I mean, theycapturedtheenthusiastmarket, absolutely.
つまり、彼らはエンスージアスト市場を獲得したということだ。
I mean, therewasthiswholeimportscenethatalmoststemmedfrompeoplemodifyingtheirCivicsandtheirAcuraIntegrasthatjustnooneelse, youknow, I mean, youlookatMazda, whohasalwaysbeensporty, nevertookofflikethatastheHondasdid.
PerhapsthemostfamousofHonda's high-performancecarswastheHondaNSX, brandedasanAcurainsomemarkets, a supercarmanywouldsaybetterbuiltthan a lotofthebignamesfor a fractionoftheprice.
Andthenallof a sudden, theyhadtoallgobackandreevaluatewhatittooktoproduce a capablesportscarbecausetheNSXkindofblewupeverythingthey'd madeupuntilthatpoint.
So I thinkenginesaretheheartofit, butit's notjustthat.
だから、エンジンはその中心だと思うが、それだけではない。
Theyhavegoodtransmissions.
トランスミッションもいい。
Theyhavegoodhandling.
ハンドリングもいい。
Theyproducegoodcarsoverall.
全体的に良い車を生産している。
I thinkintheAmericanmarket, whichisprobablytheirmostimportantmarketfromanautoperspective, they're a companywithexcellentbrandequity, particularlyontheHondaside, knownforhighquality, reliability, and a goodfueleconomy, andnameslikeAccord, Civic, Pilot, andofcourseCR-V havedoneverywell. 2023, asitwasformanyothers, was a yearofrecordprofits.
Perhapsitsbiggestchallengeisstillrecapturingthatengineeringmojoexecutivesweretalkingaboutin 2017 andfindingwaystostandoutin a crowdedandcompetitivefield.
Andnowyoudrive a modernToyotaandyoudriveitback-to-backwiththeequivalentHondamodel.
そして今、あなたは最新のトヨタ車に乗り、ホンダの同等モデルと乗り比べている。
Andit's like, thesethingsareaboutthesame.
そして、これらのことはほぼ同じだということだ。
It's prettymuch a raiseorsetadvantagenow.
今はレイズかセットでアドバンテージがある。
Andsothat's hurtHonda's kindofonestrong, youknow, consistentclaimthat I thinkithadfordecadesonToyota.
それで、ホンダはトヨタに対して何十年にもわたって一貫した強い主張をしてきた。
Acura, I thinkit's a goodbrand, a goodproduct, but I thinkit's been a bitmorestuckinthemudof, you'renotquiteluxury, butyou'renotreallyvolumeormassmarketeither.
アキュラはいいブランドだし、いい製品だと思うが、高級車とまではいかないが、大衆車でもない。
I feltlikeAcurawassupposedtobekindofthemoredriver-orientedbrandforHondaandthemorekindofpersonality-driven.
Sothat's a realburdenforeverybody, includingforHonda.
本田を含め、すべての人にとって負担が大きい。
Butifyourbiggeststrengthisengines, thenthatis a bitdaunting.
しかし、もしあなたの最大の強みがエンジンだとしたら、それは少し大変なことだ。
Itseemskindoftragicforwhatmanyconsidertobeoneofthebestenginebuildersontheplanetandoneofthebestengineeringcompaniesontheplanettowalkawayfromwhatissuch a strongidentityforHondaandanappealingidentityforHonda.
TheToyota-Hondacampbelievedthatitwouldrelyonhybridvehiclesnowandhydrogenvehiclesinthefuture, whereastheNissan-Mitsubishicampbelievedthatweweregonnabeabletomake a straighttransitiontobatteryelectricvehicles.
Maybewhatyoudoisyoukeepproducingreallyfuel-efficientenginesandorhybriddrivetrainsandofferthatasanalternativetothisEVdirectionbecause I stillthinkthereareplentyofconsumerswhoarenotreadytojumpontheEVbandwagon, andnotreadytodayandmaynotbereadyforanother 10 or 15 years.
Anultra-thinbatterypackandcompactpowertraincomponents, alongwithotherfeatures, givethecar a low-slungdesignand a lowcenterofgravity, whichimprovehandlingandperformance, andwhilestillgiving a lotofinteriorroom.
Ifyouweretolookback a fewyearsago, you'd say, well, theystartedtoolate, andfor a whilethatlookedbad, butthenEVdemandrightnowhasslowedconsiderablycomparedto a fewyearsago.
HondadidnotgrantaninterviewtoCNBCintimeforthispiece, butsaidthatthoughit's committedtoEVs, thebalancedapproachtoofferingice, hybridelectric, andbatteryelectricvehiclesisthestrategywehavepursuedfromthestartandreflectsourviewthatthisraceis a marathon, not a sprint.