Filed under: Car Buying, Trends, Hybrids/Alternative, Sedans/Saloons, Green, Plants/Manufacturing, Honda
Honda considering cutting Accord hybrid production
According
to Dick Colliver, executive vice president of Honda, the automaker may dial back production of its mid-sized Accord
hybrid later this year, due to slow sales. He has declined to give specific figures.
Reportedly, Colliver
believes the reason for low consumer interest in the model could lie with the fact that it pairs
its electric power with a larger six-cylinder powerplant. The executive believes that
buyers may feel that such a package doesn't optimize fuel economy in the same way as a smaller
four-cylinder hybrid might. Colliver notes that sales of the hybrid Civic remain strong as proof of this. Even the
Insight, Honda's smallest hybrid, enjoyed a sales increase of 15 percent last year.
What do you think... why are consumers souring on the Accord Hybrid? Speak your mind in the 'comments.'
[Source: Associated Press via Detroit Free Press]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Anthony 5:13PM (4/14/2006)
Nissan's CEO hit it on the head when he said that the technology is not yet ready. I think people who have owned both the Prius and Accord hybrids are now realizing that the extra expense they spent on the price has not yet payed off in the gas savings.
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Scott 5:14PM (4/14/2006)
It just doesn't seem like the "performance" hybrid is what the market wants. When people hear the word hybrid they assume great mpg, and that's what they look for. When that isn't what they find, they're probably going elsewhere like the Prius or Civic Hybrid. Toyota's doing a little better with some of their more performance-oriented hybrids, but not much. I believe most of Toyota's successes outside the Prius are BECAUSE of the Prius, they probably wouldn't be selling any better if the Prius didn't exist. Face it - if you're buying a hybrid as an environmental statement, how do you justify getting a 25mpg hybrid Accord when you could get a 50 mpg Prius? Doesn't add up.
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Michael M. 5:15PM (4/14/2006)
I think the reason is that the current Accord hasn't been as much of a hit with the public as the last generation, and people are just waiting for the next one. The hybrid is so mildly different in the exterior, mostly the Montego-inspired tail lights, that it just doesn't scream "look at me, I'm driving a hybrid" as much as the Prius does. Honda's only model with that appeal is the age old Insight, which they shoudl redesign and position to better compete with the Prius.
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Richard Katz 5:19PM (4/14/2006)
Honda's accent on performance over mileage improvement helped me decide NOT to purchase the Accord Hybrid. I'm disappointed by some of these gas guzzling hybrids but it's not limited to Honda. The Lexus SUV is also a gas hog. Very disappointing.
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Source1 5:20PM (4/14/2006)
You mean Honda(GASP!) couldn't sell something?!
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Aki 5:22PM (4/14/2006)
Honda's missing a big point on why Hybrids are appealing to begin with: MPG.
Prius wouldn't do well if it had bad fuel economy. Part of the allure is that the premium you're paying will eventually pay off with the savings you get from gas. With the Accord, however, you get no such perk.
Plus, nothing sets it apart aesthetically from the regular accord, as Michael said.
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umpa lumpa 5:22PM (4/14/2006)
Its a $31k accord. Who want to spend that much on a honda? That acura money. An Acura TL with the same drive train would have sold much better. The Accord hybrid should have been a 4 cyl.
I have drive my friend's accord hybrid on a few occasions and its a very fast car.
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bob 5:23PM (4/14/2006)
Aw, that's easy. It's all about the MPG, tax credits, and riding by yourself in the carpool lane. I was speaking with a friend who thinks hybrids are going to save the planet and is in the market to buy. She couldn't justify the Accord though because despite the price tag, it doesn't qualify for enough of the state incentives to push her over the edge. I told her that it might be fun to drive, but fun isn't a priority with her. "Oh," I said, "then you'll want a Prius after all..."
Your pal,
bob
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Edsel 5:27PM (4/14/2006)
I think Toyota had the right approach; make a nicely ergonomic hybrid that looks different from the rest of the herd. The Civic is not selling anywhere near the volume that Honda origionaly anticipated. Greens want to be *SEEN* saving the planet.
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goat 5:30PM (4/14/2006)
They just need to put big decals on the side that say "HYBRID" and they'll sell plenty.
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David 5:32PM (4/14/2006)
The Accord Hybrid sells slower than other hybrids because it is a performance hybrid. Period. I bought my Prius in 2000 because it was a clean, economical and an odd but likeable car. Honda needs to rethink its Accord Hybrid stategy a little. Perhaps remove some of the bloat that the Accord has become so famous for lately. Why in the world do we have to have the ugliest Accord? How about a 4 cylinder Euro Accord (Acura TSX)? Optimize it for economy with Prius/Civic Hybrid like performance and people will beat a path to Honda dealers as fast as they have to Toyota.
Come on Honda...let's start taking hybrids as seriously as Toyota does.
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iQuack 5:32PM (4/14/2006)
The Accord hybrid is a great car that's not worth its price when compared with either the 4 cylinder Accord or the V6 without the electric motor and the $3,000 added price.
