[Smartie]

You know I wish Honda would take a German page and offer the higher trims FIRST in order to capitalize on the pent up demand of the evangelically eager...Or Honda knows more about their target demo then I do

I'D LOVE to see what kind of margins Honda takes home on Coupe vs Sedan and Si vs EX...

 

[Smartie]

As nice as that would be, with a entry-level compact like the Civic is, volume is key and starting with the lowest end models is always a win. With a budget minded demographic you'll have a lot that don't care for more than one of the lowest trims.

Indeed, that's why I was wondering about margins, thats the tell all of profitability... Just how tied to volume is Honda? I'm not sure, would love a look at their take homes

 

[Smartie]

I'm surprised by that because I know that FCA has the worst profit margins on their vehicles as well.

Why does that surprise you? A thin margin means you need more markups to recoup your proddy costs. Perfectly logical if you ask me...

The Japanese have lower markups as they have higher production efficiencies. Toyota is a god when it comes to this...

 

[Smartie]

Yea, toyota is king of efficiency, but that because they build toasters on wheels. Appliances. Cars with a soul and a personality take a little more time and finesse. lol.

Fair.. Sort of... Kaizen and Toyotas Production System we're responsible for Supra, Celica, the original 86 and all the bullet proof original Lexus' like the LS and SC...

currently I would agree with that LOL

http://dailykanban.com/2015/03/toyotas-tnga-tps-2-0/

 

[Smartie]

Toyota cars may be appliances but they are very reliable appliances. That may be why they haven't had a recent need to update their line too much with innovative cars. Let's hope the 10th Gen Civic is just as reliable.

Oh i agree with you. I'm not saying toyota doesn't have a heritage of fun sporty cars.. but unlike honda who realized their mistake and are now correcting it by injecting life back into their cars toyota decided toasters were good enough as long as they sell. If sales ever do start to slip for Toyota, they'll go back to their heritage like honda is doing.

Currently Toyota only really cares about reliability, sales volume, and building lifeless A to B appliances for boring people.

Most people want to buy soul less appliances that work when they want them too, don't break and are approximately average to what everyone else has.

Enthusiasts are the weird ones, and oddities don't make for consistent inputs into the balance sheet. Predictable people are easy to predict

 

[Smartie]

so true
they look at the options the car has
not which engine or how it drives
a bit sad imo

It's simulacrum and simulation... value of the image over value of the object