The Southern California Honda Dealers Association is trying some friendly, if a bit odd, tactics to sell more new cars. Dealers in the group are sending out its employees in blue Honda shirts to carry groceries, pump free gas and hand out complimentary popcorn at theaters. Pasadena drivers were even treated to free parking, when one street's parking meters were covered in blue hoods that said, "It's on us," and "Helpful Honda." The L.A. Times' story says the helpful Honda employees aren't trying to sell cars and don't even mention their employer or their reasons for helping. Honda hopes those who receive assistance say to themselves, "That was nice of Honda. Now, what has MY car's company done for me lately?"
While the story doesn't cite any numbers to indicate whether the five-month-old campaign is working, the reporter witnessed at least one free gas recipient vow to buy a Honda next time. We've definitely seen crazier things for a free tank.
[Source: The L.A. Times]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
aman @ Jun 23rd 2007 3:40PM
could you get this if you own an acura?
Dan Kuehling @ Jun 23rd 2007 3:48PM
Looks like it's not for Honda drivers, but for the general population by the Honda dealers. In other words, you can get these services just by being in the right place at the right time, no matter what kind of car you drive.
A very intriguing way to drum up business, I must say!
rv @ Jun 23rd 2007 4:22PM
Free popcorn is not going to change Honda's lineup - still wouldn't even bother test driving one. I'd take the popcorn though. Make some engines with torque, drop the FWD, the 1980s style interior and whatever is going on with the exterior - buy me a steak, maybe I'll drop by - for coffee...
dejal @ Jun 23rd 2007 4:39PM
You know RV, I say the same more or less the same thing about the big 2 something. Make a car as nice as the average Honda and maybe I'll walk into your showroom. I'm still waiting for them to do so. Fords getting close with their Mazda based platforms. I wish they could think that stuff up themselves though.
Matt @ Jun 23rd 2007 5:19PM
Dejal: GM sometimes has a crappy interior. I guess the difference between them and Japan, though, is I have to get in a Cobalt coupe to tell that it's interior is crap. With a Honda... I can can it's crap just by looking at it. Saves me the trouble of even taking a test drive. :)
Also, and I know this has nothing to do with the interior of a vehicle, but it's a preference with which I make purchasing decisions, but I just loooove a car with torque. Honda doesn't have that. :(
They do, however, have an unfair price trade advantage. That is something that they have. :)
Oh! and SARS. Can't forget SARS.
Jason @ Jun 24th 2007 8:00AM
That's funny - I can tell Cobalts are crap when I drive by a dealer and see some used ones with under 10K miles on them that are going for half of what they were going for two years ago when they were new. It'd suck to lose your a$$ on a car so bad in the first two years of ownership if you decide it's not for you.
Fortunately my Acura is 7 years old and dealer trade-in is worth more than half of what the car cost when it was brand new. I'd like to see that with a Cobalt or a Malibu before I even bother with them. I'd also like to see a Cobalt that will go 120K miles before it's first scheduled maintenance (aside from oil changes) like my RSX has.
geo.stewart @ Jun 23rd 2007 4:32PM
too bad they cant get people to come in for some reason like....wait for it.... good product?!
Now I might pick one Honda dealer over another for participating (thinking such activity might corelate to customer service or that my dollars might help fund such) but I am not going to pick my car over something so unrelated.
dejal @ Jun 23rd 2007 4:39PM
too bad they cant get people to come in for some reason like....wait for it.... good product?!
Are you saying Honda doesn't?
geo.stewart @ Jun 24th 2007 3:38PM
well, basically YEAH. great appliances but not much going on for a car. This gimmick is probably for the appliance buyer and if they are going to this level for a stunt, then they must definitely be sucking hind tit to Toyota.
Matt @ Jun 23rd 2007 4:39PM
"That was nice of Honda. Now, what has MY car's company done for me lately?"
Given you styling.
And torque, can't forget about that.
iQuack @ Jun 23rd 2007 5:21PM
I like it! Smart promotion by a company whose products are well-known for their superiority.
This type of marketing effort is just frosting on the cake to bring both a brand and its service into the foreground.
Ask just about anyone who owns a Honda--they'd be likely to buy another one even without the popcorn.
Aetius @ Jun 23rd 2007 5:43PM
"Ask just about anyone who owns a Honda--they'd be likely to buy another one even without the popcorn."
That's mainly because Honda buyers are usually people who see cars as appliances for transportation and couldn't be bothered to check elsewhere for competing product. T
Dave @ Jun 24th 2007 12:45AM
I recently test drove my first Honda, and it is the now the first Honda I've ever owned. I test drove a Focus, Corolla, Elantra, Sentra and a Cobalt before the Civic and nothing comes close. The Civic is BY FAR the best in it's class.
I also do not think of my cars as just an appliance. I'm an automotive engineer and I work in Vehicle Dynamics. Some days I drive cars all day long.
phewop118 @ Jun 23rd 2007 6:10PM
How desperate can honda be for sales? Good vehicles shouldn't need such ridiculous premotions to "bribe" people into buying them.
iQuack @ Jun 23rd 2007 6:42PM
RE: Aetius--"That's mainly because Honda buyers are usually people who see cars as appliances for transportation and couldn't be bothered to check elsewhere for competing product."
--------------------------------------------
Not so. Drove a number of competing cars that didn't measure up to the Accord when shopping 3 years ago.
The Accord had 'em all beat and I'd never owned a Honda previously. What's better for the price?
Matt @ Jun 23rd 2007 9:12PM
Yeah, and you're not biased AT ALL.
iQuack @ Jun 24th 2007 2:23AM
Ridiculous comment!
Of course, I'm biased: AFTER I tested several cars and decided that the Accord was superior, I became sufficiently biased to buy one.
I had a Mazda previously and was prepared to buy a new one (Mazda 6i), but it didn't drive nearly as well as the Honda (the Mazda 6i did handle well, though).
Nor did the Toyota Camry, and a couple of other well-regarded cars in the Accord's class appeal to me as much as the Accord.
When some of you dudes talk about being "biased," it helps to understand that bias is likely to FOLLOW test driving where opinions are formed. Then add info on service records to see how troublesome or trouble-free a car is likely to be. Shouldn't "bias" result from the test driving and research?
Maybe I'm biased NOW, but wasn't biased when I did my car shopping 3 years ago, except for a pro-Mazda bias that was quelled by the Honda.
David @ Jun 23rd 2007 6:49PM
"Ask just about anyone who owns a Honda--they'd be likely to buy another one even without the popcorn."
I wish someone would ask me about the TWO new 2006 Honda Odysseys I've owned recently.
The first was so poorly constructed I returned it and demanded another one--after FOUR days.
The second went through two quarts of oil, two power steering pumps, five trips to the shop and way too many gallons of gas before I gave up and sold it--with 5K on the odo.
No worries though, my new, new, new car is great, and I'm due to pay off my CC debt for the second Honda next month.
Total loss, about $8K.
That's a lot of free gas money. Unless, of course, you owned one of the Odysseys mentioned above.
Matt @ Jun 23rd 2007 9:12PM
Sorry to hear that. Guess the V-TEC "break yo neck!" broke it's own neck ahead of schedule. :'(
Cameron @ Jun 23rd 2007 7:34PM
I don't need torque to validate my manhood at every stoplight, so I'll stick with the only car company to offer a lifetime warranty on their restraint systems. Not even safety-king Volvo offers that.
I've owned three Hondas and I don't see them as appliances. They're the Apple of Japanese car companies. Different, but better. It's much more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.
At least Honda doesn't need to leave thousands of dollars metaphorically sitting on the hoods of their cars to get people to buy them.