Auto manufacturers monitor internet forum

[NoBut]

What does it take for companies like Honda/Toyota to answer, such as redesign their product, in response to the massive public negative ?
Negative public response : 50-60%, 70-80% or 80-90%?

Will it be financially favorable to change a product before it is actually mass produced or to gamble with its first year sale statistic ?

[98AccordEx]

IMHO the reaction to the front end of the 2007 CR-V is no worse than the reaction the 2003 Accord's rear end got. It was deemed unsitely by most car mags although ever other facet of the car won praise and typically detracted a few points from the Accord in comparison tests.
So I think your hopes for a redesign are two years away at best. Holdout for a 2009 MMC of the CRV if you find it that unpleasant.

[The Swedish guy]

Look at it this way instead: Honda makes a lot of cars/year (500 000??) what do they car if a bunch of 200 CR-V fans say this or say that??

Sales rules not what we think and keep in mind the japanese NEVER makes misstakes..( at least NEVER admits it cuz it would mean "loose face")

[mchilli]

That rear end on the last gen Accord stopped me from buying one. I was really excited about the redesign back then, but then the let down of that rear.....what were they thinking. My dad just got a 2006 and the rear is so much better looking. I think Honda's best styling was in the late 80's and early 90's, and has not been nearly as "cutting edge" as they once were.

[miko]

Look at it this way instead: Honda makes a lot of cars/year (500 000??) what do they care if a bunch of (old generation) CR-V fans say this or say that??

Sales rule

Amen brother. :lol:

The new CR-V will outsell the previous models. By far.

[98AccordEx]

Look at it this way instead: Honda makes a lot of cars/year (500 000??) what do they car if a bunch of 200 CR-V fans say this or say that??

Sales rules not what we think and keep in mind the japanese NEVER makes misstakes..( at least NEVER admits it cuz it would mean "loose face")

500,000??? Are those Euro sales #'s. I'll back up your arguement with some more correct statistics. Here in the USA Honda sold over 1.4 million last year. The CRV sold 150,000 for 2005.
For 2004 North America and Japan each sold roughly 1.2 milliion and worldwide sales were roughly 3.2 million. Thus a even a 15% drop in CRV sales (22500) would be a 0.16% drop in US sales and a 0.007% drop in worldwide sales.

[98AccordEx]

That rear end on the last gen Accord stopped me from buying one. I was really excited about the redesign back then, but then the let down of that rear.....what were they thinking. My dad just got a 2006 and the rear is so much better looking. I think Honda's best styling was in the late 80's and early 90's, and has not been nearly as "cutting edge" as they once were.

Same for me, it kept me from upgrading my 98 Accord and probably saved me thousands in the process becasue it's still going strong. The 05-06 Accord is an improvement but at this point I'll wait for the all-new 2008 Accord.

[msfit32]

I have owned an '88 Accord since it was born and I have always loved its look (and the retractable headlights).....I think its a classic....

When I started looking around at the newer Accords, at first I could not find them.....I mean....I just saw alot of Ford Taurus funny looking sedans everywhere and did not recognize them as Accords or Camrys....both the Camry and Accord are not very attractive or special like I thought they used to be.....I guess I do not like the 'rounded' look of modern cars.....I am hoping the trend goes back to sleek..... 8)

Unless the new CRV is bigger and better looking than it looks in the pics, I would not go with it.....I do like having a bit of clearance for off road adventures (can't seem to resist 'em) and ugly has no virtues.....even the current CRV is not as good lookin' as alot of the competition, but is tolerated due to economy and reliability.....

I wish Honda could make the outside look as special as the mechanics are (and the paint better, too...considering how long these cars run) :wink:

[etc]

cars are just a product yet probably the most expensive mass product
auto makers spend billions in this business and every mistake costs them
im sure they studied their current market, then they studied their new target market
and made a product to fit best compromising as little as possible
growth of sales is always a priority, not keeping the current sales
hence its quite possible their new target market to be much bigger than their current one
and quite possibly they designed a product that would be hated by their current buyers
but loved by times more others

its a radical step but on the other hand you dont have to change your car every year :wink:
i mean just imagine the bills if you loved so much every next model that you had to have it... :lol:

[dicko]

I actually like the rear end design on my 2003 Accord. The current back is OK, but it doesn't seem to really jive with the style of the rest of the car. To each their own. . .

I just wished that Honda brought back the Accord wagon. Or the civic wagon for that matter. I had a '91 Accord wgn EX MT that was a great car. When it came time to replace it, I almost went for a Mazda 6 wgn, but since it only came with the V6, its gas mileage was equal to or worst than the CR-V 4WD MT. I really like the CR-V, but would love a new Accord Wagon. Make it with AWD and a MT Honda, and I'd own one.

[Robert]

Since we are slightly off topic anyway. The '92 and '93 Accord EX 4 and especially 2 door with manual tranny are the best cars ever! To me, it has been downhill design wise from there for the Accord. I like how the new ones drive but overall nothing compares to those years. The '90 and '91 were pretty much the same but had the nasty motorized seat belts and no airbag or ABS.

[bing]

Honda does read our forums...but I'm sure their legal them prevents them from commenting.

B.

[skyout]

Tell them we'll give them a waiver. lol
I'd like to talk to them about the absent 2 inches of ground clearance as well as the added console. :(

[blueiedgod]

I think they do monitor these boards. Back in 1999, when I bought my first new car, 1999 Honda Civic coupe, I noticed that when the VTEC engaged and the A/c was on the car would drag. I posted on Edmunds' Civic forum that if Honda implemented A/C deactivation when VTEC engaged, it would be great. Since you only need short bursts of red-line power from the VTEC and it would not mess up the temprature in the cabin too much.

