Low Honda Sales?

[DCFusor]

In re the comment about Honda pickup truck. I happen to own one, an '07 Ridgeline. I would never have bought it new or used - I inherited it with very low mileage. They are popular around here though, you see them all the time. They get terrible gas mileage (17-18) - I thought mine was broken till I went to their forums about it, and it turns out I'm doing better than most. Yuck!

It's almost as if they tried to make it get lousy mileage. You can't get that auto trans to stay in top gear below 55 going downhill. Lift the throttle, and the doggone thing *downshifts* - almost like regen in the Volt, but obviously without the regen. At least it won't wear out brakes! And this is a 6 cylinder. I've done better mpg with American V-8's. To give due credit, this thing is as close to unstoppable as I've ever seen in snow, mud, etc. But it would probably roll over before it slid on dry pavement - feels dicey cornering.

On the other hand, while being pretty soul-free, it's reliable, quiet (about like the Volt if you don't have your foot in it, maybe better), luxurious, has HEAT, and will actually bring home 4x8 sheets of plywood w/o effort - they fit flat in the bed, which has handy hard points for ratchet straps. It also has a mostly-nice trunk in the bed. Nice if something heavy isn't covering the lid when you need access!
Beats a big theft-attracting space-wasting diamond plate toolbox for sure.

While it is nice to have when you need a truck - I can't see why anyone buys them new, other than when I tried to trade it in for a "real" GM Silverado, it would have cost me so much to "upgrade" a 4wd truck with 6k miles on the clock I couldn't do it - they weren't offering diddly for a trade in or any decent discount on the GM.

Either no one loves these, or everyone thinks they are perfect as is. There is almost zero aftermarket for parts other than a trailer hitch. Just nothing. This is not a sign that there's real fans for it. Every other truck on the market gets at least several pages in all the aftermarket car parts catalogs. This has zero.

[adric22]

OK. I need to set the record straight on this. I used to own a 2011 Insight and I've also owned several Priuses.

First and foremost, Honda did not copy the design of the Prius, rather the other way around. The 2004 Prius styling was direct copy of the 2001 Honda Insight, which was based off of the older Honda CRX style. So if anyone is guilty of copying, it is definitely Toyota.

I liked the Honda insight because it had a traditional instrument panel rather than the center instrument panel of the Prius. I found that I got about 4 mpg more than the EPA estimate in the Insight, where the Prius actually got a few mpg less than the EPA. So in the end they really got about the same fuel economy.

There's no doubt about it, though, the Prius is the better car. The hybrid system in the Honda is primitive by comparison. As others have pointed out, it cannot run the A/C without the engine running. So on a hot summer day you're going to be idling the engine just as much as the regular gas car stuck next to you in the traffic jam.

The Inisght is not all that much cheaper than the Prius, and if you go with a used Prius then you definitely win out.

[saghost]

OK. I need to set the record straight on this. I used to own a 2011 Insight and I've also owned several Priuses.

First and foremost, Honda did not copy the design of the Prius, rather the other way around. The 2004 Prius styling was direct copy of the 2001 Honda Insight, which was based off of the older Honda CRX style. So if anyone is guilty of copying, it is definitely Toyota.

Really?

1st generation Insight:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ho...sight_Back.JPG


2nd generation Prius:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2nd_Toyota_Prius.jpg


2nd generation Insight:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2n...05-13-2011.jpg

To me, there isn't much connection between the first generation Insight and the 2nd Generation Prius - but the second generation Insight looks like a very close copy of the newer 2nd/3rd generation Priuses.

[USe-car]

It got trashed in the reviews when it first came out. From what I recall, it's much cheaper looking inside, rattles more and is loud compared to the Prius. Never mind less MPG and only a couple grand less than the king, Mr Prius.

MrEnergyCzar

That's what I've always read in every review.

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

IMHO...

It's a subcompact so it can only get subcompact sales.
Honda really ****ed up at launch when they tried to upsell the EX by not putting cruise on the LX. The EX was close to the Prius II in price and didn't add anything else important.
Low rear headroom.
Gas prices were low at launch.
EPA ratings suffer from the usual small-engine penalty.
Honda treated Civic Hybrid owners shabbily. That's the key, to me.
Japanese earthquake hit supply just as gas prices rose
Other manufacturers released more efficient and improved conventional subcompacts.
The Prius c.

[Purplegate]

I agree with Adric in above post (and now I know why I knew your forum name... from IC.net ) The Prius was modified for it's second generation to adopt the Insight like style.

I also had an Insight 2nd gen and I ended up with a much better than EPA mileage (54mpg lifetime). And yes, I did adjust my driving style a lot to get there. But the fuel economy can be compared to the Prius. The purchasing price was cheaper than Prius and in my taste, the Insight handling was superior when I test drove both. Bit stiffer, not sloppy like the Prius.

But on the downside, as Adric said, the IMA is primitive. I would almost call it obsolete. But moreover, it's a cheap car (price and build). The interior is cheap, the seats are "low class" level, bit noisy and there are few rattles here and there. Over, that's what killed it to me.

But back to the overall Honda situation, though I don't think they are doing so bad, I could understand the decline by the fact their car line is not renewed. They get to model changes, but it's just more of the same. They need something new to create a "wow factor".

[Ladogaboy]

Simply put, the Honda Insight under performs in almost every category. The only thing it has going for it over the Prius is a lower MSRP. Worse mileage, worse performance, worse interior space, etc. The second generation Insight is one of the examples I quote when pointing out just how underachieving Honda is as an auto manufacturer.

[emartin00]

Simply put, the Honda Insight under performs in almost every category. The only thing it has going for it over the Prius is a lower MSRP. Worse mileage, worse performance, worse interior space, etc. The second generation Insight is one of the examples I quote when pointing out just how underachieving Honda is as an auto manufacturer.

I would agree that the Insight is pretty substandard, but I don't agree that Honda's are all bad. My mom owns a 2012 CRV and it is one of the nicest CUV's out there. She has no problem getting 30mpg with AWD. That's the best out there as far as I know.
A friend of mine just got a brand new Civic and it runs great and is very comfortable with the best MPG in its class.
I think the one thing most foreign cars have over GM is the interior. Other than the Volt, there is not one Chevy vehicle that I like the interior of. They all seam bland and outdated. Th trucks have had essentially the same dash for the last 20 years.

[Ladogaboy]

I would agree that the Insight is pretty substandard, but I don't agree that Honda's are all bad.

I'm not saying that all Hondas are bad, but as a car company, they are chronic underachievers, in my opinion.

My mom owns a 2012 CRV and it is one of the nicest CUV's out there. She has no problem getting 30mpg with AWD. That's the best out there as far as I know.

Just off the top of my head:

Mitsubishi Outlander Sport AWD: EPA 26 mpg combined/29 mpg highway
http://www.edmunds.com/mitsubishi/ou...os=9&mpy=15000

Mazda CX5 AWD: EPA 28 mpg combined/31 mpg highway
http://www.edmunds.com/mazda/cx-5/20...os=9&mpy=15000

Compared to the Honda CRV AWD: EPA 25 mpg combined/30 mpg highway
http://www.edmunds.com/honda/cr-v/20...os=9&mpy=15000

[Steverino]

I like the styling of the Honda Fit. But it doesn't seem to have much power and its, MPG dash readout reminds me of an old monochrome calculator LCD. Awful. Maybe the newer models are better. The EV version is lease only (shades of the EV1), West coast only, and almost as much as a Volt.