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Honda may have the technology, but it still needs to sell it. Dominated by engineers, Honda can sometimes outthink itself, creating cars that are more appealing in the design lab than on the dealer's lot, like the clunky Insight. "Toyota may have engineers that aren't as smart as Honda's, but they are certainly better at listening to consumers," says Noble. John Mendel, senior vice president for American Honda, notes that there are "robust conversations" between the design and the sales sides but says the emphasis on conservation means that Honda has long anticipated consumer desires. "We were doing fuel efficiency when gas prices were a $1 a gallon," he says. "This is not a change for us."
It is the auto world that has changed for Honda, not the other way around, and the company is poised to reap the benefits. Anyhow, Fukui believes that environmentally aware engineering is the only choice. "If we take a blind eye and neglect [the environment], eventually society will not let us exist," he says. "We have to solve these problems on our own." And if the solution can effortlessly take a curve at 100 m.p.h., that won't hurt a bit either. π