[barajasbarbara]

Hi Guys, Glad to see that others have the same concern. I just submitted the following letter to Henio Arcangeli (Senior Vice President, Automobile Sales Division General Manager, Honda Division American Honda Motor Co., Inc.). I should have also mentioned that it would be good if they offer the same 18" wheels as are available on the Pilot and Ridgeline, that they also be black aluminum alloys to match the OE wheels on the Passport. Anyhow, here's my letter. I'll let you know if I get an answer from Honda.
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To: Henio Arcangeli, Jr.
Senior Vice President, Automobile Sales Division General Manager, Honda Division American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

Dear Mr. Arcangeli,

We have been an all-Honda household for the past 15 years. I am very excited about your soon-to-be-released 2019 Honda Passport. However, one issue could be a dealbreaker for me. On the 2019 Passport, I see that the Sport and EX-L will have 245/55R-20 tires while the Touring and Elite will have 265/45R-20. These not at all suited for even mild offroading. It would be far preferable if you would offer the same wheels and tires as those that come with the 2019 Pilot and Ridgeline, namely 245/60R-18. Better yet, you could offer all-terrain tires as options on the 2019 Sport and EX-L models. If you did that, it would be a no-brainer purchase for me, and I believe this would also appeal to many other people.

Please let me know if you would consider making these wheel and tire choices available as factory-installed options on the 2019 Passport.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely, Curt K

 

[barajasbarbara]

Honda got back to me today after I submitted a question on the website (first post on this thread). Response pretty much as expected:

"Thank you for allowing Honda Automobile Customer Service the opportunity of responding to your message. Unfortunately, the 2019 Honda Passport will come standard with 20-inch alloy wheels and tires on all trims. This information is available at www.hondanews.com. We are sorry to hear that this may affect your decision to purchase a Honda passport. Thank you for contacting us and have a great rest of your day.

Kind regards,
Honda Automobile Customer Service"

I find it amusing that amusing that Honda itself states "Unfortunately, the 2019 Honda Passport will come standard with 20-inch alloy wheels."

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That is funny. This was probably answered by some low-level customer relations person. It needs to get escalated to some "higher-ups" at Honda. Hopefully someone from Honda reads this forum.

 

[barajasbarbara]

Honda (and the other car makers) are going for the "mass market", and all their market research tells them that there are more soccer moms and guys who never go offroading compared to the relative few true offroading enthusiasts who would only consider a Wrangler or 4Runner. Look at the 2019 Toyota RAV4 -- it has 225/65R17 on the LE and XLE, and 235/55R19 on the XLE Premium, Adventure, and Limited -- and the Adventure trim is supposed to be for outdoorsy types. If you've ever wondered what’s with all the Land Rovers with low aspect ratio tires, it's all about looking good in the Whole Foods parking lot.

What the conventional thinkers in Honda's marketing department don't realize is that tastes are changing. There are a number of people who don't want fake outdoorsy-styled vehicles, but instead want something close to a real off-roader, with the reliability of a Honda. It wouldn't cost Honda anything to offer the 245/60R-18 (same as Pilot and Ridgeline) tires on black alloy wheels as either standard equipment or a no-cost option on the 2019 Passport Sport and EX-L, and would definitely gain them more customers. And if they really want to generate some excitement, they should allow dealers to offer all-terrain tires on 18" black alloys without charging an exorbitant dealer markup for the tires and installation.

 

[barajasbarbara]

Still no reply from Honda to my email about this issue. I think they've exceeded their "3-5 business days". My guess is that a bunch of Honda executives are trying to translate RR's "screwed the pooch" into Japanese.

 

[barajasbarbara]

I think they've looked at the statistics of how many people buy "rugged off-road" style vehicles and never drive over anything taller than a speedbump and see the future dollar signs rolling in for the Passport.

I believe you’re right.

 

[barajasbarbara]

? I’m sorry, that’s hilarious. We’ll never ever see this in our lifetime.

Yup. I’m afraid you’re right.

 

[barajasbarbara]

Here's the non-answer I got from Honda to the first of two messages I sent them. They said to contact a dealer. I contacted one dealer and they won't sell the 2019 Passport w/ the 245/60R18 wheels/tires (same as Ridgeline/Pilot). Other Honda dealers *might* be more flexible.
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Thank you for contacting us, and allowing Honda Automobile Customer Service the opportunity of responding to your message.

We appreciate you reaching out to us with your inquiry, and thank you for your interest in the 2019 Honda passport. The 2019 Honda Passport is designated for release to the Honda dealerships within the coming weeks. We are unable to provide an exact date, as that information is not yet available to the public. We recommend that you visit https://automobiles.honda.com/ regularly, as that website is updated periodically with any release date information. In regards to the specifications on wheels, tires, and other vehicle options, we recommend that you reach out to you local Honda dealership after the vehicle is released with your inquiry. The department you have reached is not a technical department, so we rely on our Honda dealership's sales department to answer inquiries such as the ones you have described.

In regards to your inquiry about an off-road version of the CR-V: We are unable to confirm or deny that that the vehicle you described is in development at this time. We suggest that you check out https://hondanews.com/ at your convenience to stay updated on any future products or promotions, as that is updated whenever new information is released to the public.

We hope you have a wonderful day, and thank you for being part of the Honda family.

Kind regards,

Honda Automobile Customer Service

 

[barajasbarbara]

I finally got an answer to my letter to Henio Arcangeli. As you can see, they basically said "Your business is very important to us".
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Thank you for allowing Honda Automobile Customer Service the opportunity of responding to your message. Our customer's satisfaction is of utmost importance to us and we assure you of our interest in your feedback.

It is our pleasure to note your valuable comments pertaining to our 2019 Honda Passport. Honda strives to produce vehicles which exceed our customer's expectations and your insight assists us in fully understanding consumer perspective. Whenever a client reaches out to us, we document feedback, which can then be used by several of our departments. This includes developing products, options combinations, dealer training, and marketing.

We value you as an American Honda customer and we hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Kind regards,

Honda Automobile Customer Service