Some of the Biggest Honda Fails

1. The Honda Stage Website and YouTube Channel

In 2015, Honda bet big on consumers caring about its website, aptly titled Honda Stage, and official YouTube channel, announcing serious plans to funnel big dollars toward building out both platforms for high-level traffic. The problem is no one bothered to show up (or click through). According to reports published by the Wall Street Journal, performance numbers for both platforms were so dismal, the company decided to rethink its marketing strategy altogether. To be fair, though, several major website issues are said to have contributed to the white noise. Industry experts and insiders also warn the effort could have paid off (more) if Honda had been better organized and more patient leading up to and immediately following the rollout. In the end, however, this automotive giant failed to design a customer journey map worth following.

2. The Worlds (Worst) Most Advanced Humanoid Robot

Sometimes a large-scale company, spearheaded by an overzealous marketing team, veers too far off the grid with a new product, idea or concept. And with the introduction of Asimo—billed as the world's most advanced humanoid robot—Honda did just that. Now, early models didn't crop up until 1986, so in many respects Honda deserves a "job well done" for creating an advanced walking robot years before anyone else cared. What followed this incredible step toward technological ingenuity, however, were wide-ranging technological kinks that lingered for far too long and woefully miscalculated marketing missteps. The end result ended up being an expensive pet project that simply fizzled before its big bang could explode. Asimo does offer a wide range of movements, but who cares when they're clumsy and just plain outdated (now in 2016). In the end, Honda tried to do a really cool thing and ended up failing to hit the mark. 

3. 2003 Honda Insight

There are automotive fails, and then there are automotive disasters. Arriving to the market months ahead of its only formidable competitor, the 1st gen 2003 Prius, the 2003 Honda Insight was supposed to really make an impact with consumers. Noted as being the first hybrid to ever successfully make it to market, the Insight struggled to live up the hype surrounding its bells and whistles and failed miserably on the lot (i.e., poor sales). Impracticality, ho-hum systems and a stronger competitor drove this car to the graveyard. The one thing the Insight did do right, however, was deliver 52 miles per gallon (combined city/highway). Too bad car buyers just weren't impressed enough with the rest of the vehicle to care. 

4. Poorly Vetted Takata Deal

This one is considered a fail because Honda failed to properly vet an exclusive deal it had with Takata, a manufacturing giant that produces air bags for big car makers. Honda failed to miss important safety information regarding product defects and ended up having to deal with costly litigation and a public relations firestorm. The oversight resulted in recalls and technical service bulletins. Had Honda effectively reviewed the thousands of pages of test data released by Takata prior to inking the deal, consumer lives would not have been placed at risk. In the end, Honda fails because it failed to properly vet its biggest partner. 

5. $70 Million Fine

The year 2015 wasn't so good for Honda. Not only did the automotive manufacturer see bad headlines for failing to turn heads and lure buyers (or anyone) to its digital channels, but Federal authorities hit the company with a staggering $70 million fine for failure to report 1,700+ deaths and injuries in its vehicles, according to the Washington Post. Not exactly something you want to hide from consumers, right? In the end, Honda ended up paying out the record fine and losing valuable consumers due to the public relations stain (i.e., epic fail).

On a different note, if you have a Honda Civic or Accord and wish to do some DIY maintenance and repairs, check out our how-to section here in Honda-Tech.com.