Honda Threatened by the Rise of the Koreans

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style "><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_oyVO0m6WmsedLYgf_z7aJAfuZyi97oL0cICfYL55yc6MgOeV7-iT_GjfUIgMoLLOXiVckjc15zSSyPWv1V3hbNOJY-KjxGbeXnvnXJyA11iWLDwKuR3xJanCNaTCDbzZFMDJeyn-3WI/s1600/HONDA_CIVIC_13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_oyVO0m6WmsedLYgf_z7aJAfuZyi97oL0cICfYL55yc6MgOeV7-iT_GjfUIgMoLLOXiVckjc15zSSyPWv1V3hbNOJY-KjxGbeXnvnXJyA11iWLDwKuR3xJanCNaTCDbzZFMDJeyn-3WI/s640/HONDA_CIVIC_13.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><!-- adsense -->If there is one Japanese company that can lay claim to having a reputation for innovation and advanced engineering, it is </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Honda</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">. </span> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">It is a reputation built over more than 30 years, starting from the first generation of the Civic in the ‘70s and continuing throughout the years with novelties such as VTEC, the futuristic first generation Insight hybrid back in 1999, the S2000's high-revving 120HP-per-liter engine, the first practical supercar, the NSX – and the list goes on. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">However, something seems to have changed, and not for the better.</span> <a href="http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2011/08/honda-threatened-by-rise-of-koreans.html" name="more"></a> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In the USA, the Civic enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a reliable, frugal and well-made car. But when the new </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Civic </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">sedan and coupe made their debut at the New York Motor Show last April, pundits were less than impressed. Then came the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Consumer Reports test</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, and all hell broke loose. </span> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">While the Civic's predecessors had often been Consumer Reports’ highest rated small sedans as well as "Top Picks" in five of the last 10 years, the new model scored too low to be "Recommended". To make a bad situation worse, it was placed second-to-last in CR’s ratings of 12 small sedans, followed only by the revamped Volkswagen Jetta. </span> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Is it because Honda decided to cut corners in designing the ninth generation of the Civic, reducing costs and, in the process, quality, or is it that the competition like Hyundai’s </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Elantra</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, have improved greatly in their latest iterations, catching up and even surpassing the establishment?</span> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">“When I saw the interior of the new Civic, it worried me” Tatsuo Yoshida, an auto analyst at UBS Securities, told Reuters. “The mileage was impressive. But Korean brands are upping the ante with game-changing improvements to their cars’ interior. For people buying a new car for the first time, they are becoming an increasingly attractive option”. </span> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">A more worrying prospect is the one expressed by Edmunds.com analyst Bill Visnic: that Honda is slowly, but surely, losing its character: “Honda built its reputation on engineering excellence. They are now becoming kind of a very normal car company”. </span> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">American sales are very important to Honda since the US is its biggest market, accounting for almost 30% of its global sales. </span> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">But the game is far from over as in 2010, Honda held a 10.7 percent share of the U.S. car market making it the country's number four automaker with three of its core models, the Civic, the Accord and the CR-V, occupying the first or second place of their respective segments. </span> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Moreover, it seems that </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Hyundai</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> is not stealing so many sales from Honda as the Civic's share in its segment has grown 2.7% in the last four years. </span> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Apparently, the Koreans are filling in the void left by defunct brands like GM's Saturn and Pontiac. Moreover, it is difficult to judge buyers’ reaction to the new Civic since the March 11 earthquake in Japan has reduced inventory for all Japanese brands, with Honda’s US sales recording a 10% drop so far this year</span> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Even if sales of the Civic improve, Honda needs to do something fast. According to J.D. Power, Honda’s main strength was its consistently high ranking in durability and reliability studies. That's what convinced many buyers to choose one of the firm's cars. In J.D. Power's latest report published in June, Honda still held the number one spot among the mass-market brands. In contrast, Hyundai ranked below average.</span> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">However, in another study that measures overall appeal, J.D. Power reported that Hyundai was the most improved brand: “Reliability is important,” admitted J.D. Power’s director of automotive research Raffi Festekjian. “But you know what? You still need to make a vehicle than is appealing, fun to drive and comfortable to sit in”. Unfortunately for Honda, in this survey it was fourth from the bottom.</span> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Our take is that Honda needs to reinvent itself by bringing back some of the engineering magic that made its products stand out from the crowd and devote more resources on the design aspect of its cars as styling is becoming an increasingly important factor in consumer choice these days.</span> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The Japanese company could communicate these changes with the introduction of one or more "halo" cars such as a replacement for the S2000 before applying them on mainstream models like the Civic. Lets not forget, Honda established the reputation of being an innovative automaker with cars like the S2000 and the NSX (sold as an Acura in North America but as a Honda in the rest of the world). </span></div><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style "><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span></div><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style "><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><i style="color: #990000;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">PHOTO GALLERY</span></b></i> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAyLcv66l-QUo7plrxZ8bVD8apB6E0Y7feu8ZuMKLbTpqEZQeFv3BC68SW6NG1nvV9AXTaaCjmRKCK1tvdP95ibEnf1sfdfclIQZsmB8huMsoksf0vyiJAdeci5kgSSGDkaw34Er4WG9s/s1600/HONDA_CIVIC_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAyLcv66l-QUo7plrxZ8bVD8apB6E0Y7feu8ZuMKLbTpqEZQeFv3BC68SW6NG1nvV9AXTaaCjmRKCK1tvdP95ibEnf1sfdfclIQZsmB8huMsoksf0vyiJAdeci5kgSSGDkaw34Er4WG9s/s400/HONDA_CIVIC_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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Honda Threatened by the Rise of the Koreans

