Honda concept, please come back to the showroom
Honda offering buyouts, cutting pay, production in North America
By Stephen Pate, NJN Network, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada, April 1, 2009
with story from CBC
The world wide auto industry just met an inflection point and headed downward last Fall. Chrysler is on the way out, GM is going bankrupt, Toyota is cutting back and now CBC tell us Honda is pulling in its horns. Statistics have shown for years that the manufacturers were producing more cars than the world needed by a massive amount. We have been treated to more come-on’s than a single male walking the red light district of Amsterdam. Now it’s over. We don’t need them and we don’t want their cars.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqAuuIDU2sw
The thrill is gone
There are still people who get their kicks out of buying the latest gadget car, status car or testosterone SUV. For the majority those days are over. The desire is gone.
I’m an average to above average consumer. I took my last car back to the dealer at the end of the lease and did nothing. Didn’t buy another although the twinge hit for a week or so. Six months later, I don’t want to cruise showrooms, check the ads and reviews. I live in a city. My partner has a car which I use from time to time. Otherwise I take cabs which are cool: the cabbies are great sources of gossip.
Lest you think me odd, I’ve always been a car nut. Bought my first car at 19 and never looked back. First new car was 1970 Chevelle, tres cool. I’ve owned a hot Pontiac that did 90 mph in second gear, an Olds that topped out at 139 mph on a road somewhere, a Cadillac, Chevies over and over, 2 fantastic SUV’s, a pick up truck, tiny cars, and big cars. Four decades of shiny, powerful and more expensive cars. Like BB King said, the thrill is gone baby.
And the thrill is gone for more people than the car companies want to believe. First we don’t need more than basic transportation which costs less than $20,000. Second, all cars are too expensive to buy and run. Check you budget. Your car is probably the most expensive thing you pay for and is virtually worthless. At least you might win in the house/mortgage game.
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