So if I asked you: "What do you think of Honda and Toyota? Are they good products? Are they better products? Are they the best products?", what would you answer? Yes to all, right? Well you couldn't be MORE wrong!!! And it's not really surprising if you look past the marketing, the advertising and the misleading statistics.
Let's start with the icon of 'affordable and quality': Honda. For well over 50 years, Honda has been with us since the first oil-crisis of the 1970s. The original "Civic Accord" was incredibly small and it arrived on North American shores at the best possible time. With the oil crisis in full-bloom and the 'Big Three' pumping out near-3 ton, 18 foot-long chrome-laden metal monsters. With most fuel stations running out of supplies and the range of the American monstrosities being dismal at best, along came these tiny, (and I mean TINY!!), little Japanese cars that were less than one-quarter the size of the average American land-yacht with the promise of range.
And although there wasn't really much in the way of improved range, it was a matter of 'perception'. "Smaller is better", right? There was the understanding that less wight to move cost less fuel. General Motors' response to this intrusion was the under-rated but incredibly well-built Chevette. (You still see them driving around thirty years later!).
But back to Honda... since it's arrival in North America, they've 'earned' a reputation for quality, fair pricing and fantastic customer service. Well, I can say that this is the farthest thing from the truth. In recent times, I have come to learn much about these two Japanese giants.
Honda's products are NOT of a higher caliber than the North American cars.These days, it will cost you OVER Thirty-thousand dollars for a Civic coupe... A CIVIC!!! That's not even the price of an Accord, their top model!!
And then there's Toyota. They came on the scene not long after Honda and earned the same reputation for build-quality and pricing. Yet today, a Camry can cost you over forty-thousand dollars and yet have the oil pan blow-out from under the car... twice!
However, here`s something you may not know, although I did make mention of it in a prior posting: in Canada, automotive manufacturers are NOT obligated to publish their recalls and very few actually do. In Canada, Transport Canada publishes recalls. If you owned either a Honda or a Toyota and you discovered that there was a recall issued for your model in the US and you brought this information to the dealer, they`ll harp, and and complain and then finally acquiesce, all the while making as if they`re doing YOU a favor.
In fact, it IS law in Canada that if you brought recall information to them and your vehicle IS a part of that recall, they are obligated by law to honor that recall. As I stated in a previous posting, Toyotas are now cars built for people who don`t like to drive. There used to be the Celica GTS and the Supra Twin-Turbo. They were great performers, the last generation of the Supra being co-designed by Ferrari (engine), but sadly, the last generation of Celica was turned into "a girl car", losing it's power-to-weight ratio and it's bang-for-buck value.
And now with automotive duds like the Camry and the inconceivably popular Prius, Toyota has taken a step towards the yawn! Honda's Accord has been a snore-fest for the past three generations before the current model.
But let's get back to the truth. Honda: BAD products, bad customer service. One of my co-workers bought a Civic Coupe, at $34 0000! And it's not even the sports model! I told her, they saw her coming from afar. Yet, she's had to take her car to the shop 7 times just to have the dome light changed. If they can't wire up the car properly so that something as simple as the dome light, how good can the more complex components be?!
My former roommate had a Honda Element and though he loved that 'vehicle', he would be among the first to complain about how Honda was very sketchy in their approach to addressing recalls. The first Elements were known to suffer from structural stresses that would lead to the windshield cracking. This was such an issue that in the US, there was a recall issued. As stated before, in Canada, there is no such regulation that obligates manufacturers to issue recalls, hence they maintain their image and there's no cash lost in costly repairs or part-exchanges.
However, it is YOUR legal right to have a part replaced/repaired should you find that it is part of a recall in the US. They will hem, they will haw, but in the end, they cannot refuse the repair. AND then they'll make it appear as if they are doing you a favor by agreeing to replace/repair the components in question.
As my friend was a member of a Honda Element-owners club, he was privy to the recall information and did indeed bring his Element to the Honda dealership for a replacement windshield. They made such a big deal about it, they disputed the validity of his information but in the end, they did replace his windshield as a favor to him as he was "a valued Honda customer".
Don't fall for it. Know your rights. Know the truth! Look beyond the 'image' of Honda, Toyota, etc. They are not as good as they want you to believe. But they have a fantastic 'publicity-machine' working for them.
The truth will set YOU free!
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