If there is one Japanese company that can lay claim to having a reputation for innovation and advanced engineering, it is Honda . It is a ...

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GM is World’s Number One Automaker, Toyota Drops to 3rd Place

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style "><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSw1_QZDrXFkwLjw709bNfJphAfJGsEv02a2DFxTv2czrJQCqGQovbUt4vzQ18OMGWj9VX_tx72CRd-qPrJvqGk5W4pdAA82c_JRgoG6ndq7nMT2WhASyXcfD38qAXLYG0girkgxMl5zU/s1600/Chevrolet_Cruze_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSw1_QZDrXFkwLjw709bNfJphAfJGsEv02a2DFxTv2czrJQCqGQovbUt4vzQ18OMGWj9VX_tx72CRd-qPrJvqGk5W4pdAA82c_JRgoG6ndq7nMT2WhASyXcfD38qAXLYG0girkgxMl5zU/s640/Chevrolet_Cruze_0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><a class="addthis_button_facebook_like" fb:like:layout="button_count" href=""><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><!-- adsense -->Well, it was almost certain to happen after the March 11 earthquake and Tsunami hit Japan causing multiple problems to the country's automotive industry. </span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Toyota</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, the world’s largest carmaker, saw its production drop by 23% to 3.37 million units for the first half of the year - and includes sales of Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino vehicles.</span> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">As a result, the Japanese company lost the title of the world’s largest automaker that it held since 2008 to </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">General Motors,</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> which saw its sales rise by 8.9% to 4.536 million units for the first six months of 2011. For the time being, second place goes to the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Volkswagen Group</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> which sold 4.13 million units worldwide.</span> <a href="http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2011/08/gm-is-worlds-number-one-automaker.html" name="more"></a> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Toyota has announced that </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">its factories already operate at 90% of their capacity</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> since June and expects production to fully recover by November. Moreover, it will produce an additional 350,000 units from October until next March to make up for the lost ground. </span> <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">However, analysts like Carnorama’s Takeshi Miyao, don't believe that Toyota can recuperate quickly: “Even if it recovers production it will take another few more months for sales to recover too, as it takes time to deliver the cars to the dealers. Therefore, Toyota may even trail VW in the full year as well”. </span> <br /></div><script type="text/javascript"><br />var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true};<br /></script> <script src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=snakenoise" type="text/javascript"><br /></script><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI-0lrnxnP5AhQTqQg1DsA2UEMy5qztuh_zm13JO9fZ4X6WIuuzC4t6iq4s5gQcIPVyE-whofYAmlDK64xSJEWheK1WqpG6O-ccm9BgZXHrbXC6WcolIik5vhqTsTFeApnnnXIEluAqYc/s1600/Toyota_Production_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI-0lrnxnP5AhQTqQg1DsA2UEMy5qztuh_zm13JO9fZ4X6WIuuzC4t6iq4s5gQcIPVyE-whofYAmlDK64xSJEWheK1WqpG6O-ccm9BgZXHrbXC6WcolIik5vhqTsTFeApnnnXIEluAqYc/s400/Toyota_Production_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Read more In <b><a href="http://carsandtec.blogspot.com/" target="_new" title="cars">Cars</a></b></div>

