Author Topic: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023  (Read 1261 times)

Ben

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Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« on: May 18, 2023, 07:56:55 AM »
Honda will no longer sell gas lawnmowers in the US beginning this September. I can only image other small Honda engines will not be far behind.

While it seems electric lawnmowers are probably able to handle the average Suburban subdivision lawn, I'm wondering what will happen to other small gas engine applications if Honda and other manufacturers stop making the small gas engines. For instance, for myself, I have a log splitter and a small Honda engine on my irrigation wheel line motor. I'm not sure how a battery operated engine would work on either of those.

I bought a small electric (AC) log splitter to use when I was making my mind up about what big log splitter to get. It worked okay for small, dry stuff, but I often ended up using a maul on bigger stuff. Also, on an application like a wheel line, some of these are far from civilization, let alone an AC outlet to charge a battery. Farmers will probably not be happy.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/honda-wont-sell-gasoline-mowers-in-the-us-anymore

EDIT: On that log splitter, it was only a 5 ton, and the max I could get without having electrical work done to plug it in. Getting a 30 ton electric splitter must require rewiring to the extent you would go for an electric car charger. It must require a pretty big ass battery to go portable on an electric splitter.
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HankB

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #1 on: May 18, 2023, 08:02:06 AM »
A great many of the gas pressure washers aimed at the homeowner's market use Honda engines - that market will take a real hit if Honda discontinues those. Right now there are NO repeat NO viable electric alternatives to gas pressure washers - when it comes to cleaning a patio or driveway, the electrics just don't cut it.
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Ben

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #2 on: May 18, 2023, 08:10:53 AM »
It is also interesting that this is US only. Even in Europe, run by the commie EU, they will still be selling the small gas engines. This is just like us taking the hit on general carbon emissions while China and India pump out carbon like crazy. We're becoming a pollution scapegoat.
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HankB

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #3 on: May 18, 2023, 08:14:01 AM »
It is also interesting that this is US only. Even in Europe, run by the commie EU, they will still be selling the small gas engines. This is just like us taking the hit on general carbon emissions while China and India pump out carbon like crazy. We're becoming a pollution scapegoat.
OF COURSE China gets a pass.

Brandon's salary as POTUS is probably a fraction of what his bosses in PROC have funneled into his accounts, so . . . who do you think he really works for?
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Ben

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #4 on: May 18, 2023, 08:46:04 AM »
OF COURSE China gets a pass.

Brandon's salary as POTUS is probably a fraction of what his bosses in PROC have funneled into his accounts, so . . . who do you think he really works for?

In fairness, the only reason China or anyone else is getting a pass is that according to Honda, they're ending sales here because US regulations have made it unprofitable to continue.
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K Frame

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #5 on: May 18, 2023, 08:48:05 AM »
Just another irritation....

For your system....

Dude, just give it up and farm cactus. :rofl:
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RocketMan

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #6 on: May 18, 2023, 09:11:52 AM »
In fairness, the only reason China or anyone else is getting a pass is that according to Honda, they're ending sales here because US regulations have made it unprofitable to continue.

You have to ask yourself who is championing the regulatory climate that is causing Honda to exit the US market.  It's certainly not the average US citizen that uses their products.  I'm thinking it is a certain chief executive that has (allegedly) been on the CCP payroll for some time.
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dogmush

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #7 on: May 18, 2023, 09:16:24 AM »
I suspect that there will still be plenty of small gas engines.  They will just be more expensive, as will the tools they are attached to.

Honda is only stopping their walk behind mower lines.  It's been better than a decade since I shopped for small mowers, but I recall Honda's being pretty pricey for a walk behind.  I suspect that  one of the driving forces here is less "government regulation" and more that the folks that are going to spend $500-$1000 on a walk behind mower have started moving on to things like the Husqvarna robot mower so they don't have to mow the lawn at all.

evidence is between the lines in Ben's article:

Quote
"The decision to end lawn mower production is driven by market forces such as stricter environmental regulations, shifting customer preferences, and our focus on growing profitable products in our portfolio,"

Ben

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #8 on: May 18, 2023, 09:17:15 AM »
You have to ask yourself who is championing the regulatory climate that is causing Honda to exit the US market.  It's certainly not the average US citizen that uses their products.  I'm thinking it is a certain chief executive that has been on the CCP payroll for some time.

