Last month, Honda new car deliveries plunged 38.9% compared to January 2010. Ouch. Acura's plummeted 19.8%. Ouch again...
I remember days not too long ago when Honda was the brand that talked the talk and walked the walk. In my neighbourhood alone, I can count 4 Civics, 3 Fits, 2 CR-Vs, 1 Pilot, 1 Odyssey and even one delectable Prelude. The most recent car of the lot is a 2009 Fit. The others are much older, dating back, on average, to 2006. In my mind, this is an educational image from Honda's glorious past. Business was good five years ago but it seems evident as though the good times are a thing of the past.
I asked myself how this could be: “How could Honda sink so low?” Have they lost their way? Are they doing something wrong? Although I can't formally answer these questions, I thought I'd take a picture of what the Auto123.com fleet is like now and compare it to how it looked like 5 years ago. Just for fun...
Knowing full-well that Hondas have always (or at least did) hit the grade, I surveyed the 17 people present on a blizzard-like morning. The enquiry was simple: “Do you or have you owned a Honda in the last 5 years that was no older than 5 years old (at one point or another in time, most of us have called a Civic our own).
The very un-scientific results were interesting. I found that 6 out of the 17 (35.2%) were Honda owners in the last half-decade. Of the 6, only 2 currently drive a Honda however, both will be getting new wheels in the next 12 months and neither will be heading to a Honda dealer.
In a nutshell, these 6 people (varying in age from 24 to 52) stated that Honda's showroom held no desirable products for them. The other interesting fact was that 5 of the 6 people actually did or do call a Civic their own. The other person drove around in an Element, and we all know what happened to that beast. Of the 5, 3 moved on to other compact cars and the others, to different categories.
This is, to me, a clear indication of the Civic's importance in Honda's lineup. Want more proof? Last year, of the 123,730 cars Honda Canada sold, 57,501 were Civics. 46.47% of all Hondas delivered in 2010 were Civics...
My guess is that as long as the new Civic remains a “future product”, Honda sales will continue to decline.
I remember days not too long ago when Honda was the brand that talked the talk and walked the walk. In my neighbourhood alone, I can count 4 Civics, 3 Fits, 2 CR-Vs, 1 Pilot, 1 Odyssey and even one delectable Prelude. The most recent car of the lot is a 2009 Fit. The others are much older, dating back, on average, to 2006. In my mind, this is an educational image from Honda's glorious past. Business was good five years ago but it seems evident as though the good times are a thing of the past.
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| 2005 Honda Civic (Photo: Honda) |
I asked myself how this could be: “How could Honda sink so low?” Have they lost their way? Are they doing something wrong? Although I can't formally answer these questions, I thought I'd take a picture of what the Auto123.com fleet is like now and compare it to how it looked like 5 years ago. Just for fun...
Knowing full-well that Hondas have always (or at least did) hit the grade, I surveyed the 17 people present on a blizzard-like morning. The enquiry was simple: “Do you or have you owned a Honda in the last 5 years that was no older than 5 years old (at one point or another in time, most of us have called a Civic our own).
The very un-scientific results were interesting. I found that 6 out of the 17 (35.2%) were Honda owners in the last half-decade. Of the 6, only 2 currently drive a Honda however, both will be getting new wheels in the next 12 months and neither will be heading to a Honda dealer.
In a nutshell, these 6 people (varying in age from 24 to 52) stated that Honda's showroom held no desirable products for them. The other interesting fact was that 5 of the 6 people actually did or do call a Civic their own. The other person drove around in an Element, and we all know what happened to that beast. Of the 5, 3 moved on to other compact cars and the others, to different categories.
 |
| 2008 Honda Civic (Photo: Luc Gagné/Auto123.com) |
This is, to me, a clear indication of the Civic's importance in Honda's lineup. Want more proof? Last year, of the 123,730 cars Honda Canada sold, 57,501 were Civics. 46.47% of all Hondas delivered in 2010 were Civics...
My guess is that as long as the new Civic remains a “future product”, Honda sales will continue to decline.