[92Saturn]

Hello all,

What is everyone's perspective on how poplular this vehicle is going to be? The dealers near me all seem to have a few so it doesn't appear that they sell as soon as they hit the lot. Perhaps this is because the dealers are selling above MSRP. It does seem like the vehicle is more popular with other age groups then the age group that Honda targeted.

From what I've seen I'd say that the initial popularity of this vehicle exceeds that of the Pontiac Aztec but falls short of the New Beetle and PT Cruiser.

Pat

 

[robTX]

I got to see an Element up close last night at the Houston Auto Show, and I enjoyed the various responses:

"It looks like a little ambulance"

"It's diff'r'nt..." (this is Texas, mind you)

"Does it come with leather seats?" (to the boyishly excited husband, from the bemused wife who seemed to have missed the point)

Most seemed to agree that the opposite-opening doors, reconfigurable back seats, and other such features were desirable, but many seemed to have a difficult time digging the weird chunky look of the Element (which I am inextricably drawn to). I'm curious how many people will ultimately be put off by the aesthetic factor.

 

[Carla]

My first response to this was: Who cares? - my only concern is its initial popularity with ME, and I bought one as soon as I saw it. But, to give a serious answer, I agree that it seems to be more popular outside the "target" group. I suspect that most twenty-somethings simply don't have the money to go out and buy a new car just because one shows up on the market and it's perfect for them. (And, I understand it's not even perfect for them yet - they're more likely to want the manual transmission with the 4WD, which isn't being sold yet). I think Honda is making a mistake with the advertising -- they should aim some of it at couples with small children, middle-aged folks with semi-active lifestyles that include hiking, camping, and the like, and people with dogs or other "companion" pets. A few of us saw the Element's practicality for ourselves even with advertising aimed in other direction totally, but more would see it if Honda would clue them in a little bit. Just MO.

 

[DarkwingD]

Where I live they cant keep them in stock, the only reason I got mine was because I happned to call as it was coming of the truck and have them hold it for me. I think it will be popular with diffrent age groups, both my parents are in their 60's and there chomping at the bit to get one, one of my proffesors spent about an half an hour crawling through my car, and I get questions from older people all the time, so at least from personal expierence it seems the not only 20 somethings are intrested in the car.

 

[GYPSYTDA]

OK one who cares about popularity.. i like having a vehicle not everyone else has. How annoying it must be for the "common" person to find "their" vehicle in the sea of twins (triplets, and so on) in a parking lot! I pitty those.. smiles..

As far as the popularity of the PT Cruiser (built on the crappy neon frame) and the (poor excuse for a revival) Beetle.. that is not even an issue, and brings other points to mind, those cars are garbage, as most trendy items are..

I thought the PT Cruiser was cute too, but they are horrible to drive (I have seen slugs with more umph!) visability is a nightmare, head room (only if you are the head-less horeman) leg room and cargo HA! If you want a back seat passengers they better be small children or adults who have been severed at the hip! The whole layout is chaotic! The price a joke..

ok now what was that again, popularity you say.. and again I say I would be thrilled if the Element is NOT!

The NEW Beetle is another goofy item, a non passenger nightmare!

OK so I think you get my point, popularity more than not is not a good thing. Sure it would be nice for HONDA is this vehicle flies (which they cannot stay on the lots here in Delaware!) But for me, i would prefer otherwise.

The demographic, yes I too see more dog companion, over 30 something people who are in love with this vehicle as well as all my friends with kids.. the washable aspect alone sells when you have kids. But on Honda's side here, they are trying to capture customers they DO NOT have, that is the whole point, they DID NOT have to advertise to women over 30, or seniors (citizens) cause they have us, we love Honda's this car is right for us, we have vehicle experience, we have a clue.. Now selling to the kids, well that is hard, they often are not very worldly, they don't have the experience or knowledge to know good from bad, and well go with what is hot, after they discover that PT Cruiser is a bomb they go out and get their first Civic!

 

[Alement]

Don't trash the Beetle, it is a great small car. I have been driving a blue turbo beetle, but I took delivery of an orange Element today. I just needed a bit more room, and the Beetle's lease was up.

The beetle has been very reliable, it is very quick. very quiet, incredibly spacious inside, and very good looking. Yes, the back seats lack headroom, but that is not why I bought it!

All that being said, I love my new Element. I have been waiting for someone to take a utilitatian approach to designing a car, and finally it arrived.

bye bye Beetle, hello Element!

 

[GYPSYTDA]

ATT: Alement!

I am glad you were happy with the Beetle & you are happy with your new roomy Element!

My abuse of the Beetle is because of the blind popularity of it. It is cute, but that really as far as it went. The Beetle has not been very reliable since it was reintroduced.. they have been improving it but it simply is not a reliable mode of transportation. For something that small it should at least have decent gas milage and it is not there either ...

A Civic Coupe (not even the hybrid either) gets 32/38 mpg
VW New Beetle 24/31
The New beetle is over a grand more $$
The Honda Civic is also roomier & has more cargo space.
Sure the New Beetle is cute, very cute.. though not as cute as the Original Beetle.. that was a great little (yet noisy and uncomfortable) vehicle...

