JUMP ON THIS ASAP! Lo Miles Honda Element with Ursa Top, PNW

[AbleGuy]

Not Mine (sigh)

This will probably be sold by the time you wake up tomorrow and see the post.

A truly rare little bird, a Honda Element with low miles and a Pop Top! Yowee!

Honda Element 2011 with ECamper - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle...

We are selling our beloved 2011 Honda Element with an ECamper modification! We have been the only owners of this car and have kept it in top condition. Our family has grown and this vehicle no...

portland.craigslist.org

 

[zip]

Nice.
I wonder why Honda stop making these vehicles?

 

[llamalander]

gone

 

[86scotty]

˙How much was it?

 

[pith helmet]

We had an 05. It was a great commuter and traveling vehicle for a family with yunguns. It ended up being my daughter’s first car.
The suicide doors and clamshell rear hatch were great features.

Im sure Honda had good reason but I can’t believe they wouldn’t sell now with a reboot.

 

[rawtoxic]

˙How much was it?

It was $25k I believe.


I read this about why Element was discontinued

Honda came to the realization that it made a miscalculation by designing a niche vehicle and cut its losses after eight years of dwindling sales. And the automaker didn't anticipate that the Element's targeted buyers didn't have the money to buy it.

 

[nyyankees588]

We have an element and love it. It's an amazingly versatile car. Biggest downside at the moment is that it only gets 20-ish mpg... Would love to see it re-released as an EV in the near future, but i doubt that will happen.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[Roam.Wild]

My GF's dream car is the Element, this one would have taken the cake!

 

[brewstocker]

Love mine for weekend camping, though I contemplate selling it to put a down payment on a high-roof van (for more full-timing) more often than I am comfortable with.

 

[billiebob]

Nice.
I wonder why Honda stop making these vehicles?

Too heavy and or under powered. Otherwise I agree. A very cool, functional vehicle.
Plus pricey. The people with money wanted more and the people who wanted it couldn't afford it.

 

[Fenderfour]

I owned an AWD version for 10 years. Coming from a Subaru, i can say the Honda AWD system sucked. It only kicked in if a wheel started spinning. That might be fine on dirt roads, but on ice, it just meant you would go from one wheel spinning to four wheels spinning.

Max payloads was 800lb. I think the Ursa camper added ~150 lbs in the worst spot on the car. Add 350 lbs for mom and dad, and that doesn't leave much payload for a family camping trip. I'm pretty sure I overloaded the car every time I took it camping, and there was no issue.

I don't know about slow. Us Americans have an interesting and not necessarily healthy relationship with vehicular power.

cost when I got it new (loaded) in 2011 was $24k with all the fees included. I think an outback was going for $28 around then.

I think most Elements ended up in the pacific northwest. I see lots around here, but almost none when I travel around the US.

Too heavy and or under powered. Otherwise I agree. A very cool, functional vehicle.
Plus pricey. The people with money wanted more and the people who wanted it couldn't afford it.

 

[Lownomore]

It was $25k I believe.


I read this about why Element was discontinued

Honda came to the realization that it made a miscalculation by designing a niche vehicle and cut its losses after eight years of dwindling sales. And the automaker didn't anticipate that the Element's targeted buyers didn't have the money to buy it.

There is a little more to it than that. I worked for Honda when the Element came out. If you look at the original marketing brochures and plans it was intended to be a cheapish and versatile vehicle for younger, outdoors-oriented people coming out of college.

They missed the mark hugely and it took off with the AARP crowd and was a favorite of dog owners. It was featured in AARP magazine at one point because the big doors and seat height were perfect for people with hip problems.

They are kind of cool, very underpowered which does not help with fuel economy on a rolling brick. The engines while reliable were prone to sludging if people let their oil change intervals go long which would mess with the VTEC system. We did a lot of VTEC repairs on them.

The 4WD is also a bit of stretch as the rear differential requires the front wheels to be moving faster than the rear to build hydraulic pressure and engage it. You couldn't lock it in just like in the first couple of generations of CRV.

 

[plh]

Honda AWD was horrible back then - not sure if it has improved. I owned from new: 1998 Honda CR-V, 2001 CR-V, 2004 Element, 2007 CR-V, 2010 CR-V, 2013 CR-V - no more Honda. Wife absolutely hated the Element. Final straw was the 2013 came with such horrible tires on it (winter traction) we called it the skate board.

 

[Lownomore]

Honda AWD was horrible back then - not sure if it has improved. I owned from new: 1998 Honda CR-V, 2001 CR-V, 2004 Element, 2007 CR-V, 2010 CR-V, 2013 CR-V - no more Honda. Wife absolutely hated the Element. Final straw was the 2013 came with such horrible tires on it (winter traction) we called it the skate board.

The original dual pump rear diffs worked but not great, I believe the newer CRVs at least have the VTM4 maglock, torque vectoring rear diff they used in the Pilot and Ridgeline. It is a very effective system. My mom had a first year Ridgeline and it did very well in snow and ice.

 

[The Artisan]

I have plans for mine, doubt I will do the rear popout. My design slides forward so you do not have to disasemble the bed to access it.
Kevin