European Honda CR-Z
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With LEDs, rear seats and a glass roof!
What is wrong with Honda?!
None of these are available in the US version.
Why???
These should at least be options.
They just admitted a few days ago that the new Insight was not as successful as they had hoped in the US.
They say it’s too small for our market.
More mistakes are being made with the CR-Z, by not offering any of the Euro features over here.
Plus the 35MPG rating isn’t going to bring in Hybrid fanatics.
So close yet so far off….
back when the canadian-us dollar parity issue was (still is, actually) making canadian vehicle costing way more than the us-version, some canadian tv/auto-journalists asked several manufacturers about how they came up with their msrp pricing schemes, their responses were something like "we price our car according to what the consumers are willing to pay". it disgusted me a little, since they are practically saying that canadians are so stupid that they cannot read numbers past 4 digits and have no idea what the internet is so they won't know the cheaper price in the US. same thing with auto companies in the US, they always import the worse car, and intentionally spend money and time on modification of design and features in order to cheapen it. they avoid at all cost to introduce vehicles that are even remotely similar to one another, afraid that it confuse ppl and compete within brand. and the most often heard "its too small for americans". srsly, they are practically labeling americans as tasteless simpleton fatasses
I guess the LED lights and the glass roof are too expensive for America. You always have to remember that we Europeans have to pay nearly double of the price you pay for your cars. But I also think Honda should make these optional for America, too.
Not close at all. The only thing helping to sell Hondas these days is Toyota.
The insight gets lousy mileage (for a hybrid). not much better than a Chevy Cobalt that's half the price (or a "Car of the Year" Ford Fusion with twice the room, better handeling, and a better ride; for about the same price).
The CR-Z has no back seat for safety reasons (US standards are much more stringent than most of Europe). And you don't have the Insurance companies pointing out flaws (in Europe) like we do in the US. (State Farm alone, made numerous attempts to warn Toyota that they were seeing an alarming number of accelerator failures & brake failures many years ago)
The CR-Z appeals mostly to young kids; inexperienced at driving. If the back seat is unsafe; the cost of insurance will keep those kids from being able to afford them. This will be a "starter" car designed to get new drivers comfortable with the Honda brand. The hope is that Honda can "hook" these kids who will then trade up to cars with high profit margins like the over-priced (for their class) CR-V, Accord, Civic, etc.
must be due to US safety regs.
Don't forget the already widely acclaimed horrible styling and weak powerplant.
They've got a lemon on their hands before it even hits NA. Nice work Honda. Proving yet again, you've also lost your soul.
I agree, honda has really lost his soul. Even their cars interior quality is cheaper now….accord…etc…. I had a 2005 Accord v6 and what a surprise when i drove a 2008….i was so disapointed. No xenon lights, no key less entrance, no tiptronc just an eco light… hey wow it's going to cost me 2-3$ dollars less per week in gaz but since the freaking car is even bigger and it won't even matter. What happened to their A-VTEC!!??????
As mentioned by "Anonymous" above.
Europeans are used to pay for premium, small cars. When You pay twice as much, you're likely to get more, albeit not twice as much.
I've watched there forums over the past few years and it's very obvious, that to most US citizens, small=cheap no matter what. Which is why European and Japanese cars in the small-Premium-car segment don't make it here.
Just look at the complaints about the "tiny" engines.
Now, we have several very efficient, 1.4/1.6 litre, 180-200 Bhp, revvy, 250+ NM Torque engines in the small-premium cars, but the response ??
"Oh, I hope this car comes with a 3.2 litre, V6, 180bhp, 250+NM engine instead of that tiny thing" even though the 1.6 outperforms the big engine on everything from accelleration to fuel-efficiency.
You get what You pay for, and Amiericans in general aren't willing to pay a premium for anything that isn't a very big car.
No rear seats in North America, because people are too big. That's just the reality.
Well.. The Insight is not too small(if that were the case… then wouldn't the Civic, Fit, etc.. also be "too small" to sell well in the USA?).
Anyhow… it's not the car's size, or MSRP… it is just not that good of a vehicle.
We test drove one with 15-20 MPH winds…. and after you hit 45+ mph on the hwy… or a semi passes by….. you get buffeted around.
It isn't fast… doesn't handle very well. MPG isn't as good as the original Insight(nor is the CR-Z's mpg).
It was an awful car… the seats and driving position were ok… as was the hatch area… but that was about it.
The CR-Z…. for the MPG it will get, should just have the Civic's engine in the thing…. for some sub-9 seconds to 60 times… and still get Mid-30's (or higher) MPG, and maybe upper 20's/30 MPG city, instead of this mild hybrid stuff…that only seems to be a benefit over the Fit or Civic, if used in the city… which then, it gets 36 MPG…which is great(if you drive 50%, or more, hwy…. buying this for MPG isn't worth the cost).
I drove a last generation Dodge Neon(rental) and it felt fast… and got 33 MPG(mix of hwy/city)…
I looked up the information… and 0-60 was claimed, on one site, for the automatic,like I drove.. to be 8 seconds(and it felt like it was getting to 60 in 8 seconds, too).
Why can't they make something like that?
33-35hwy, maybe 27-30 city, and 0-60 in 8 seconds?
Yeah, I dont get it. I like the car, but I'm not looking for a stripper either. Mazda at least has figured out that if you load it with content, people will buy small cars. Not sure why Honda hasnt figured that out… they dont sell on the low end of the segment anyways.
I'll pass. It's ugly, not impressive, weak enigne no back seats. I'll pass.
Honda CR-Z is basically a sporty and fun-to-drive and very much efficient with strong approach hybrid coupe car with focused sleek design and efficient environmental technology. As there are many more European features presents in the car in Europe itself, why does not it reveals the same features for the US market as well.. There must have to be near to the extent features, but its not showing..
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