Peoples obsession with Honda - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

BenzOnline · #1 06-26-2006, 09:40 AM

This past weekend, I was with a group of friends and colleagues and the topic of cars came up. Out of 10 people there, 5 drove Hondas and me with 1 Benz and my other friend with which used to have a car but had an accident.

One person out of the blue asks "hey mark hows that Benz..does it start in the morning?" I just laughed and said "of course, and it accelerates too" Then the whole debate started with mostly me staying quiet cause I would have lost it....the whole "Honda vs every other car in the world"...reliable reliable reliable..the only reason why its good they all said.

The only thing I mentioned was "id rather occasionally fix and have a car with timeless looks and a soul to it then constantly having it reliable and nothing going wrong"

What is wrong with society today? So many of these damn boring appliance Honda vehicles roaming the streets and the prices of them are a rip off for what you get!

"Hold On Not Done Accelerating"

raymr · #2 06-26-2006, 09:55 AM

Its because the vast majority of people are boring and cheap.

John Doe · #3 06-26-2006, 09:58 AM

I bought one new and had it for 10 years. I needed a boring and cheap car (had a tow vehicle). The only thing I ever had go wrong was the slave cylinder for the clutch other than routine maintenance. Wish I still had it.

yosshimura · #4 06-26-2006, 09:58 AM

I rode in a Honda with 144K miles yesterday after my 95 E320 w/123K miles overheated... Honda felt like **** on the highway, vibrating (not sure if they normally vibrate like that at that mileage or this one needed some type of engine mount repair or alignment/balancing)...

Anyway, I asked the owner about major repairs the last 40K miles or so... they said, none really... wait, wait, they did remember a repair about 20K miles ago.... $600!! for a water pump, timing chain and hoses at the dealer! .... no other problems? hmmm, they said, "well brakes"...

So bottom line, is as we all know honda's/toyota, etc are much more reliable than an MB, no matter how much better the MB is finished, rides, feels, handles, etc.. sad fact of life...

croftynsteph · #5 06-26-2006, 10:02 AM

While they may be reliable, their popularity lies in the fact Honda has cultivated an almost cult status. College kids view Hondas (especially Civics) as pretty eco-friendly, economical and trendy transportation. Add to that the "tuner" market is loaded with all sorts of goodies for Hondas (most of the kids try to turn them into "rockets" or just buy the aesthetic bits) That boxy piece of plastic Element is popular for the same reason. Adults and some teens (who can afford it) buy Accords for the same reasons above and they plan on doing no real maintenance to them. They'll drive them into the ground. It varies from your typical new Lexus owner who buys one to do little or no maintenance and trades it in every 3-5 years. The Honda owners enjoy driving the car and only taking car of necessities, and when it starts to go they get rid of it.

Our forum members that own Hondas I'm sure keep them in excellent running order.

I've driven Hondas in my life, whether they were a friend's car or a car a family member was interested in...and I'm unimpressed all the way around with them. Which of course makes one wonder why some of the mainstream car mags are all over such a boring line up.

It all comes down to these cars/suvs/whatever are trendy now...pretty reliable...and extremely well hyped in various media. It is surprising however, how many people find the Element, Ridgeline and Accord sedan attractive...

In the next year or so I will probably be out of the Mercedes family...but I will never drive a Jap car

yosshimura · #6 06-26-2006, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by croftynsteph

While ............ Which of course makes one wonder why some of the mainstream car mags are all over such a boring line up.

...........a Jap car

Guess you haven't seen the S2000?.......

thorsen · #7 06-26-2006, 10:13 AM

In my early college years (mid 1990's) I had a 1977 Honda Civic CVCC. That was the only car I owned that you never had to lift the throttle going around corners. Of course, you could never get a speeding ticket either......

It was actually a pretty interesting engine. Each cylinder had two interconnected combustion chambers - a small, thimble-sized CC that received a rich mixture from the smallest of the three-barreled carb, and the normal CC that received a lean mixture (somewhere on the order of 100:1, IIRC). The sparkplug sat in the rich CC, and when the rich CC lit it sent a flame into the lean mixture. It was able to meet emissions requirements without the use of a catalytic converter. Needless to see, it was slow.

I bought a 1970 MGB and never drove the Honda again.

croftynsteph · #8 06-26-2006, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yosshimura

Guess you haven't seen the S2000?.......

I've seen tons and driven one...and as fun as they might be...the lineup as a whole is still boring...that isn't anywhere close to being the only car they manufacture...the car mags still rave over the Accords and Civics (even the base models)...not just the S2000

It is relatively obvious that the mainstream car mag isn't meant strictly for the car nut anymore. Car and Driver among other rags rave over these vehicles for their engineering and design...and care little that these vehicles are boring...b/c they know many interested in the review don't care...they only want to hear if the car is reliable and attractive (this for the most part probably doesn't apply to people who buy the magazine but rather those that read the reviews online or see them in other media). I still have some faith that if you're willing to buy the magazine you have a real interest in cars.

