Merc1

A very good article on Honda and their Acura luxury brand in the U.S. market. BMW is also mentioned. Some interesting tidbits:

H onda Motor Co.'s Asimo is no ordinary robot. With its latest upgrade, the 4-foot Asimo, who occasionally greets visitors in English and Japanese at Honda's Tokyo headquarters, can calculate how fast people are walking and keep pace with them.

The same ingenuity and engineering skill that produced Asimo have pushed Honda to the forefront in developing futuristic fuel-cell cars. As volatile gas prices are shifting U.S. consumers' interest to more fuel-efficient models, Honda is the only automaker with a fuel-cell car certified for U.S. retail buyers, and it has leased two hydrogen-powered FCX cars to customers to monitor their performance under real-life conditions.

Honda fast facts
North American headquarters: Torrance, Calif.
No. of plants in North America: 12, with 9 in the U.S., including 3 vehicle assembly plants, an engine factory and 2 transmission plants. A fourth U.S. vehicle assembly plant is expected to open in 2008.
No. of workers in North America: 27,000, including about 21,700 hourly workers and 5,300 salaried employees
No. of dealers in North America: 1,286, including 1,018 Honda stores and 268 Acura retailers
Top-selling models in U.S.: Accord sedan, Civic small car, CR-V small SUV, Odyssey minivan, Pilot SUV
2006 U.S. vehicle sales: 1.5 million
2006 U.S. vehicle production: 974,380

It seems natural to lump Toyota and Honda together. But while they share many similarities, there are striking differences. Toyota is a powerful, process-driven company whose production system has become the template for manufacturers the world over.

"Toyota is more aggressive than Honda is," said Jeffrey Scharf of Scharf Investments, a Santa Cruz, Calif.-based investment firm that holds Honda and Toyota shares.

"I think it's a management difference."

While some Toyota executives say they don't care if the automaker is ranked No. 1 or No. 2, the company does seem driven by growth. Last December, Toyota said it expected to sell 9.34 million vehicles in 2007 -- more than any automaker has ever sold in a year.

The company has always been run by engineers, like Fukui, who design all sorts of things with motors. In addition to cars, Honda's product range includes motorcycles, lawn mowers, robots and now jets.

Executives at other automakers say it's clear what the company stands for.

"In all fields, from grass-cutting to auxiliary power units, the core competence of Honda is engines," said Michael Ganal, board member and sales director of BMW AG.

Toyota's scale gives it another big advantage over Honda in the race to develop new technologies. It is turning out to be a very costly contest because automakers are pursuing several different avenues, ranging from ethanol-powered vehicles to clean diesels and various types of hybrids.

Over the years, Honda executives have repeatedly ruled out mergers, disappointing investors who fantasize about a BMW-Honda pairing.

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M

bmer

How well does Acura do against Lexus and Infiniti? Acura doesn't have a V8, does it? What about Honda, do they have a V8?

Merc1

Well neither of them does anything against Lexus when it comes to sales.

No Honda/Acura doesn't have a V8 and the Acura RL (Honda Legend) is dead last in the mid-size segment in sales. Many say because it doesn't have a V8but that is just part of its problem.

Acura outsells Infiniti, only because they have more models that are cheaper.

M

BMW_Dude

Not sure I'd like BMW and Honda to join up!

I suppose it would combine the Japanese build quality with german design!

Nice read, thanks for posting!

Merc1

Just to give an idea of Acura RL (Honda Legend) sales in the U.S. For Feb 2007:

BMW 5-Series 3,482
MB E-Class 3,053
Infiniti M 1,961
Lexus GS 1,563
Cadillac STS 1,472
Audi A6 893
Volvo S80 580
Acura RL 395 -----> Dead Last!


M

BMW_Dude

Man, those sales look bad, wonder if acura will come to europe like infiniti is doing!

Deutsch

Whaa... BMW-Honda???? Anyway, this article was a good read. Between the two I must say that Honda has more products that cater to the enthusiast than Toyota, not to mention I think the pricing is slightly better. At the end of the day though, i just have more trust in Toyota to purchase a car from them.

Merc1

Why do you "trust" Toyota more?

M

Deutsch

I've studied their production system and their corporate structure, so I feel as if I know the company better. I've also known countless Toyota owners who've had nothing but positive experiences w/ their cars. Seems like a car you can always count on.

NarutoRamen

Deutsch...while Toyota is a good company, all the products they make are just bland. I don't think I've ever been in love with any toyota in the US besides the Supra. But even then the supra hasn't been that high on my list of Japanese Favourites. Even though Toyota sells more cars than Honda, the press has always praised the Honda more. I rarely ever seen a Toyota car rank higher than it's Honda counterpart in magazine tests. Case in point the Honda accord...for many many years now it has been getting more awards than almost any car out there. The only reason Honda doesn't get as much press as Toyota is because they aren't as big as Toyota and don't have as many models. But technologically, no japanese company can touch honda. Honda in involved in bikes, boats, cars, jets, electronics, technology (asimo robot), various different types of racing (f1, motogp, etc).

Example: This is from honda.com

"The Accord has been named to Car and Driver's "10Best" list—again. This marks the 21st time in the last 25 years that the Accord has won this prestigious award—more than any other vehicle in the award's history. The full lineup of Accord vehicles was honored by Car and Driver for always being at the top of the charts in fit and finish, ergonomics, road manners, reliability, and resale value."