GM is World’s Number One Automaker, Toyota Drops to 3rd Place

Well, it was almost certain to happen after the March 11 earthquake and Tsunami hit Japan causing multiple problems to the country's a...

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Mazda2 First-Month Sales in Japan Exceed More than 100%

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style "><a class="addthis_button_facebook_like" fb:like:layout="button_count" href=""></a> <a class="addthis_button_tweet" href=""></a> <a class="addthis_counter addthis_pill_style" href=""></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjpH_voUU1SOQJ9zvjMJb1BxgDNxIKC9669V53-FagwgT5pI3VkPj7OjFEyRwkvl4LLS-oibzd9GJVa3nrEH580TGdlk1jKdD5Qj2a_uVVrhcHXpRnXxe0gg7b_lMGrz3tOz9zVQ9cjw/s1600/MAZDA2_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwjpH_voUU1SOQJ9zvjMJb1BxgDNxIKC9669V53-FagwgT5pI3VkPj7OjFEyRwkvl4LLS-oibzd9GJVa3nrEH580TGdlk1jKdD5Qj2a_uVVrhcHXpRnXxe0gg7b_lMGrz3tOz9zVQ9cjw/s640/MAZDA2_0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><!-- adsense -->Mazda has announced that orders for the subtly revised </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Mazda Demio</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">, or Mazda2 as is known overseas, in its first month of being available in Japan have far exceeded their initial target. Specifically, from June 30, when the Demio became available, until July 31, orders have reached 13,500 units, more than double Mazda’s initial estimate of 6,000.</span><a href="http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2011/08/revised-mazda2-first-month-sales-in.html" name="more" style="color: #990000; text-decoration: none;"></a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">And that’s only private customers, excluding rental or dealer test drive models. The Demio is also the first </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Mazda </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">model to exceed 10,000 registrations in a single month since March 2004.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">As expected, the new 13-SKYACTIVE model accounts for the vast majority of sales, since it has been the model of choice for 70% of the orders, surpassing initial projections of 60%.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Mazda's senior managing executive officer in charge of domestic business, Nobuhide Inamoto, said, "Mazda is extremely grateful for the strong support from so many customers who have pushed sales of the facelifted Demio well beyond our sales plan. Mazda's next-generation SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY is also proving popular and we are confident that it will have a positive impact on our overall sales in Japan."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">“Following the Demio, we will continue the rollout of our breakthrough SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY with the facelifted </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Mazda Axela</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> (Mazda3) this fall and the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">all-new Mazda CX-5</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> next year".