Hond Prestige Cars

I remember writing a paper about Honda Cars Philippines when I was in high school because i felt that they had ever so cleverly played their cards right in the very competitive sedan market in the Philippines.  Back in the 90s, Honda was pretty much a motorcycle company.  Sure they were famous, but only if you were in the market for a set of two wheels and not four.  Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi had all been enjoying market share by virtue of first mover advantages.  Then out of nowhere, almost unnoticed Honda unveiled a car fleet.  The result was uninspiring that not too many people knew that Honda actually had cars.  A forgettable year went by and Honda Philippines unveiled a dandy.  Enter prestige cars. 

It was so clever because it was so subtle.  Honda Philippines dubbed themselves a prestige brand.  No government accreditation no nothing, they just called themselves as such.  They rolled out seemingly newer models and they were priced higher then the competition and yet they sold like hot cakes.  Everyone wanted a civic or an accord.  Everyone wanted a CR-V over the Rav4.  Amazing.  And all Honda had to do was to draw up a contract that all Honda car buyers had to sign that said that they would never sell their car to a taxi company or use the car for hire.  Boom.  For just the semblance of some legal protection the Filipino consumer latched on.  If i buy a Honda ill be part of the elite group of prestige car owners.  I wouldnt have to suffer the fate of Toyota or Mitsubishi owners who ran the risk of running around the metropolis in a car that looked like all the taxis out there.  I want a Honda!

This was exactly what everyone said in 1990 and Honda has not relinquished its top spot since.  Amazing what a non-binding contract can do to create value for the customer and catapult a car into a prestigious status symbol.