Tokyo, May 29: At first it was single women and then retiring baby-boomers. Now, Honda Motor has sniffed out another growing demographic of potential car buyers in Japan: the dog-lover.
Japan`s No.2 automaker is looking to win points with canine fans using a Web site that offers information on dog-friendly cafes and hotels, dimensions for its cars` cargo space for stashing cages, a rating system that ranks seat fabric for ease of removing dog hair, and much more.
Visitors to the Japanese-language site, called "Honda Dog" (www.honda.co.jp/dog/), can also find out about events where they can test-drive Honda cars with their pups, or view a race in a section reserved for dog-accompanied guests.
"There`s definitely a need there that wasn`t being met," said Teruhiro Murai, an Internet marketer at Honda who came up with the idea seven years ago to fulfill his own needs as the owner of a golden retriever and miniature dachshund.
Honda may be on to something.
Thanks to a recent pet boom and a declining birthrate, Japanese now have more dogs and cats than they do children under 15. Detecting a trend, Honda came up with the W.O.W. concept car at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show designed especially for dogs: detachable, easy-to-clean seats, wooden floors and a netted, built-in pup-crate in the dashboard.
The site, which can also be reached by clicking on the dog on Honda`s Japan-based home page (www.honda.co.jp), gets 1.5 million page views a month. Internal surveys show that about 100 people decide to buy a Honda after visiting the site, Murai said.
"It helps to show people exactly how our cars can be canine-friendly," said Tokio Isono, a fellow dog-lover and a chief engineer of Honda`s cars.
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