Honda better do something.
Yanking the Ridgeline, Element and S2000 was a bad move, especially with nothing to replace them.
It seems they want to become the complacent boreing company.
It really is sad to see. My first Honda was purchased brand new 30 years ago. I do not feel the same way about them now, as I did then. You got a great, dependable, mostly well built car for a great value.
Not anymore.
You can probably thank the corporate bean counters for removing certain models as well as pulling out of F1 racing, time will tell it these cost conservation measures are the right decisions.
My first new Honda was an 1984 CRX, then 1990 Integra GS, both purchased new, the next two cars are 1996 Integra GSR and the current Accord Coupe, both purchased pre-owned.
While the CRX was an acceptable and fun commuter, it suffered rust issues, broken rear torison suspension tube, the CVCC carb was impossible to fix once it starts to misbehave, fuel pump needed to be replaced under a recall, amongest other minor issues.
The Intengra GS was better, but it also had issues, the DRL relay reliably fails every three years because of inadequte soldering pad size in one spot allowing the solder to gradually overheat over time and eventually sufficient amount of solder migarates away from the pad for the join to fail, re-flowing the solder fixed it for another 3 years before it failed (reliably) again, the DRL was the fog lights which burn out on a regular basis but no other issues otherwise.
The Integra GSR was better again and a really fun car to drive, the engine was bullet proof, what went wrong on the GSR were the ABS accumulator starting a small leak which will leak down overnight, so the pump had to pressurize the accumulator again the next morning, and a hairline fracture on the exhause manifold, a rare case in the Integra but apparently more often on the Civics of that era, the input shaft bearing in the transmission had to be replaced as well, that was expensive.
My Accord has been the most reliable Honda product I've bought in 27 years, the only items that have gone wrong in the last 5 years are a windshield washer pump, tiny spot peeling of wind trim cover film, and a slightly sticky rear-view mirror adjusting mechanism during winter time, KUDOs to their continued engineering development in making such a reliable car that (3rd gear pop-out aside) I just can't find anything wrong to complain a month ago when my car was coming up to the end of the 5-year power train warranty, the styling of the 7th Gen Coupe is also the best of all the cars I've owned.
The point is, at least in IMHO, Honda (as well as other marques) continues to evolve, product quality seem to have suffered slightly with the 8th Gen Accord with the fast wearing rear brakes and rattles, hopefully these are being rectified for the next iteration, current styling is not exactly my cup of tea but the cars are still selling so it just means I don't share the styling cues of others, that's perfectly fine, but I do hope my current 7th Gen lasts a lot longer until there is something in the Honda/Acura line up that I can warm up to when I do have to get a new(er) car in the future.
