Where do I start?
So, Honda unveiled a shoe yesterday, and it’s the next best thing to owning and driving a 2016 Civic.
At least, that’s what we’re led to believe. The limited edition…shoe…is a collaboration between Honda (maker of 3,000 pound vehicles that can drive places and are way pricier than pants), lifestyle-oriented digital media company Thrillist and menswear company JackThreads.
Yes, it’s called the HT3 Driving Shoe, and it premiered alongside the car that inspired it at a Thrillist-hosted Los Angeles shindig. We can’t confirm rumors that rioting broke out due to shoe anticipation.
While the aneurysm-causing buzzwords “synergy” and “dynamism” are nowhere to be found in Honda’s subsequent announcement, getting through it was no picnic:
“We wanted to create a shoe that’s unlike anything seen before – something that is as comfortable to wear as it is fashion-forward and futuristic,” said Michael Vincent, Senior Buyer, Footwear at JackThreads. “The HT3 is a great versatile sneaker that elevates the basic functionality of the driving shoe and marries the design aesthetic of Honda and JackThreads.”
After digesting that, the lucky people in attendance heard how the new Civic was a “game changer,” as told by senior exterior designer Jarad Hall of Honda R&D Americas.
Now, there are a considerable number of people (mainly men, it would seem) who go gaga over limited edition shoes, often because they plan to re-sell them for a profit. Our own Bark M. is a well-known connoisseur of fine footwear, but it’s doubtful his closet contains suck gimmicky apparel.
The HT3, which undercuts the price of a base Civic by $18,540 and is only available in pairs, isn’t the silliest promotional product developed by an automaker, but it is the latest. Apparently, this ground breaking shoe has a shroud that covers the laces, and reveals — wait for it — a Civic logo when uncovered.
Honda hasn’t said with any certainty whether the shoe can be used to pilot rival vehicles, which is concerning, because no one likes carrying around a bag of shoes like some sort of hobo.
Collectors, be sure to put this one next to your Edsel fallout shelter.
[Image: Honda North America]
Looks like a generic sweatshop pattern product modeled loosely off of the Saucony and New Balance designs from decades long past.
Oh, bless your hearts, Honda. That’s a dad shoe. I can tell by the slip-on-ability.
Kinda fitting given the bleh product lineup lately. “This will surely appeal to mall walkers everywhere,” said Honda of the HR-V and/or this shoe; we can’t tell which.
Negative, Ghostrider; these still have laces that need to be tied. They just added a cover for the laces.
Don’t make me look up Civic base price (which would likely vary by region anyway) to determine the asking price for this shoe.
MSRP is listed as $100.
I’ll see if I can get a COSTCO discount on these. Figure there is at least 30 bucks back to invoice and about 20 bucks in hold back. I wonder if waiting for the fall, if they’ll put some trunk money on it as well. nyuck nyuck nyuck ;)
Casual driving shoes should be made of leather or suede. It should not look vaguely like a Puma.
Yuck. This millennial wouldn’t go anywhere near those things.
I’ll stick to ASICS.
Yes, I too think I’ll stick w/my very comfortable Cumulus. As ugly as higher end Asics may be, they still don’t rival the abomination of a rear end on the new Civic…
Well, now that the Skymall catalogs are gone, I guess somebody has to sell orthopedic-looking lifter shoes. Not sure why that somebody had to be Honda, though.
All that’s missing is the logo on the side that looks eerily like a sperm.
I miss Skymall. I always wanted the R2-D2 they had in there.
“The HT3, which undercuts the price of a base Civic by $18,540 and is only available in pairs, isn’t the silliest promotional product developed by an automaker, but it is the latest.”
I don’t see how you can call these guys out but fail to mention the truly bizarre Porsche tailpipe subwoofer:
blah-de-blah-de-blah dot youtube.com/watch?v=81I_Gp3YQfU
My son and I had talked about building something like that for his Echo. We were going mount it on the back underbody and tie it into his OBDII output, then hit one of the local cruise nights with it.
But the intent of that thing is that it sits in your living room. They amputated a car’s ass and think you should put it under your TV. It’s so bizarre as to approach inexplicability.
I’ll stick to my Chucks and Van’s. I don’t really get driving shoe’s, especially for just the road? .. and I’ve definitely never been a fan of how they look.
Driving, at least at sub Baruthian speeds, is always best performed barefoot.
“…but it’s doubtful his closet contains suck gimmicky apparel.” Freudian typo?
So, shall we commence pointing and laughing? I’m so impressed that this shoe “elevates the functionality”. At least they didn’t feel the need to use “incentivize” in that press release, which is more than I can say for one of my coworkers.
Did your coworker “ideate” that one all by themselves?
/hangs head in shame as he’s been asked to coordinate an “Ideation” session at work…
The shoe looks better than the civic.
How about an italian-senna-tester-nsx leather shoe for the next time?
I think he was wearing Ferragamos. Still available.
Reminds me of my 1985 red-grey CRX.
It’s not April 1. Stop it.
Looks dated already, kind of like a pair of 2000 era Skechers.
Lol ewww, I remember those. I had Airwalks instead.
Looks like my grandmother’s house shoes.
Maybe I’m just a simple Missouri boy, but if I’m not rocking brown or black casual shoes to the office, then it’s regular ol’ Nike running shoes FTW. And not those orange/green/other loud colors, black is fine.
These aren’t bad, though. Albeit a little hipster-ish/young for my taste.
I’m sure most of you divas on this site will like ’em fine XD (just sh*ttin’)
I hear the Porsche versions actually go up in value after stored in a climate controlled closet.