Venerable Element is Removed From Honda's Periodic Table
Although we might now take it for granted, there was one car at the forefront of the current box-on-wheels styling that we can credit for bringing this, the most practical of styles, to our shores: the Honda Element.
Quickly currying favour with those that wanted a small crossover-ish-sort-of-thing that wouldn’t break a sweat at the average forestry road while still returning good fuel economy and promising unparalleled interior spaciousness, the Element was an early success. Marketed as the active, outdoorsy person’s Civic, it went on to be reinvented as a city runabout and “stylish” quasi-performance vehicle with the SC model.
But with Nissan’s Cube and Scion’s xB now sharing/stealing the market away from the aging Honda, it comes as no surprise that Honda has decided to take the little box out of their lineup. With sales stalling in recent years and no progeny on the horizon, it makes little sense to maintain the Element model as it stands today, but there will be those that lament the passing of this utilitarian and practical vehicle.
