QOTD: How We Feeling About the Lack of Cheap Wheels?
Just a bit ago, Matt wrote about how the 2023 Honda Civic is dropping its value-priced LX trim. He pointed out that Honda has done this with other models.
He further reminds us that Honda is doing this at a time when dealers are marking vehicles up by absurd amounts and some car buyers are struggling economically.
So, is it a good strategy for automakers to cut entry-level trims? Are they hurting themselves by offering one less way for people to buy cars (and potentially become loyal to the brand), or is the potential profit of more-expensive cars enough to overcome it?
[Image: Honda]
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Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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I don't blame the manufacturers for making the vehicles that make them the most money in a supply-constrained environment. That just makes good business sense. What I do mind is the greedy markup at the dealership - we have started looking for a new (or few years old) car and I simply refuse to hand the dealer an extra $5K that they don't deserve. So, the old fleet will have to do for another year. Inagine the gall of the stealership that wants $3K over list for a common car and then shows you paperwork with an $750 doc fee....they can go screw themselves.
Side note: I drove past 2 dealerships in my area this past weekend - one a large Ford dealer, the other my favorite Dodge dealer. Both have completely full lots- both new and used. Are any of you folks seeing this in your area? I was totally surprised, especially the Ford dealer as 4 months ago when I went by there was literally 14 new vehicles on the lot.
Base stripper prices are what brings budget shoppers into the showrooms even if they drive off in an upsell, so I think Honda's gonna have a tough time with the Civic and CR-V now starting ~10% higher than a Corolla or RAV4. But if Honda still has problems getting volume up (the last 2 local dealers I've driven by are still bare compared to the competition), maybe this is a temporary measure, and a 'VP' trim or something will return for '24?
True Honda and Toyota are becoming more premium brands.