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I've just recenty been reading reviews about car comparisons and what not, and realized that sometimes companies like to cash in on the reputation of a certain product.

For example, back in early 90's, BMW & Mercedes were getting KILLED by Lexus, who provided superior cars at lower costs. They thought their preteige name plate would get them by, while Lexus was doing major research & development to bring better cars to the consumers.

It seems that Honda & Toyota are sort of doing the same thing today. For example, the new Camry, a nice looking car, is not exactly ground breaking. It has a 190HP V6 engine (weak by today's standards) and a 4-speed auto. Sure, nobody will argue the fact that it's an IMPROVED car over the last Camry. Bigger, more supple, roomier, etc... but nothing class leading.

Why? Because does not HAVE to. It's already the #1 selling vehicle in North America. On the other hand, the new Honda Accord is going to raise the benchmark. It's vastly superior to the Camry in almost every way. Why? Because it desperately wants to steal the #1 spot.

On the flip side of the coin, Honda is being lazy with Civics. Again, it's an improvement over the 6th Gen. Slightly more power, slightly roomier, slightly better gas mileage... but compared to the competition, it's no longer the benchmark. The new Corolla, for instance, out does the Civic in almost every way--sort of like Accord to Camry. It's quicker, handles better, quieter, better interior materials among other things. They desperately want to over throw Civic form it's sales throne.

Sometimes it's better to buy the 2nd place product--only because they try harder.

 
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yea man your 100% right....i totally agree with you
that was a pretty good "article" heh
oh and nice sig, i like it [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]
[IMG]i/expressions/beer_yum.gif[/IMG]

 
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Yup, I agree with that statement. It's always better for the consumer to get a product that is trying to take over the #1 spot in whatever market. Usually it's better quality.

 
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Totally agree with u, when r u comming to a can east meet so u can tell us these things in person, the stories too

 
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haha, hope theres another meet in mississauga, everyone ok with KK?

 
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I've been to only 1 mini-meet.. it was sorta lame though, nobody showed and it even rained.. at least I got to meet up with VicLX & Andoy. That last meet looked really good, but I was working so I couldn't go. I'd love to goto one at night, that's when I'm usually free.

 
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Your title of this post and my Sig disagree with each other... [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/IMG]

 
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I am not so sure that honda is trying to take 1st place with the accord. I was just reading an article in "Automotive News" and honda is in the process of converting it's manufacturing facilities to produce multiple models on the same line. They don't believe that their sales are going to increase significantly or even at all. Their goal is to maintain the current volume. I think they are starting to shy away from going strictly volume and are concentrating on flexibility to make them more profitable in the years to come.

I think this is a smart move as the market is and will continue to be broken down into smaller and smaller niches.

Oh, and overall, I would have to agree that the corolla is a nicer car than the civic. I just don't care for the looks or the interior.

Honda made a big booboo with this civic. I think the looks and interior are fine. It's the quality issues that knocked it off the top if you ask me. You know what they say though, "the only thing harder than getting to the top is staying there."

 
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I agree with wat the thread is called, "2nd Place is a GOOD thing!
P.S. Nice SIG

 
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Yea I hear ya man. I agree with you everything up to the Corolla. I mean I used to drive a 01 Si and than I totalled it and got the lowest model Corolla. I wasn't expecting much with the car, but I was suprised to find the car faster and accelerates better than my Si

I mean I paid $27,000 Can. for the Si, and $22,000 for the Corolla, yet it outperforms the car with a smooth and quiet engine. Yes I do know a lot of cars are faster than the civic, but I surely didn't expect a Corolla to be faster. Maybe because it has to do with the area I live, but everywhere I see a Corolla, it's normally old people that drives one so that's why I have this mentality that it's bulky and slow, but it sure ain't!

I think Honda should forget the stupid HP/Litre thing, and just make some decent engines! I mean for god's sakes, the 6th Gen. Si has the same horsepower as the 7th Gen. Normally, newer generations are suppose to be faster/better than the version before, but in this case, they downgraded the suspension (going back in time with Struts.....), same HP, and a slight improvement to torque... They should experiment with the engines....I mean they should up the displacement to say 2.4 L, and they can probably produce a decent 250ish HP, and I would be more than happy to have an engine like that in a DC5 or a V6 engine.

 
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My 2 cents: I test drove a corolla (the new "sport" one) and it felt like a complete POS. I didn't trust the brakes at all. It had decent accelleration, but not as good as the civic or jetta. The nicest things i can say about it is it kicked the crap out of the mirage and sportage.

 
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u paid 27000 for the Si??wow, i paid 24500 with extended warranty, but i void all anyways

 
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I also love his sig...[IMG]i/expressions/beer_yum.gif[/IMG]

 
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I agree with you about the looks and the quality issues about the Civic. Looks wise, they did a fantastic job. It looks throughly modern, but you can instantly recognize it as a Civic from afar. Ever since I owned mine, I've been receiving nothing but compliments!

I'm not sure how they have changed in the year 2003, but for the 2001 models, there were some problems that raise eyebrows--most noteablely the interior rattles, viberation noise in rain, and durabiltity of the transmission. Car & Driver recently pointed out that the Civic rattled the most out of 8 cars, and it was 2003 model that they tested, which is shocking. Some of the competition were made by companies with much worse reputation, namely Hyundai Elantra and Ford Focus. I thought they might have sorted out these kinds of issues by now, but I guess not. I think Civic itself is still a success. They are still outselling the Corolla and now offer 3 different body styles (4 soon, when the 5-door hatch arrives). I just hope they clean up their act before they lose the customer's loyalty.

As for the importance of sales domination, I think it's VERY important to Honda. That image of "#1 Selling Car in North America" is very prestiegous and works for marketing very well. Even though the numbers are so close it's practically a tie, the public doesn't see those numbers so only the ranking matters. Sales ranking is particularly important to invite non-traditional import car buyers into having a look at their products. Typical assumption is that if it out-sells any other car on the road, it MUST be good.

I think if I was in the market for a work full size pick-up truck, even though initially I would check out the Toyota Tundra, I would definitely go out and test drive the Ford F-150, simply because it's the #1 seller. 2,000,000 rednecks can't be wrong. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]