Low and behold.... 2002 Civic Si at the 2002 CR-V have that feature, as well as the rest of the K-series powered Hondas. I am not sure if the D-series powered Civic's have it as well.

Looking back, I should have patented the idea, but hey, I already have 4 patents, working on the 5th :-)

[The Swedish guy]

Low and behold.... 2002 Civic Si at the 2002 CR-V have that feature, as well as the rest of the K-series powered Hondas. I am not sure if the D-series powered Civic's have it as well.

Sorry but Volvo claimed the same as the lanuched the S/V40 with the same thing back in 1998(??) and its simply a way of making small weak engienes less weak when accererating hard...besides that the S/V 40 sucks...

[sleeksilver]

Looking back, I should have patented the idea, but hey, I already have 4 patents, working on the 5th :-)

What are your patents for???? :shock:

[bronxblaza117]

im sure once they notice how UGLY the front is they will change it, probably like 2 years down the road, give it a nice facelift

[NoBut]

Honda does read our forums...but I'm sure their legal them prevents them from commenting.

B.

We all hope so.

[blueiedgod]

Looking back, I should have patented the idea, but hey, I already have 4 patents, working on the 5th :-)

What are your patents for???? :shock:

1) Permanent acid dye based hair colorant for use in Japan.

2) Shear thickenning rheology modifier used in personal care products. I called it Flubber while working on it. It is liquid at rest and pours like honey, but if you pick it up, it is solid, if you fling it it bounces right back at you like a rubber ball, but once you remove stress it becomes liquid again.

3) New polymer that has rheology modifier properties as well as styling properties.

4) New polymer rheology modifier that can thicken oils, as well as oil in water to prevent oil from separating from the water. No need for surfactants to emulsify the oil into oil in water emulsion.

5) Application filed for high voltage implantable wet valve metal capacitor to be used in implantable electro-shock therapy devices.

[skyout]

5) Application filed for high voltage implantable wet valve metal capacitor to be used in implantable electro-shock therapy devices.

I think they used that on Cliff from "Cheers" one episode. :lol:

[liquidfuel88]

1) Permanent acid dye based hair colorant for use in Japan.

2) Shear thickenning rheology modifier used in personal care products. I called it Flubber while working on it. It is liquid at rest and pours like honey, but if you pick it up, it is solid, if you fling it it bounces right back at you like a rubber ball, but once you remove stress it becomes liquid again.

3) New polymer that has rheology modifier properties as well as styling properties.

4) New polymer rheology modifier that can thicken oils, as well as oil in water to prevent oil from separating from the water. No need for surfactants to emulsify the oil into oil in water emulsion.

5) Application filed for high voltage implantable wet valve metal capacitor to be used in implantable electro-shock therapy devices.

wow :shock: :shock: :shock:

you are a SMART man!

http://img482.imageshack.us/img482/4546/362465on.gif

[blueiedgod]

Thanks.

There are so many things that I don't know. It is kind of depressing that the more you learn, the more you realize how little you know.

[Carbuff2]

There are so many things that I don't know. It is kind of depressing that the more you learn, the more you realize how little you know.


And as you get older, your knowledge restrains you, you are less willing to take risks. :(

++++++++++++++++

I have two patents, too... back in the rear of my closet with the other shoes I no longer wear... :roll: :lol:

[blueiedgod]

There are so many things that I don't know. It is kind of depressing that the more you learn, the more you realize how little you know.


And as you get older, your knowledge restrains you, you are less willing to take risks. :(

++++++++++++++++

I have two patents, too... back in the rear of my closet with the other shoes I no longer wear... :roll: :lol:

What are your patents for?

[skyout]

I think he meant something like this:
http://www.tuxedosonline.com/detail.asp?product_id=eckobw

Ecko Unlimited Tuxedo Shoes in Black and White Patent Leather lace up shoes.

http://www.tuxedosonline.com/images/big/shoes/Ecko_BW_big.JPG

[Carbuff2]

I think he meant something like this:
http://www.tuxedosonline.com/detail.asp?product_id=eckobw

Ecko Unlimited Tuxedo Shoes in Black and White Patent Leather lace up shoes.


Yup. Gotcha, BlueEyes.

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

[blueiedgod]

ha ha, I didn't know they were called that. :oops:

[norsepanda]

Patent leather
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Patent leather is leather that has been given a high gloss finish. The original process was developed by Newark, New Jersey-based inventor Seth Boyden in 1818 with commercial manufacture beginning September 20, 1819. His process used a linseed oil-based lacquer coating. Modern patent leather usually has a plastic coating.
Patent leather is sometimes confused with poromeric imitation leathers such as DuPont's Corfam and Kuraray Co.'s Clarino which are manmade materials with a similar glossy appearance.
Patent leather and poromerics are cleaned in a similar way. Dirt adhering to the coating can be removed with a damp cloth, using a mild soap if needed. Minor scratches and scuff marks in the coating itself can be removed using one of several special purpose patent leather and poromeric cleaners on the market. With wear and tear, patent leather will eventually lose its glossy finish, but will still be smoother than most other types of leather, looking almost rubbery.
Patent leather and poromerics are used in applications where an eye-catching glossy appearance is the main consideration. Examples include fashion items such as wallets and handbags, dance and uniform shoes and professional wrestling boots.