</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Demio’s customers are mostly single men and women, as well as people over 40 who are downsizing to a smaller, more efficient cars. They cite the reasons for their choice as the Demio’s fuel economy (as low as 3.33 lt/100 or 70.6 mpg in the Japanese driving cycle), its advanced technology and its quiet cabin.</span><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>PHOTO GALLERY</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kPY8bUG75cokBPMkVLpA8nnL43so9xj01UxAgz1GCNzqeKs0I7wS6Ws0v7t03wrGdr4Ud70vYKH985myrhDxRlV9o-7b8dv_sbSxqG0CNNgXUELfKoMQhDR7armxMAAtio3lriyh76Q/s1600/MAZDA_CX-5_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kPY8bUG75cokBPMkVLpA8nnL43so9xj01UxAgz1GCNzqeKs0I7wS6Ws0v7t03wrGdr4Ud70vYKH985myrhDxRlV9o-7b8dv_sbSxqG0CNNgXUELfKoMQhDR7armxMAAtio3lriyh76Q/s400/MAZDA_CX-5_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicbqcMHvAieUClegbnbCz0CuJxCxDDh9fEEG54o8BnGeYmwgGF5UDVnaHV3YnnR7oRW5OSTmqXVer79WIbCLa8FOPqO4Wa-qPz-Ms53pWL4RqOBCPK23ao6LC3PqkhdS4qKzlGYZZCliM/s1600/MAZDA3_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicbqcMHvAieUClegbnbCz0CuJxCxDDh9fEEG54o8BnGeYmwgGF5UDVnaHV3YnnR7oRW5OSTmqXVer79WIbCLa8FOPqO4Wa-qPz-Ms53pWL4RqOBCPK23ao6LC3PqkhdS4qKzlGYZZCliM/s400/MAZDA3_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhApX4dgvqe6H-KhY5nFjVfcGkrckt1x96TSGGo55rWwOKFPnVHduSGNtOhsliAyzjrvhsHJMjqdRA_-_Gxw6fAJ9_FFGYtYQO4x0Y57P6-rlP9rgddV-2HIPaw_wezOBqsJq_c1nEFkw/s1600/MAZDA2_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhApX4dgvqe6H-KhY5nFjVfcGkrckt1x96TSGGo55rWwOKFPnVHduSGNtOhsliAyzjrvhsHJMjqdRA_-_Gxw6fAJ9_FFGYtYQO4x0Y57P6-rlP9rgddV-2HIPaw_wezOBqsJq_c1nEFkw/s400/MAZDA2_4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxifr5rR3EwEHTZRwdgrMI9OY7ugnXeT3-ZW71oPOH6yhI8WLcwIg9Pemd4mqoMD1IyTC7zXWcTOphehtjo1nXLR0SOG9tdj7UOq012FB2lDnrk9rh_7DbGMIHI4nUefq7Ykf5pm8f7bg/s1600/MAZDA2_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxifr5rR3EwEHTZRwdgrMI9OY7ugnXeT3-ZW71oPOH6yhI8WLcwIg9Pemd4mqoMD1IyTC7zXWcTOphehtjo1nXLR0SOG9tdj7UOq012FB2lDnrk9rh_7DbGMIHI4nUefq7Ykf5pm8f7bg/s400/MAZDA2_3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikP8D7ZT5hyphenhyphenhoo_zqC8qhDHqST2U3svYTeTIpsIqyA-r9r-mBaj63bS3-1XdJkClCipmd8W3hx1x80anPXIHKJXQWxMebuAI2WKHnN84fgHTeELXvJKRHabbW5t6sIiKtAzQDSMAS3t1M/s1600/MAZDA2_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikP8D7ZT5hyphenhyphenhoo_zqC8qhDHqST2U3svYTeTIpsIqyA-r9r-mBaj63bS3-1XdJkClCipmd8W3hx1x80anPXIHKJXQWxMebuAI2WKHnN84fgHTeELXvJKRHabbW5t6sIiKtAzQDSMAS3t1M/s400/MAZDA2_2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><script type="text/javascript"><br />var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true};<br /></script> <script src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=snakenoise" type="text/javascript"><br /></script> Read more In <strong><a href="http://carsandtec.blogspot.com/" target="_new" title="cars">Cars</a></strong></div>

Mazda2 First-Month Sales in Japan Exceed More than 100%

Mazda has announced that orders for the subtly revised  Mazda Demio , or Mazda2 as is known overseas, in its first month of being availab...

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