ralper

If the Element weren't a Honda would you still like it?

pierceman

NOPE, STYLING AND QUALITY HAVE TO BE THERE

LIL RAJA

i want the element....
somebody give me a damn job.

papadali

I guess it's good for the target market, but the interior is sooo cheap! Not as bad as the Scion interiors...those were even cheaper. Go look at the interior of a Hyundai Santa Fe...it isn't great, but it's better than the Element (not in functionality, but in quality of materials).

Ernie

Probably not. I like the styling but my interest level went up when I found out it was a Honda. It is on my short list of vehicles for this year...It is targeted for the Gen Y'ers but most people buying it are much older than that. I wish they would add a few more comfort features for us old fogies (like remote release for the hatch).

JonBoy

I am thinking that the question is not "Would you buy it", the question is "Would you like it", as in, "Would you still be attracted to its versatility, style (?), performance (?), handiness, etc, etc".

Personally, I wouldn't buy it if it wasn't a Honda BUT I would still think it's a pretty neat vehicle, ie, I'd still like it.

ralper

JonBoy

You are correct. My question was not whether or not people would buy it, it was would people on this board still LIKE it. It occured to me that there is a certain amount of "Honda can do no wrong" mentality on this board. I myself am somewhat guilty of this.

I don't particularly care for the Element (Honda or not) and I wondered how many people would feel the same way if it wasn't a Honda.

In many cases I think that if people could separate the car from the brand they might feel differently about the car. For example, I think many Z-4's will be sold because they are BMWs. If they weren't BMWs people might feel differently about them.

LIL RAJA

if it was a huyandi or kia, i wouldn't buy it. but if it was mazda or nissan or even a GM - I would get it.

JonBoy

I too would not probably buy many Honda vehicles purely on style (new Accord, Civic (except the Si, which isn't bad), even the Pilot), but a Honda is definitely not all about styling (and little else, like many of the Big 3 cars). Personally, I think Mazda has better styling for their "regular" cars (Protege, P5, 6, etc, etc). That said, I think the CL is quite pretty, the TL is elegant yet sporty (in Type-S trim), the RL looks okay (neither good nor bad), the RSX is quite nice, and the NSX and S2000 are of course great looking. So, Honda kind of splits down the middle in terms of nice and not so nice.

I think the reason I am attracted to Hondas is because I know what I'm getting into (more or less). Same goes for Toyota, Mazda, even some Nissans. GM and Ford, on the other hand, seem to have less than stellar quality inside and out, in their regular cars (trucks are a different story, of course). So, I think that most of us really can't help but factor in the quality and value of a Honda when we decide if we like how it looks or not. For instance, I think the SVT Focus looks far and away better than the Civic Si (stock) but I wouldn't buy the Focus in a million years.

So, while I said earlier that I would buy an Element if it wasn't a Honda, this is true only if I could depend on it having good reliability the same as if Honda made it. If I couldn't I wouldn't buy it. I'll never buy a car just for looks alone.

ralper

[QUOTE]Originally posted by JonBoy
[B]
I think the reason I am attracted to Hondas is because I know what I'm getting into (more or less).