Yeah, Toyota might be selling a lot more cars, but the returns Honda is making is much better. I think Honda recently took the second sport right under Toyota and from the looks of it, they are happy they are there. Toyota has to sell a larger volume than Honda to make the same profit, whereas Honda only has to sell a few models.
Don't get me wrong, I love both companies (that Toyota 4500GT is going to be sooo sweet) but whereas Toyota is trying to have a vehicle for every single market segment, Honda chooses to concentrate on a few and expand only when the market has been proven. Toyota has an entire line of successful SUV's and pickups (how many SUV's are they up to now? 5? Highlander, Sequoia, 4Runner, Rav4, Landcruiser, and the two based off the Toyotas, the LX470 and the RX300). Honda has one, the Acura MDX (eventually two when Honda gets their own) and the waitlists for them are months long.
RossMAN: I would choose this new Camry coming out in September over the Accord only in terms of styling. I've ridden in both cars and I like the feel of the Accord over the Toyota as of now, but a generation ago, I think the Camry beats the Accord hands down in drivability. I actually think a generation ago, the Accord was too plush compared to the Camry.
And the note with the Altima and Maxima, the Maxima is going to be a sick car when the next model is released, they'll be using a variant of the 270hp Nissan Z engine (which was based on the Maxima engine right?) so that's gonna kick the Avalon all over the place in terms of performance. I'm not sure about everything else though, Nissan is really concentrating on making all their cars throughout the lineup the top performaning cars in each segment, but I hope they don't neglect the other details.
The Altima will definitely be a contender, but it might need an extra generation to get the car into the radar of all the Camry and Accord buyers. The Altima in the current generation is in between the Civic and Accord segment, with most people placing it down in the Civic category, so it'll need a generation just to shake off that image. The new Altima looks sweet though.
And lastly, with the quality stuff, yeah I think Toyota might have Honda beat. Lexus is definitely kicking ass over Acura, and I've heard complaints in the Acura-TL forum that the TL's (made in Ohio) have some quality issues compared to the cars produced in Japan. Haven't heard of any similar problems from Toyota owners.
And yes, the Inspire/Saber is the TL over in Japan. I don't think Honda will produce a car to compete with the Avalon just yet because the TL's and CL's are so cheap, if you want to move up from the Accord, it doesn't take much to grab a TL or CL. They are based somewhere at around $28k, competitive with the Avalon. In 2004, if the rumours on the next TL hold true (3.5L engine, and MDX's AWD system) it'll definitely move up in the price range, and with the void there, Honda might consider bringing an Avalon competitor over.