BenzOnline · #9 06-26-2006, 10:26 AM

My best friend has a 97 Civic sedan. He has a heavy foot despite the car's slow acceleration. The worst feeling is if we ever all go out drinking and you get back into that car..the hondas have for some reason a very unsmooth acceleration...its a jolt or a "sprint" which just makes your head fly back for that 1 second. So annoying and can make you really sick.

It is another reason I drive a MB due to their smooth acceleration when pushing the pedal esp in winter mode! haha

croftynsteph · #10 06-26-2006, 10:39 AM

While an Acura MDX is a Honda product...it falls more under yosshimura's statement of perspective...since they were well over 30k new...so while its a Honda...its an expensive Honda so I'd hope its very solid.

Yosshimura brings up a good point as well in terms of relative cost...could these new Honda owners buy a used MB? Yup, but they'd rather buy a new car and have no worries...

yosshimura · #11 06-26-2006, 10:29 AM

People have to keep things in perspective as well.....When I drive a freind's Ford Focus and it rattles or the an 03 Civic or an 01 Accord, and compare it to my 95 E320, I have to keep in mind that WHEN NEW, my car cost $45K and their's maybe average $20K to mid $20's... so I would hope the $45K would in fact ride better...

Brian Carlton · #12 06-26-2006, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BenzOnline

One person out of the blue asks "hey mark hows that Benz..does it start in the morning?" I just laughed and said "of course, and it accelerates too" Then the whole debate started with mostly me staying quiet cause I would have lost it....the whole "Honda vs every other car in the world"...reliable reliable reliable..the only reason why its good they all said.

The only thing I mentioned was "id rather occasionally fix and have a car with timeless looks and a soul to it then constantly having it reliable and nothing going wrong"

Actually, it's quite simple.

Do any of those people repair their own vehicles?

I'll take a bet that they do not.

Therefore, a vehicle that requires little or no repairs over the course of the first 100K miles will provide them with basic transportation at a very attractive cost per mile.

Sure, you can beat that cost, if you don't factor in your own labor, but if you were to pay yourself $80.00 per hour for every hour spent maintaing the M/B, you would be sunk with regard to the cost per mile comparison.

So, for folks that don't repair their own vehicles, a Honda or a Toyota makes perfect sense and I'd never chide them for purchasing such a vehicle. They need transportation at the most attractive price. Honda and Toyota provide that. M/B does not.

KylePavao · #13 06-26-2006, 11:06 AM

Most of my friends drive Hondas or Toyotas...and they are extremely cheap to maintain.

But compared to an MB...they are a joke..no nice door clunk, shimmying on the highway, cheap interior materials, small trunk etc..

As I said at the GTG, my father offered me a brand new Honda Civic, or an MB if I bought it and payed for parts he'd help me

As I said afterwards, "I didn't want a Honda, that's embarassing"

MBeige · #14 06-26-2006, 11:22 AM

Comparing an MB to a Honda is not fair. Those two brands make different vehicles altogether. For one, the Hondas usually are city cars with a lot of zip around town. The Benz, however, shines in the highways.

FWD vs RWD/4wd is another thing to consider as well, the handling of any FWD that came from factory will most likely have understeer while most MBs, since they're RWD, will have more than satisfactory handling off the factory.

The Honda is meant to be an econocar, while the MB pays no attention to the cost since if you can buy an MB, you can maintain it. Most of the new MBs don't have that infamous clunk when shutting the doors because the new ones are trying to save weight and will have to close easily unlike before. Parts are relatively comparable, if you know where to look.

While people complain that the price is a "rip off", most of the time the Honda owners pay for reliability (similarly priced Toyotas also fall in this bracket).

The nice thing about Hondas is also the tuning/modification. My dad has a Civic SiR with heavy modifications and it can be called an obsession too, since most parts are cheap.

I've always thought that most European cars are best left unmodified, while Japanese cars are meant to be modified in a way...

Maroon 300D · #15 06-26-2006, 11:17 AM

Hondas and Toyotas have a great reputation, but you pay for that now. When I needed a car about 6 months ago, family members advised me to get an old Honda or Toyota. I only had about 6K to spend, max, and I was surprised that the best Honda or Toyota I could get for that money seemed to be a '91 Corolla! I'd driven one of those before and it had the loosest steering I ever experienced. It's also just a boring-looking car.

Add to that the fact that the car was 15 years old; they may be reliable, but any car will have some issues at that age.

It seems that for the money they cost, there are a lot of other options.