In what year did Honda officially become lame and boring?

[jastevenson]

In the 80s and early 90s, at least, Honda was the bomb. Sure, they didn't make cars with big torque, and their cars weren't drop dead gorgeous, but outside of that, their cars were beautifully engineered and more attractive than what Toyota was putting out, while also being more fun to drive.

Today, there isn't a single Honda I would buy.

When did Honda become so lame? And why?

[GsR]

mid 2000s

[Mike VR6]

I would say after 2000...that was the last good Civic. Accords got boring after 1997.

But..the caveat to that is the S2000...that lead Honda to 2009.

[WE01]

yeah, mid 2000's when they nerfed the s2k, didnt give us the euro civic hatch or a decent SI, quit making the rsx and started making a truck.

[03GTI4Me]

Accord died in 1998
Civic died in 2001
Prelude died in 2001
Integra died in 2001 (although the RSX was a decent replacement)
RSX died in 2006

Take an average, but I think 2002 would be a good guess.

[sforsancho]

When the 2001 Civic gained struts over front wishbones was a sign to me that the engineering excellence of Honda had fallen to the bean counters. Sure there was an S2000 to hold us over for more than a decade, but recall that it was designed and launched before 2000..

Basically when this



Replaced this

[Tuneman7]

I think after the S2000 was gone.

[TetsuoShima]

Makes me appreciate my car all that much more.

[seadoo2006]

When the 2001 Civic gained struts over front wishbones was a sign to me that the engineering excellence of Honda had fallen to the bean counters. Sure there was an S2000 to hold us over for more than a decade, but recall that it was designed and launched before 2000..

Basically when this



Replaced this

Actually, I'll disagree with you there ...

The 7th Gen Civics were actually very well designed cars. The chassis was great and it handled like it was on rails, but they crippled it with a crappy engine ... the D17s were just WAY too lean burning and way too underpowered.

That being said, take an EX with the SOHC VTEC or the EP3 hatch around an AutoX course and you'll see how that chassis and gear box shined.

[Mike!]

"Officially"? Probably 2011 when the CR-Z fell flat in reviews and sales performance, and the new Civic was widely panned by critics and enthusiasts.

The trend started at different times for different lines. The '03 Accord, the first specifically segregated for North America versus the rest of the world, was a step in the "lame" or "boring" direction.

People jump to the '01 generation for the Civic, as it was cheapened a bit in terms of suspension and fitments. That said, people forget that Honda made a damn good effort for the '06 generation. 200hp 2 liter with LSD in the Si was a step in the right direction, and even an improvement over the lusted-after '00-01 Si. It's an unsung success lost underneath spaceship styling.

The Prelude and S2K were great banner carriers for enthusiast vehicles all the way until their respective ends.

[feels_road]

Way before the first Honda has lost its way thread was started. IMO, the V6 Accord, and even more so the Coupe, were holding on longest.

[kimilein]

Another example is the Milky Way wanton

wut

[jimbogxp]

2001. Nothing introduced since the S2000 has been either fun, exciting or attractive.

Prelude killed in 2001.

I mean, you could see this coming as clear as daylight.

1994, still a nice looking little sedan & coopay



1998 Accord, the end is near.




2003 Accord, beginning of the end, it is over, stick a fork in 'em.



1996 Civic, still a cute little sedan.



2001 Civic, already lost its way.



They copied the freaking Cavalier, for goodness sakes.

[foundubbedriver]

2001 - The Fast and the Furious was released.

[jimbogxp]

I'll give Honda an "A for effort" with the Fit. The Fit was introduced to recapture some of what the Civic used to do in its sleep, before they bloated and ruined it. At least Mazda had the wisdom to retain the essence of the Miata in size, weight and spirit. Honda totally lost their way making the Civic the size of old Accords and Accords the size of old Chevy mid-sized sedans.

Honda could do a lot worse to just clone their 1986 cars but with modern technology. In fact, they are doing much worse. My mother hates her Civic -- her 6th straight Civic. She can't see the hood to park, the massive sloped A pillars drive her nuts, and she had to pull the rear headrests to be able to back the car out. NONE of her previous 5 civics gave her a single problem, starting with her favorite, her beloved light green 1982 Civic Wagon with stick. She loved that car. She doesn't like her 2011 Civic but she is too cheap to trade in for a CRV like I keep prodding her to.

[invisiblewar]

I'd say around 2005-2006. Nothing put out since then has been very good, except for the TL-S

[Internal Combustion]

I would say after 2000...that was the last good Civic. Accords got boring after 1997.