Yeah, but China aside, they are also continuing sales in the EU, which we commonly think of as being quite a bit more fascist regarding things like environmental regulations, with populations that generally agree with those regulations.

The article does mention that besides regulations, Honda is seeing a shift in US consumers, at least where lawnmowers are concerned. Still, the US is a big country and I wouldn't be surprised if we had more "lawn per person" than most any other country.

EDIT: Dogmush got the consumer stuff in while I was typing.
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WLJ

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #9 on: May 18, 2023, 09:19:59 AM »
I suspect that there will still be plenty of small gas engines.  They will just be more expensive, as will the tools they are attached to.

Honda is only stopping their walk behind mower lines.  It's been better than a decade since I shopped for small mowers, but I recall Honda's being pretty pricey for a walk behind.  I suspect that  one of the driving forces here is less "government regulation" and more that the folks that are going to spend $500-$1000 on a walk behind mower have started moving on to things like the Husqvarna robot mower so they don't have to mow the lawn at all.

evidence is between the lines in Ben's article:

You can buy less feature filled mowers with Honda motors for far less. Bought a Toro Troy-Bilt with a Honda motor for $250 on sale at Lowes not too long ago.

Edit: Sorry, Troy-Bilt.  For some reason had Toro on the brain
« Last Edit: May 18, 2023, 10:26:07 AM by WLJ »
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Ben

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #10 on: May 18, 2023, 09:22:04 AM »
I suspect that there will still be plenty of small gas engines.  They will just be more expensive, as will the tools they are attached to.

Yes, apparently Honda will continue the "industrial" small engine line. It appears this lawnmower deadline came as something of a surprise though. They were apparently always going to do it, but not this quickly. So I have to wonder if, like with gas stoves, there might be an accelerated timeline on the other small engines, and what will replace them.
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dogmush

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #11 on: May 18, 2023, 09:30:05 AM »
You can buy less feature filled mowers with Honda motors for far less. Bought a Toro with a Honda motor for $250 on sale at Lowes not too long ago.

Wouldn't that Toro's engine be covered under:

Quote
"Honda will continue to sell the remainder of its lawn and garden product line and industrial type power products such as GX engines, generators, and water pumps,


EDIT:  Looking at that Toro, It uses a Honda GCV 160 engine, which other than being sold to other mower manufacturers, is only on the Walk Behind Mowers.  Toro may need to start buying the GXV160 engine, which is the OHV "commercial" version of that engine.  I have no idea what that would do to the price.  Or Honda may keep making the GCV to sell to other OEMs. 

WLJ

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #12 on: May 18, 2023, 09:31:52 AM »
Wouldn't that Toro's engine be covered under:

Don't know
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Nick1911

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #13 on: May 18, 2023, 09:37:39 AM »
I wouldn't be surprised if Honda push mowers aren't competitive.  Even if they cut more of their small engine line, their designs are widely copied at this point anyway.

Ben

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #14 on: May 18, 2023, 09:58:03 AM »
I wouldn't be surprised if Honda push mowers aren't competitive.  Even if they cut more of their small engine line, their designs are widely copied at this point anyway.

I might not be too surprised if Harbor Freight started a Predator lawn mower line next year.  =)
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WLJ

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #15 on: May 18, 2023, 10:00:13 AM »
I might not be too surprised if Harbor Freight started a Predator lawn mower line next year.  =)

HF already has a mower line, cordless though https://www.harborfreight.com/lawn-garden/outdoor-power-tools/trimmers/lawn-mowers.html
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Ben

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #16 on: May 18, 2023, 10:02:24 AM »
HF already has a mower line, cordless though https://www.harborfreight.com/lawn-garden/outdoor-power-tools/trimmers/lawn-mowers.html

Yeah, but Predators are basically Chinese copies of Hondas, and IMO, are very nearly as good for a lot less money.
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WLJ

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #17 on: May 18, 2023, 10:19:40 AM »

EDIT:  Looking at that Toro, It uses a Honda GCV 160 engine, which other than being sold to other mower manufacturers, is only on the Walk Behind Mowers.  Toro may need to start buying the GXV160 engine, which is the OHV "commercial" version of that engine.  I have no idea what that would do to the price.  Or Honda may keep making the GCV to sell to other OEMs.

