Because compared to their competition a lot of their models aren't selling that well. Acura has dropped below BMW, Merceds, and Lexus. While, they used to be the #2 best selling luxury brand...they are last by a large margain now. I would say it's time for a change.

 

These are all profit-driven companies. Selling more units, gaining greater market share, or playing in more markets doesn't necessarily mean greater profit.

My guess is, as others have mentioned before, that Honda sees no need to produce a sports coupe or sports sedan. Keep in mind that enthusiasts represent a very small percentage of the car market, and that North America is only one of the markets in which Honda plays. The fact that Acura sells less than BMW, Mercedes, and Lexus, by itself, is not all that important. Honda may not compete well against them in the high-end luxury car market, but it outsells them by far in the low-end economy car market, which sells in much higher volume.

I don't think the question should be why Honda can't compete with a true sports coupe or sports sedan. Rather, I see the question as why Honda would want to, and whether or not it would fit its business model and generate profits.

Consider the S2000. With it, Honda has clearly shown that they're capable of building a world-class sports car. But making a great car alone is only part of the equation. How many times have you S2000 owners been asked why you bought a Honda, and didn't spend your money on a Porsche Boxster, BMW Z3, or Mercedes SLK instead? I have on a number of occasions. When you get into a certain price range, you're competing on more than just how good your product is. The higher the price range, the more of an image issue there is. If Honda were to produce a sports coupe or sports sedan in the $30K neighborhood, I for one, think it would have a hard time competing on image, regardless of how good the car is.

I think some of this is already showing simply in the fact that Acura sells less than BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes. While it's true that BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes all tend to be RWD (with the exception of the ES300) and therefore possess more sporty handling dynamics than the FWD Acuras, this is not what the majority of their buyers care about. Many of them don't know the difference between RWD and FWD and only want a luxury car. So why do they continue to outsell Acura by such a large margin? Surely it's not because of value, since the Acura CL and TL provide many more creature comforts and commonly-desired options than their competitors, and at a much lower price. Enthusiasts undoubtedly make up some of the difference, but not the whole difference. I think that's the image issue coming into play.

Of course, this is all speculation, and there's a good chance I'm just talking out of my ass. And I'd personally also love to see Honda produce a real sports coupe or sports sedan. But I just wonder if it's feasible for them from a business perspective.

 

There was a thread in S2000 Talk that said all of Honda's sales on there cars were up in 2002 except for two cars. The S2000 and the Insight. The Insight for obvious reasons, but the one rear wheel drive car Honda has is down something like 28-29%. Give them a reason to do it when first of all there cars are doing so well and handle great, and their only rear-driven car isn't selling as well. Also IMO, Honda makes cars for everyone, not a select market. Honda is a big seller in Utah where I live because of great handling, and the ability to drive it in the snow without trouble. I think Honda knows exactly what it's doing. Just my .02

 

The Japanese in general get into markets where they can make money. Honda never had a SUV before, so they rebadged an Isuzu to get one while they developed their own. After they released the Acura MDX and Honda Pilot, they cancelled the Isuzu. Rumor has it, they are even looking at a full-size pick-up truck. Chances are, they will have a full-size SUV as well. Toyota has sold trucks for sometime, but it has been more recently that they have given the full-size trucks full support.

Take the BMW 3-series and the Lexus counterpart, the IS-300. Lexus developed that car with BMW in mind. Lincoln has the LS to compete in that market. LS sales numbers are dismal at best and BMW is not looking for huge sales, obviously they get them though. Honda obviously doesn?t think the public wants a RWD car. If the public wanted one, they would produce one. It could also be that the current platforms would not support RWD.

The biggest reason is simple; Honda does not have a problem selling cars. They produce the Pilot/MDX, Accord and Civic in North America, but have to import Accords and Civics from Japan to meet demand. In the case of Ford, Lincoln kept loosing market share year after year while BMW was steadily increasing theirs. So they decided to make a car that was suppose to be like a BMW, even the styling. Look at Lincoln LS sales; they are pathetic.

Lance

 

Sorry, but that's not true. S2000 sales were actually up a bit last year - by two cars!

From the official Honda news site, www.hondanews.com: [URL=http://www.hondanews.com/Forms/corp/*ws4d-db-query-Show.ws4d?*ws4d-db-query-Show***003876***-wieck_media***-***corp(directory)***.ws4d?corp/results

 

Honda also seems to have a mental block about doing a V8. Rumors about a V8 for the NSX and RL have been circulating for years, but it still doesn't seem likely.

 

Honda will do a V8 and probably in the next few years. If they do indeed want to get into the full-size truck market, a 3.5 V6 will not cut it. So they will either need to buy an engine from someone else, or do their own. Chances are, they will do their own and use the block for more then just their full-size trucks. I would expect to see the engine in a truck before a car though, but you never know.

Lance

 

I do remember an article a couple of years ago at least saying Honda and GM were in discussions for Honda to purchase motors for a full size vehicle from the General.

 

I agree with Palmateer. Nothing Honda has ever produced prior to the S2000 has interested me. I owned an Acura Legend coupe for a while but being a front driver gave it a horrible steering feel. When the time comes for me to sell my S2000 and get another car there is no way I'll replace it with ANY front driver.To those who try to make an argument about living in the snowbelt and needing a front driver I say invest in a set of Blizzaks. Besides do you really want to base your decision of what type of car you drive based on the possibility you might encounter some snow?

 

In that article it also said that GM would purchases small engines from Honda and Honda would purchase large engines from GM. With the age of that agreement and neither side has yet to put an engine from one another in a vehicle, I doubt it will ever happen. All except two of GM V8?s are OHV. I cannot see Honda even using an OHV engine. The Northstar and its smaller sibling, the 4.0 V8 Olds uses are not what they use to be. GM designed a good engine and they have sat on their a$$ since then. Look at Honda, every few years they release an improved version, GM does not. They like to milk their investment until it is way too late. A few years ago, they were still selling vehicles with a 40-year-old engine design in them. They even had a second-generation clock they could use, but nope, they didn?t want to make a cast iron version of it. For reliability as well as smoothness, Honda would do their own.

Lance