Honda Accord Hybrid Dropped

June 8th, 2007 by Potato

I’m off to Japan! I figured before I go, I might as well blog about some Japanese car makers… I hope to update a bit while I’m gone, but don’t count on any updates just in case internet access doesn’t work out. I’m really dreading this trip, and also really glad I called the hotel tonight to double-check my reservation. The clerk’s english was really terrible (I know, my Japanese was worse, but that sort of thinking doesn’t help me right now) but I gathered that they weren’t expecting me until the 10th. I think I’ve got it sorted out now. The next big thing will be payment; work paid in advance on the corporate VISA, but if this place is anything like the death trap in Cancun, they’ll probably try to bill me again after I get there… Anyhow, if I don’t make it back: remember that I thought it was a bad idea all along.

It looks like Honda is going to be dropping their Hybrid Accord.

I can’t say I’m too sad to see it go: the Accord was a “muscle” hybrid, the most powerful of the Accord options. It also didn’t save much in the way of gas. Which, I’m sure, is why it wasn’t selling very well. The Camry hybrid, by comparison, is slightly more powerful than the standard V4, but gets significantly better mileage. Of course, Honda didn’t exactly go out of their way to market the Accord and its unique offerings, instead sort of just hoping that as a hybrid it would sell itself (a tactic that has been working pretty well for most of the other hybrids). The Accord wasn’t the sort of hybrid I (and many others) thought they should be making, which of course worked against the “if you build it, they will come” hybrid marketing strategy. After all, people who go out of their way to buy essentially unadvertised hybrids are usually in it for the fuel savings or environmental benefits (low emissions), and the Accord didn’t really fit either of those criteria. But even though most hybrids are made for the eco-crowd, I think there were buyers out there for a high-tech performance car, yet they didn’t try very hard to market the car they did make. For starters, a performance hybrid completely tricked out would probably have done better with an Acura badge (and at the same price, might not even have seemed that much more expensive).

I am saddened by the fact that Honda isn’t reinventing it or planning on coming out with another mid-sized/full-sized hybrid option. I know the Prius and the Camry hybrid from Toyota are dominating the market, but if there was a more fuel-efficient Accord, I’d probably go for it (especially if they managed to sneak in a decent-sized trunk). Instead, Honda appears to be focusing on the really tiny, really fuel efficient cars (the Civic and their yet-to-be-officially-announced Fit-esque/Insight-replacement hybrid).

Toyota, on the other hand, has announced that it’s sold its one millionth hybrid car.

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