Sorry Troy-Bilt. For some reason had Toro on the brain
And yes it has a GCV-160 motor

At the time of the sale they had a TB with a B&S motor for $230 and pretty much the same mower with a Honda for $250. I was like, heck yeah I'll pay the extra $20 for a Honda motor.
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Nick1911

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #18 on: May 18, 2023, 10:36:01 AM »
Thread veer:  I've become aware that small diesel engines are popping up for sale in the US.  https://www.amazon.com/GDNTMU-Cylinder-Transport-Irrigation-Drainage/dp/B09SZB5XSX

Something like this is a tempting replacement for my tiller, which sits all year and then requires carb maintenance.

dogmush

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #19 on: May 18, 2023, 10:37:36 AM »
It might tell us something about walk behind mower margins that you can't get that engine for what Home Depot and Troy-bilt were selling the whole damn mower for.

The GCV-160 engine seems to retail for about $350 if you can find one. Used examples are $200-$250.

Hell, the China Freight knock off engine is $200 on sale and $229 normally. and yet Toro and Troybilt both are slapping those engines in and selling complete mowers for $250ish retail.  I suspect there just isn't a ton of profit on walk behind mowers, and with quality cordless walk behinds and autonomous mowers cutting into Honda's gas powered walk-behind space, they decided to cut bait.

WLJ

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #20 on: May 18, 2023, 11:01:02 AM »
It might tell us something about walk behind mower margins that you can't get that engine for what Home Depot and Troy-bilt were selling the whole damn mower for.

The GCV-160 engine seems to retail for about $350 if you can find one. Used examples are $200-$250.

Hell, the China Freight knock off engine is $200 on sale and $229 normally. and yet Toro and Troybilt both are slapping those engines in and selling complete mowers for $250ish retail.  I suspect there just isn't a ton of profit on walk behind mowers, and with quality cordless walk behinds and autonomous mowers cutting into Honda's gas powered walk-behind space, they decided to cut bait.

I just went to Lowes's website and they don't even list Troy-Bilt mowers on there anymore. Could be be they were clearing them out thus the low price. Although some of their Craftsman mowers look kind of like Troy'bilts to me. Hmmmm Maybe? Of course a lot of mower look the same.
« Last Edit: May 18, 2023, 11:34:22 AM by WLJ »
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MechAg94

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #21 on: May 18, 2023, 12:01:16 PM »
I have the Troy-bilt with the Honda engine.  Works just fine for me.  I guess I need to make sure I am taking care of it.

All the Troy-bilt mowers I see on Home Depot's website use a Briggs & Stratton engine.  My last mower used one of those.  It lasted 9 years before the gas tank started coming apart.  I would be okay with that. 
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HankB

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #22 on: May 18, 2023, 02:40:08 PM »
I just went to Lowes's website and they don't even list Troy-Bilt mowers on there anymore. Could be be they were clearing them out thus the low price. Although some of their Craftsman mowers look kind of like Troy'bilts to me. Hmmmm Maybe? Of course a lot of mower look the same.
I have a Sears Craftsman mower bought at an actual Sears store probably in the 2007-2009 time frame. Works fine, but I'm pretty sure it's a Briggs & Stratton engine.
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charby

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #23 on: May 18, 2023, 04:46:15 PM »
I have a 3 year old Honda push mower that I trim mow with. My rider does the rest of my yard. The Honda replaced a 20 year old 2 stroke Lawn-Boy that was getting pretty worn out and replacement parts, such as the coil was getting harder to find. The coil liked to go tango uniform about every 3-4 seasons.

Looking at the neighbors, I'm the only Honda in the 'hood. Maybe Honda wasn't making the profit they wanted in residential lawn care.

I do like my Honda, since it was the only new rear wheel drive self propelled lawn mower I could find in my area. Seems like everyone had switched over to front wheel drive for residential mowers. That is all great until you need to mow on a hill. I have a pretty steep but short hill along my pond that is a bit scary with a rider.
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JTHunter

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Re: Honda to End US Gas Lawnmower Sales SEP2023
« Reply #24 on: May 19, 2023, 12:14:31 AM »
Aren't there some Honda portable generators, like for RVs, that are touted for the low noise levels?
Are they going to get out of that business as well?
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