Honda’s online advantage Honda Australia has launched a new website for its marine division — marine.honda.com.au — which will allow boaters to make fully-informed decisions when purchasing new outboard engines. In addition to the standard features found on all outboard distributors’ websites, Honda — just as in the production of its engines — has gone to the next level to differentiate itself and create a unique and functional product.
Honda Australia Marine Manager Chris Schultz said the interactive website was aimed at educating consumers about all aspects of marine engine technology and the environment, rather than just listing product specifications. “The innovative and user-friendly website is packed with information to help boaters navigate the often overwhelming outboard selection process,” Mr Schultz said.
“Developing a genuine understanding of marine engine technology and performance — rather than believing the often misguided opinions in many online forums — will allow people to choose the very best engine for their specific requirements.”
Explaining the technologically-advanced design, inherent benefits and superior performance of Honda’s marine engine line-up, the website also offers a large selection of fuel consumption reports that have been conducted on Honda outboards fitted to popular Australian boats. The new website also has a section dedicated to people who are new to boating, with detailed instructional videos that demonstrate things such as launching a boat, trimming an engine for maximum performance, flushing an outboard engine and more.
The website’s media section, accessible by all visitors, has a marine news section, extensive image and video galleries, and a range of desktop wallpapers which people can download and save to their computers. Honda Australia’s new marine website follows the recent launch of Team Honda Marine — www.teamhondamarine.com.au — the marine industry’s first customer loyalty program.
Honda’s enduring environmental commitment Honda Australia’s commitment to protecting the marine environment has been further reinforced via the extension of its long-standing professional association with Sea World on the Gold Coast, Australia. The partnership between the world’s largest engine manufacturer and Australia’s favourite marine theme park is currently in its eighth year, with both parties recently signing an agreement for a further two years.
Honda Marine Manager Chris Schultz said the environmental performance of Honda’s four-stroke outboards remained a perfect match for Sea World’s stringent environmental requirements. “Exceeding the world’s emission standards, Honda outboards are used throughout the park in the amazing Imagine dolphin show, the hilarious Fish Detectives sea lion show and the Pirates Unleashed stunt,” Mr Schultz said.
“Honda is also a proud partner of the Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation (SWRRFI) and provides the twin Honda BF150 outboard motors to power the research vessel, Sea World 2... the reliability and speed of these engines allows the Sea World team to reach stranded and sick marine life as quickly as possible.
“Sea World’s highly-skilled staff is always on hand with resources and specialised equipment to ensure rescue operations can be initiated quickly, efficiently and — with Honda’s assistance — with minimal impact on the environment.”
The renewed agreement comes on the announcement that Sea World has again teamed up with the University of Queensland to conduct cutting-edge dugong research.
The latest program, which was recently conducted in Moreton Bay, involved sampling the wild dugong population by lifting a selection of dugongs out of the water and taking a comprehensive series of blood and tissue samples. With additional assistance from Sydney Aquarium and Toronga Western Plains Zoo, around 20 wild dugongs were sampled. The samples taken from the wild dugongs are currently being compared to that of dugongs in captivity to monitor the species’ annual reproductive capacity.