I too love the cute aspect, yet I love a vehicle I know every day will get me where I am going, & does not need a standing appointment with the repair shop! Now Honda would have it all if they could get some good looks (instead of the yawn looks) for the rest of the line.

It is funny that they advertised the Accord having such a dramatic change and it appealing to the younger crew ha, it is as ho-hum as the previous design. They try, but they need to try a little more, but not lose the incredible quality & relliablity they are famous for! I think I can live with the boring.. though now they finally came out with a wicked cool vehicle (finally!)

Enjoy your new Element, i wish you many, many happy years together!

 

[Alement]

Gypsytda-

In my opinion, you do not know what you are talking about. I have driven a turbo Beetle for the last 3 years. Have you? It is a great car. It has been 100% reliable, and shows no signs of stopping. The only reason I got the Element is I need more room for work and my large dog.

You abuse the Beetle because it is popular? God forbid your Element becomes popular! Are you going to hate it then?

Why do you think all those people drive Beetles? Because they like em! They would not buy and continue to buy the card if it did not get them where they want to go. Your comments about the "standing appointment at the repair shop" and the Beetle not being "reliable transportation" are just riduclous.

Don't compare the Beetle to the Civic...a better comparison would be the Golf and the Civic. And as far as quality goes, the Beetle consistently gets 4 out of 5 points from Jd Powers, and 8.7 out of 10 from Edmunds!

You want mileage? Get the TDI Beetle, which tops out at 49mpg. Plus the Beetle has the best crash test ratings in its class! And unlike the Element, the Beetle had side airbags from day one.

In my opinion, Volkswagen is the most consistently innovative car company around today. From the Passat, Jetta, Golf, and Beetle they lead in car design and performance. Plus their advertising is the most creative in the business as well.

I am glad you realize that the Element is the only Honda in the entire lineup that looks good. I guess the s2000 is not bad, but it is pretty to hard to screw up a 2 door sport ragtop. I still rather have a Miata.

I would suggest you focus on your positive feeling about the Element rather than disparaging other vehicles. If you feel you must rag on another car, there are plenty of Chevys, Fords, and Chryslers to go around.

 

[yazoo68]

I agree with Alement. My wife has had a Beetle for four years, with zero problems. The initial reaction of "wow, how cute!!" passed in time, so that wasn't what kept her (and I) in love with the vehicle. It is spacious for a small car and reliable. I can tell you, we test drove a Civic, and the Beetle has much more zoom and room -- hands down.

We now have an Element, which we love for some of the same reasons that we loved the Beetle initially -- different, cute, nobody has one -- however I am confident that once the feeling passes we will be left with a very reliable vehicle that we will own for years and years.

 

[tigernumber6]

I know this might be off-thread a little but I don't see how ripping other vehicles helps Element owners and potential Element owners at all. I started visiting this site to help make my decision to buy and I must admit, most of you guys have some great advice. The cheerleaders of the site, however, I found the least helpful. Hard to make an educated purchase without knowing the cons as well as the pros.

I believe the Element is the perfect car for me, but I'm not so naive to believe it's the perfect car. I'm sure Beatle, VUE and other vehicle owners feel the same about their rollers.

I like the idea of an Owner's Club. I think I'll be visiting this site daily once my Element arrives. The idea of a Fan Club, however, doesn't appeal to me very much.

 

[GYPSYTDA]

I respect that you had a great run with your VWs and love them. That is awesome, but a good vehicle can happen. Take a good look at Consumer reports Reviews on the VWs The New Beetle was a vehicle they DID Not recommend people getting becuase it did have problems with electrical, other power equipement and hardware, which a car so new should not have.

I apologize for any offense but I am looking at facts & figures..

I also pointed out the popularity being due to the appearance, and that the reliabililty did not factor in on the New Bettle. Nor did it on the PT Cruiser both have a bad track record. Thankfully in 2001 they are up to having an "average" reliability rating on the New Beetle. The reason why they sold well was cause of the "cute" factor. YOu have to admit Honda does have an awesome rep for reliability! Though I think it has converted many people over due to the size, and style, and the fact that it is the first vehicle Honda has come out with that looks incredible

Again I apologize for any hurt feeling or the like. I wish you many years of happiness with your Element, and other choices in life.

 

[ibutchman]

I just so happen to talk to an owner of a Beetle today. After reading these Posts yesterday, I thought when I seen the guy I would ask him how he liked his Beetle. He was about 70 yo. He said he has had VW's as long as he could remember. He also said he loved his car and has never had any problems with it except the trip odometer sticking. He said his daughter in Florida is buying the Beetle Covertible. Only he hates the color shes getting, Salmon.....Butch

 

[ibutchman]

P.S.....I know Hondas are truly a reliable car, but believe it or not when I got my first Honda Civic in 1975 (yes almost thirty years ago) It was one of the worst cars I have ever have owned. The entire car rusted prematurely and the electrical system was a nightmare. But I have a fondness for it because it was my first car and at the time people in Michigan never seen anything like it :shock: and it was not too long after the oil embargo, I could drive all week on two dollars!.....Butch

 

[GYPSYTDA]

Hey Butchie, yeah I know how horrible the Hondas & Toyotas were when they first arrive, but they did arrive at the right time with the right concept, Gas Economy.. and they continued to improve.