But..the caveat to that is the S2000...that lead Honda to 2009.

The 7th Gen is a great car. 240 HP when the competitors had 200, Acura like interior for 29k. Drives well enough. The 06-07 is a great looking car and you could get it in 6 speed as well. Spare me about the transmission woes, they're not all bad. 2003-07 the accord was head and shoulders above altima Camry and the like.

[dcmix5]

I'd say around 2005-2006. Nothing put out since then has been very good, except for the TL-S

Right. Yeah, well, outside of probably the best Civic ever produced for the US market.

[300_munkeys]

I think it happened later than what most of you think. The last civic Si was actually a fantastic car, as was the S2000.

So I'll say after the market crash and the decision to end the S2k without a successor, well thats when it happened.

The new civic Si is the best example of it. I have faith they will come back though.

[Grey Mouser]

What year did the company form?

[BRealistic]

As much as we like to harp about the loss of performance models- that is but a single pixel in the big picture.
Honda still makes very good vehicles, but they lack the serious edge they once had.

And what was the serious edge?
The edge was how the company put advancing the product and engineering ahead of maximizing profitability.

And just when did Honda abandon the engineers to let the accountants and marketing types run the company?

[Rob.]

1995 civic was the last good one.
Accords sucked starting in 1998
S2K was a love / hate
1990-2001 Integras were great
1988-1996 Preludes were awesome too.

[C4 A6]

What year did the company form?

Huhuhuhuhu we got a joker here.

I say after they killed off the NSX (2005) or after the introduction of the S2000 CR in 2007 (the last really sports oriented thing they designed.)

[50fridge]

I think 2008 because after the global economy meltdown Honda cut most of the funding to there engineering department. They killed the V10 super car they were doing, starting to sell diesel engines in America, and a flagship car for Acura with a V8. They also since then have killed the FD2 Civic Type R and the FN2 Civic Type R, S2000, stopped offering the K20A in the Civic Si, made the disappointing CRZ and made the Crosstour and ZDX.

[forewheel]

This is probably the best thing Honda has going for them right now, especially with the V6 and 6sp. and honestly I like it a lot, but most everything else in their lineup is pretty lame.

[sforsancho]

This is probably the best thing Honda has going for them right now, especially with the V6 and 6sp. and honestly I like it a lot, but most everything else in their lineup is pretty lame.

They dropped this cool blue for 2012. In fact, the only colors for the EX coupe are a series of dull grays, blacks, white, and red.

I find it reasonably amusing that the base price of a Accord V6 w/ 6MT is just $270 less than a Mustang 5.0 w/ 6MT.

[BRealistic]

I find it reasonably amusing that the base price of a Accord V6 w/ 6MT is just $270 less than a Mustang 5.0 w/ 6MT.

And the base 5.0 GT has a higher HP/Liter spec... even the V6 Mustang does.
Not that HP/Liter matters, but it is ironic considering the internet bs discussions of a decade ago.

[deagle]

in this day and age of over zealous speeding tickets and rising gas prices, the typical everyday driving tasks don't warrant fun driving

how much fun do you want on a 10 minute grocery trip ?

personally, the si and accord v6 gives enough push and zip to cater to most tasks

[adrew]

This is probably the best thing Honda has going for them right now, especially with the V6 and 6sp. and honestly I like it a lot, but most everything else in their lineup is pretty lame.

My dad has one and the thing is a riot.

[2Cor]

The fit is a fantastic handling car with a lot of practicality. That doesn't stop the constant stream of stupid that seems to be de rigueur with certain self-professed car types however.

[BRealistic]

i
how much fun do you want on a 10 minute grocery trip ?

Why are you on a car and driving enthusiast forum?

[TetsuoShima]

I heard somewhere(think it was here) that the Accord coupe was actually supposed to be the next gen Prelude but then they canned that idea because they thought it'd take away sales from the actual Accord coupe..

[compy222]

2009 with the end of the S2000.

[Waarp]

this is probably the best thing Honda has going for them right now, especially with the V6 and 6sp. and honestly I like it a lot, but most everything else in their lineup is pretty lame.

Good luck enjoying the V6 and 6spd when you're writhing in agony from the concrete seats. Ditto the RDX, they almost put me in the hospital. Honda has lost the plot.

[Vision33r]

People got bored of Honda because just about every other maker has a turbo-charged compact with 200HP+

A lot of Honda fans left for VW, Mazda, Subaru, etc.

I don't know why anyone would spend $20-25k on a Civic today, there are too many better choices.