power windows. Not having push-button start in 2010 sends the message that you're behind the times. The Toyota Camry, Hyundai Sonata and Ford Taurus offer it, but the Honda Accord doesn't. Sure, it's not really needed. But sometimes the absence of features says more about a brand than their inclusion.
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