Rash

iTrader: (1)

Still looks new to me.

LexFather

I think since the current model is still relevant and still selling well, I have no issue with them moving the new model back so they can make it even better.

Also the sad thing is the Civic is the funniest vehicle they sell.

mmarshall

Possibly the upcoming Fiesta as well, which will go head-to-head with the Honda Fit (known as the Jazz overseas). The Fit is a superb car in reliability and is generally well-built, but its styling, IMO, is ugly, looks like an egg with an insect-face on it, and the 2Gen interior seems to be more cheaply-done than the 1Gen.

Cost-cutting may also be involved (as it is with so much of what the auto-industry does). The more often a company develops and re-tools a new design, the more it costs. Right now, a lot of companies, struggling to make a profit, simply don't have a lot of extra cash to throw around.

A classic example of what it can cost to do new models was back in the early-mid-1990s, when Ford spent some $6 billion to Americanize the European Mondeo sedan (and that didn't even include the Mondeo hatchbacks/wagons) and introduce it to the U.S. market as the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique sedans. That, of course, was at 1990's currency/dollar rates..........inflation would mean an even higher figure today.

bagwell

funniest or funnest?

most fun...true...Si coupe/sedan

the Accord V6 ain't too shabby either.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Couldn't agree more

-J-P-L-

This is no big deal. The Civic still holds its own and the design is still thoroughly modern as it was a huge step when it came out. The last gen Corolla was much more out of date when it ended production in '08 than the Civic will be next year. Yet the Corolla was still the best selling compact.

The article says that Honda initially intended for the new Civic to be even bigger. Huh?? How much bigger can the Civic get? Come on guys, stop the growth. I'm glad they decided to keep it the same size. It appears it's primarily because of the new CAFE standards coming and increasing competition like the Focus and Cruze that will have 40 mpg versions.

I hope to God that they don't give us an ugly Civic. It's one of only a few good looking Honda's left. If they give it the traits of the CR-Z, Insight, ect., then it's over for Honda.

mmarshall

That's one reason, among several, WHY Corollas continue to sell. They are styled like cars, not space ships.......and that's what a lot of people want.



Honda probably feels no need to actually shrink the Civic. After all, that's why they brought the Fit (Jazz) in from overseas...to take over the sub-compact, entry-level position in the American market that the Civic held years ago, before it grew to compact size.

Butt-ugly, no, but I personally wouldn't call the present Civic good-looking, especially the front end, front-quarter windows, and split-level gauges. Underneath, though, its build quality is as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar.



There, I disagree. Honda, even today, simply has too many hard-core fans and repeat buyers to be biting the dust anytime soon. And, despite some controversial styling, it has benefitted from Toyota's recent problems.

And in my own personal life, many of the people who come to me today and ask me for car advice, even before I sit down with them and start serious recommendations, often ask me first about a Civic, Accord, Odyssey, CR-V, or some other well-known Honda product. They often want to look at a Honda first, even if they end up buying something else.