For one thing, the 4 cylinder Accord is fast enough for anybody not overloading the car or pulling a trailer. The V6 Accord is much faster than most people need anyway. The hybrid feature in the V6 Accord makes a fast car faster but costs too much doing it while saving only a few miles per gallon.
The V6 hybrid's gas mileage is about the same as the 4 cylinder Accord and costs at least $5,000 more. There's really no economic sense in ANY hybrid car at current prices, and the Accord hybrid makes even less sense than most others. Hybrids are feel-good cars for the Greenies and nothing more.
It's no surprise to me (as the happy owner of a 4 cylinder Accord) that the hybrid V6 model is langushing on dealers' lots.
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Aki 5:34PM (4/14/2006)
"The Civic is not selling anywhere near the volume that Honda origionaly anticipated. Greens want to be *SEEN* saving the planet."
Actually, the Civic is posting record sales, and their new Hybrid is proving to be a hit.
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MikeW 5:36PM (4/14/2006)
It is not a hybrid, it is a hybrid lite.
Decent sized helper motor with torque converter 5 speed automatic.
That isn't a prius with IVT and 2 electric motors
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Brett Breitwieser 5:41PM (4/14/2006)
For most, "Hybrid" means some kind of slightly modified gasoline automobile that uses partial electrics as a minor supplement. IMHO, this doesn't go nearly far enough towards solving our problems in terms of pollution, global warming, obesity due to lack of exercise and so forth. I'm taking HPV (Human Powered Vehicles) and hybridizing them with light weight electric hub motors ("electric assist")... I fail to see how using a 2500 pound vehicle to transport a 250 pound payload can ever be considered efficient, whether we are talking 6 or 4 cylinders. We need to completely re-imagine our idea of vehicles from the ground up...
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Charles S 5:46PM (4/14/2006)
Look, if hybrid is ONLY about image and MPG, then the Honda Insight should be the #1 selling hybrid. There are only a few thousand Insights made, so you can drive for MONTHS and never see anyone else having the same car as you. NO ONE will ever doubt the green-creds for buying such a unique car.
Yet, this is not the case, so you hybrid-haters should shut up and give it a rest.
The case study for Prius should compare more to the Goldilocks story. There is not many choices when it comes to hybrids. For size, acceleration, mileage, and versatility, the Prius is the right balance amoung all factors; the Just Right car for those who are willing to pay more for a car. Civic Hybrid would have been a good competitor if it was designed to have fold down rear seats.
The truth is, Honda Accord Hybrid is priced by the "Accelerations equates inflated prices" standards, in which is it justified, but the market that willing to pay more for acceleration is already saturated. People who can justify $50K for a Corvette/Hummer would not care about the MPG, and those who are interested in luxury cars can care less about the image of hybrids.
Honda Accord Hybrid failed simply because it targeted wrong audience. Pure and simple.
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David 5:47PM (4/14/2006)
It's just too much performance for an otherwise mundane Honda sedan. An Accord buyer looking for mpg gets a 4-cylinder, and one wanting power gets the V6. The real question is why this performance hybrid was not brought out as an Acura. Lexus is trying the lux-hybrid with their RX and LS offerings, and so far it works. The TSX would benefit greatly from an upgraded powertrain, currently only available with 200 hp versus the stanbdard Accord's 240. But is there a market for an enthusiast hybrid? Obviously not badged as a Honda.
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Chris Adams 5:51PM (4/14/2006)
Here is from the perspective of a guy who put a down payment on an '07 Camry Hybrid:
1) Accord hybrid isn't a true hybrid, i.e. there is no "electric only" mode. Part of the coolness factor of a true hybrid is being able to drive down your street in virtual silence.
2) As others have noted, the Accord hybrid mileage is mediocre at best. Road and Track got in the high 40's on a long stretch of PCH in the Camry hybrid! And with an average of of close to 40MPG real-world driving - now we're talkin'. 0-60 in 7.3 for the Camry Hybrid isn't bad either.
3) Again, as others have noted, the Accord hybrid looks pretty dumpy. Any accord for that matter. Every now and then a Camry looks good, and the '07 model is one of them (early 90's was the last one). Have y'all seen it? It looks pretty good for a grocery getter. Enough for this gen X-er to trade in his C-class benz (actually I'll ebay it).
4) And finally it comes down to features. It I waited 18 months for a VW Passat turbodiesel to appear with all the features found in this car I'd be paying close to $40K. The MSRP of a Camry hybrid with tons o' features is just under $26K. How can you beat that?
p.s.
http://www.toyota.com/camry/models_hybrid.html
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Jared 5:55PM (4/14/2006)
Get it together. I don't know if people refuse to read the writing on the wall, but have fun getting back any of your money in gas. Unless you travel over 100,000 miles and never have to replace the battery, which you will, you won't get to the break even point. This is not even considering insurance. Saving money is the most ignorant motivation for buying any hybrid. Think before you buy any of them. If you have bought a hybrid I feel extremely sorry for you and I apologize.
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RayRay 6:05PM (4/14/2006)
I always thought Honda should've used the 4-cylinder engine on the hybrid, it doesn't make any sense to plug the electric motors in with the bigger V6 ones. If they switch up, then the Accord Hybrid would be a bigger hit.
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