Toyota/Lexus at it again!

[TC]

If we look at everything currently going on with Honda it seems as though the business people are really pushing what's going on in Honda instead of the engineers. Perhaps since business is so good right now w/o having unprofitable sport cars dragging down the bottom line these numbers are steering Fukui towards not focusing on the original dream.

Sports cars do not have to be unprofitable. Porsche is one of the most profitable car companies (profit as a % of revenue), if not the most profitable. Ferrari is extremely profitable. I am 99.9% certain that Corvette, including the Z06 model, is a profitable business for GM. The market is extremely strong for performance and sports cars, from $50k Mustang GT500's to $300k Ferrari 599's.

The NSX started out as a profitable business - about 10k units sold in the first 3-4 years. Honda's problem is that they don't commit to their sports cars in terms of ongoing MMC and FMC on a regular basis. Left basically untouched, any car will eventually lose sales and become unprofitable. Had Honda only given the Accord one 5% HP bump, one more gear, and a couple of new body panels over a 15 year period, the Accord would have become a money loser.

Honda either needs to:
1) Stay out of the sports car business
2) Make a periodic limited production run of a sports car - like Ford did successfully with the Ford GT.
3) Make a sports car a core product that receives regular MMC's and FMC's.

 

[Doc C]

Objects seen in mirror are much larger than they appear.
Or is that a pitot tube?

Definitely a pitot tube!!!! Good one. LOL!! :biggrin:

 

[Silver F16]

.....

I think Fukui might be being blamed unfairly for their current sports car problems. Although as president it falls to him to be blamed for things. Guy I was talking to said something that really got me thinking later. He mentioned how engineers don't have MBAs and think about the business plan. If we look at everything currently going on with Honda it seems as though the business people are really pushing what's going on in Honda instead of the engineers. Perhaps since business is so good right now w/o having unprofitable sport cars dragging down the bottom line these numbers are steering Fukui towards not focusing on the original dream. Money can cause people to lose their way. Maybe that's why Uheara decided to move along. American Honda is where most of Hondas money comes from and they didn't want the NSX anymore they always wanted a Boxtser competitor.

It might be that Fukui is forcing the new sports car on them.

Sorry I just didn't get a bad vide from the guy. Certainly not the evil mastermind some on prime have made him out to be .. LOL

Fukui's glory was in the development of the CVCC. He is an engineer first hand before he came into management. Fukui is a methodical person. In comparsion, Soichiro Honda is a nut in a good way. He has an offbeat personality. His greatest trait is that he has Passion and an ability to dream and do the impossible. Mr. Honda has the heart of a little boy, an uncanny ability to dream, and the driving passion to make his dream a reality. Mr. Fukui is a cautious methodical man following the shadow of Mr. Honda. The key word is follow. Fukui is a great engineer and his drive will keep Honda at the top of the green initative.

Fukui's lacks the passion and the love for cars that Mr. Honda possessed. For that, Fukui will not likely give us the break thru sports car that Soichiro Honda did. The best he can do is follow Soichiro shadow and continue the NSX legacy by bring the HSC to market.

 

[Ski_Banker]

I think Fukui might be being blamed unfairly for their current sports car problems. Although as president it falls to him to be blamed for things. Guy I was talking to said something that really got me thinking later. He mentioned how engineers don't have MBAs and think about the business plan. If we look at everything currently going on with Honda it seems as though the business people are really pushing what's going on in Honda instead of the engineers. Perhaps since business is so good right now w/o having unprofitable sport cars dragging down the bottom line these numbers are steering Fukui towards not focusing on the original dream.

Sorry to say it Wingy, but these ARE management failures. MBA management or engineer management. The only reason Honda is doing reasonably well is that 1) gas is expensive so people are buying fuel efficient cars (which Honda has always done -- nothing new by Fukui) and 2) The Big 3 have been an absolute mess in recent years in anything other than trucks and bad publicity.

Toyota is eating Honda's lunch and Nissan is now right there with them. How impressive and successful has the G35 been? Z350?

To your point -- MBA's don't argue for cost cutting and lack of innovation. In fact, it's the marketing people with MBAs that need to start showing up for work and pushing for more innovative products and a bigger ad budget. MBAs will argue for the value of a halo car like the NSX.

To be frank -- my (uninformed) guess is that too many external management consultants have been advising this company. A typical message might be "you core competency is in fuel efficiency and budget/quality cars for the masses -- focus on that, and ignore the silly side projects like the S2000 or NSX" Except that one reason buy the Civics and Accords is because of the coolness bestowed upon the company by exciting offerings.

The proof is obvious as others have noted. Who wants a 2007 Accord? How cool is that new standard model Civic these days? I wish Honda the best, since this is my 3rd in a row. I just don't see it with this management.