Honda is an engineering company that can make outstanding products (not just cars)
that says it all about Honda. they are an excellent engineering company, and they build things to near perfection. certainly, their cars could not be considered "exciting", (with some exceptions... NSX is a good one to start) but they are definitely built very well, and built to last. i remember the old days, when most people i knew were buying American, mostly because all of the imports were little cars that were only good for the most basic transportation needs, but also because it was the thing to do. now, the imports that were such small companies with limited offerings here, build to suit our market. they compete in one way or another with all of the domestic vehicles, and do a really good job. one thing they offer above domestics is technology. technology that in itself offers many good things. quality, better fit and finish, efficiency... the list could go on. my point, i guess, is that the import seem to offer more of what American consumers want than the domestic manufacturers do. that's what's happening with hybrids. the Japanese manufacturers have something like 6 hybrids coming out in the next couple of years, and these are available to the masses, not fleets. people obviously want them, not just for fuel savings, but for environmental reasons, too. Ford has a few coming out soon, but GM? not so much. the domestic manufacturers have been doing what they've always done, and that's build whatever they think we'll buy, and we buy it. the Japanese have listened to what we want, and built that. it works. look at the market gain for Toyota this year. not a coincidence, it's doing what all of the car makers should do. if it includes boring hybrids, so be it. build what people want, not what you think we should have.