American Car Manufacturers thought them self so above it all they did not bother to compete, they did not think there was a real competition there. Too bad huh? Then they tried to compete when the Hyundais came over, and they (American Manuf) only went down hill from there. It is sad when the Hyundais are surpass the American Manuf in quality, shame huh?

Now this 70 something year old does he have the real beetle or the New one? The real ones were cool cause you can work on them no problem, with out an expenisve repair kit.

Again if the vehicle has been good for some, awesome, kudos great for them.. but from what I have read and people I have talked to and the tow trucks hauling I see the bad of the Beetle!

alas this really does not be beaten anymore, points made.

 

[ibutchman]

GYPIE......It looked about a year or two old. I'm just guessing because I don't follow Beetles. It was the new style though......Butch

 

[GYPSYTDA]

Gotcha Butchie, re the vw.. i am glad it has worked out for him/them.

The one thing i do notice though, and this is not meant to be mean, is there are people who are diehards with a product, and even if something has problems they just take it as a given, that it IS that way, that you get a vehicle and you swing between home and the shop often. I know many people like this, and when I tell them i have had a car for over 7 years that has only had oil changes, and gas fill ups they are shocked. Cars just should need more than that (perhaps check brakes & a tire change at most, too) for the first 5 years at least. It is just taken for granted that it will need to go in the shop, and to me you should not still be paying for a car and have to have it in the shop, that is just wrong. That is the points I am making. I do know some people who have had good luck with VWs, and I too have always liked them, but I do take a hard look at facts & figures, read reviews and consumer reports, digest and so on, and i have discovered these sources to be very accurate. Of course there will be some that do not experience these problems, but these sources are showing that the vast majority are experiencing these problems & that is unacceptable. Again congrats to those who have had success I think that is awesome, I am glad they did not experience problems. I don't wish that on anyone or any product for that matter.

 

[kelt36]

I love vw's.....the beetles are a fantastic look and concept....the Jettas look real classy and practical. But the stats don't look good in terms of reliability. The fit and finish are top rate, but for some reason there are plenty of bugs. I coveted the Jetta station wagon, but won't buy it for that reason. The beetle convertable seems cool, too...oh well. There is always the Miata!
I'm thinking of holding off on the purchase of an Element for as long as I can...which is quite hard to do. I'm checking out an orange one this week, but I'd really like to wait a few more months in possible. The CRV, and Forester are an excellent option, proven track record and probably can get better deals on them in terms of price and interest rate.....but you can't frigg'n sleep in them!...and they have all of that darn carpet!
Kelton

 

[GYPSYTDA]

[quote:0897f6e2e1="kelt36"]I love vw's.....the beetles are a fantastic look and concept....the Jettas look real classy and practical. But the stats don't look good in terms of reliability. The fit and finish are top rate, but for some reason there are plenty of bugs. I coveted the Jetta station wagon, but won't buy it for that reason. The beetle convertable seems cool, too...oh well. There is always the Miata!
I'm thinking of holding off on the purchase of an Element for as long as I can...which is quite hard to do. I'm checking out an orange one this week, but I'd really like to wait a few more months in possible. The CRV, and Forester are an excellent option, proven track record and probably can get better deals on them in terms of price and interest rate.....but you can't frigg'n sleep in them!...and they have all of that darn carpet!
Kelton[/quote:0897f6e2e1]

thank you.. you had me laughing.. yeah it is hard, and very hard to wait, i admire your tolerance.. i was clawing at walls to get my E.. I was going insane.. I thought i would cry when my husband had to get a HUGE widescreen tv,... since we had no clue when or if my E was ever coming in.. then there it was the next day.. i thought that was it, no way i was getting my E when we just had that major purchase! But here it is, with me.. and I love it. I also considered the CRV, but it was so ho-hum.. and the forester made me feel claustrophobic! plus other things about subaru..

Alas I wish youluck & admire your ability to hang on and wait.. let us know if you cave in sooner, :wink:

 

[utahrex]

The only part it shares with the Neon is the engine. It is very comfortable, has plenty of interior space for 4 adults and the seats fold to provide a large area when needed. You obviously have never owned one and your facts are pretty warped. The Element is NOT the perfect vehicle either, so don't blow your horn too loud.

 

[ALMONDOG]

i to am a big vw fan i was hoping they would have come out with a vehicle like the element. it reminds me of my vanagon, simple and reliable(yes reliable).consumers is a joke, they dont like cars that dont have cup holders and other silly gimics. i never liked hondas, to me they make the most boring looking cars. they never take any real radical chances in their body designs. but they got daring and made the element. im glad someone built it. its perfect for me,i only wish vw did it . my next car will be the vw dune beetle a 4x4 offroad bug.thats a few years from now,but ill be there when its done.