Have some fun! Ask your dealer!

[T Bolen]

I did last Friday - found a couple of the highly trained sales professionals having coffee and asked them what they had heard about the HSC. First response : The what? Second response : Is that the new sport utility?
Told them about the debut at Tokoyo and all that we have seen here, then got the response " we don't get told anything - we rely on customers to tell us what's new".

Words failed me as I left the showroom...

 

[tucsonsx]

Selling cars has absolutely nothing to do with knowing about cars and everything to do with knowing about people !!!

 

[Dr.Honda]

That's pretty much the same response I got. None of them heard
of it.

 

[Black Knight]

the people that know the least about cars are car salesman. after many many many years of buying and selling cars, this has never changed. the first thing they tell you is how great their cars are and how bad their competitors are.

in short, my 3 month old son knows more about cars than they do....

 

[Shumdit]

I used to work at a dealer group,(not in sales) and I can tell you I have personally seen the most dreaded sales types: The "Friends and Family" type. This is the guy (or gal) who knows only what they read in the "comparision guides" put out by each maker to give the pros of their car over others in its class, i.e. 350Z vs. S2000 vs. Mustang, etc. The salesperson will convince all the people they know the car he/she are selling is the best. After 6-9 months, they will no longer be employed at that dealer as they have used up all the contacts they had, so then they go to the dealer down the street, read their comparison guides, and try to convince the same people they just sold cars to that they need to trade on the model he/she now represents!

 

[MarkB]

I was told, point blank, by a salesman at the dealership; that, they have come to rely on me for info re the HSC. This tells me they don't get enough/any info from Honda.

 

[coolnsx]

What happened to Salesman 101...known your product.

 

[MarkB]

I think that's "Salesman 001" and no one wants to take a remedial course.

 

[Black Knight]

we're the professors......salesman 001-999

truthfully, they don't need to know jack about cars....just ways to trick people into buying.

 

[Dr.Honda]

I actually had an intelligent conversation with a salesperson in Des Moines yesterday. He knew about as much as we do and conceded that the dealers are always the last to know. He was enthusiastic and he started a "contact list" with my name at the top. His attitude was alot better than the guy in Chicago. He agrees that the next NSX will probably be out in '05. I'll be interested to see if I hear from him again.

 

[Black Knight]

the ultimate deal is getting to know the owner or deciding manager of the dealership. i have many friends in sales and they give me the insider scoop on buying. ultimate, the sales manager or owner is the one that can decide on the final price. sales don't have much power in decisions....they just try their best to meet the sales target price.

therefore, go out there and get some connections before 2005 hits.....

 

[Black Knight]

I actually had an intelligent conversation with a salesperson in Des Moines yesterday. He knew about as much as we do and conceded that the dealers are always the last to know. He was enthusiastic and he started a "contact list" with my name at the top. His attitude was alot better than the guy in Chicago. He agrees that the next NSX will probably be out in '05. I'll be interested to see if I hear from him again.

i'm assuming this is a honda dealership, right? i thought they are bringing this in as a honda rather than acura due to the name they've already created. unless they decide to change it to ASC
"Acura Sports Concept"

 

[Dr.Honda]

No, Acura dealers. I'd be very surprised if the new car is brought over to the US as a Honda.

 

[Black Knight]

someone else on the HSC topics also posed this same question. are we to say that we own an Acura Honda Sports Concept? i also think this will come in as an acura because i'm sure we want the luxury brand, bose audio and typical acura features that honda do not carry.

this will be interesting......

 

[Dr.Honda]

Personally, I'd like to see the HSC marketed and sold as a Honda
with a level of creature comforts similar to the S2000 in the base model. I don't need power seats, alot of sound insulation, or complex video mirrors. Offer a "grand-touring" version with all the bells and whistles or offer these ala-carte but make the car a purpose built, light-weight sports-car at heart.
I doubt this will happen though as it seems that American Honda
will want to keep this the flagship car of their upmarket brand Acura. Thus, probably won't be called Acura HSC, but retain the NSX name (fine with me).

 

[Black Knight]

very good points....never thought about that.

NSX will do just fine.....i'm sure no one will object in the US...

much better than HSC IMO.

 

[NSXHunter]

I think the reason it is called the HSC (or Honda Sports Concept, if that is what it means) is this was a Tokyo Motor Show car, and there is no Acura in the JDM. Then again, this could stand for Hybrid Sports Concept, so I guess we will figure that out when more info is released.

 

[NSXROX]

I think car salesmen prefer not to know too much about their product. This allows them to plead ignorance about any negative issues, and therefore leaving it up to the consumer to research it themselves, of which many won't even bother. A salesman full of information can jeopordize his own sale. It's easier for him to just say "I don't know". A salesman is there to sell cars, the Internet is there to provide information. There's a big difference.

 

[mlambert890]

"The HSC show car is "a realistic proposal" for the next-generation NSX, says Honda President Takeo Fukui."

Did you guys miss that quote from the main page? The "HSC" is simply a concept car moniker. The president of Honda said it is the basis for the "next NSX". Why would anyone think they would bring out a new supercar and *not* leverage the NSX name? That would make no sense at all. It will be the Acura NSX in the US and the Honda NSX in Japan.

There is no way that a Honda dealer can move that car in the US. It's questionable whether or not the *Acura* dealers ever really figured out the NSX, to be honest. The Honda dealers would be an utter disaster (as they are with the S2K).

This isn' a Honda problem really. Dodge dealers suck with the Viper and Chevy dealers are horrible with the Vette. These dealerships want to sell SUVs and mini-vans, not obscenely expensive sports cars. It's almost enough to send you to Porsche.

The Porsche salesmen I've dealt with were all Porsche owners/enthusiasts who knew more than me. One of them was even a club racer. By contrast, at the Acura dealer where I bought the 03 NSX, no one really knew what the hell it was and people lining up for the monthly specials on the xL (RL, CL, TL, bleh) got more respect and attention.

 

[Black Knight]

therefore, acura should start thinking about better marketing schemes and put up more incentives.....the $799 lease program for the NSX sure caught lots of attention. if they start giving rebates and incentives, i'm sure more people will buy.

to be honest, people will buy if there is an incentive. for a product that costs $100, people will buy if a $20 discount is given. same for a product that costs $10....more people will buy if it costs $8 after rebate. that's the truth about consumers...always looking for things that are cheaper than the suggested retail price.....