Delayed Civic Begs the Question: Has Honda lost the plot? [w/poll]
05-27-10, 01:46 PM
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Delayed Civic Begs the Question: Has Honda lost the plot? [w/poll]
(Poll at Link)
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/26/d...lost-the-plot/
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/26/d...lost-the-plot/
Honda Vice President John Mendel recently admitted to AutoWeek that the next-generation Civic will be delayed from the Fall of 2010 to sometime in 2011. Mendel said in the interview that the Civic was delayed because of tightening emissions standards and he also noted that changing market conditions were partly to blame. AW also notes that the Civic's design was changed along the way, as Honda's second biggest selling model was originally scheduled to be larger for 2011. Happens all the time, right? Well, not to Honda it doesn't.
Michelle Krebs over at Edmunds Auto Observer has taken a deep-dive look at the broader implications of the Civic redesign, and came up with some very interesting points. For starters, Krebs speculates that the next Civic was delayed in part because it wasn't competitive compared to the new, vastly improved competition from companies like Hyundai, General Motors and Ford. While some analysts feel that the Honda redesign shows that the Japanese automaker is willing to swallow some humble pie and get things right, Krebs counters that going back to the drawing board shows that Honda has lost its touch with the car-buying public. Further support for her theory centers around the lackluster greeting for the Insight by both consumers and pundits, Acura's polarizing styling language and the love/hate Accord Crosstour and its embarassing social media launch efforts. Analyst John Wolkonowicz of Global Insight appears to agree with Krebs, saying that Honda is living off of its reputation from the 1980s and 1990s.
Where do we stand on the Honda Civic design pushback? We're thinking that as long as the Civic continues to sell in big numbers with relatively small incentives, Honda is smart to head back to the drawing board, especially as it is still selling strongly five years into its lifecycle. However, we've been worried that Honda has been losing its engineering-led focus for a while now, so we'll be looking to the next-gen Civic for some level of redemption.
Be sure to take our poll and check out our high-res gallery of Honda Civic history before heading over to the Auto Observer for some very interesting analysis.
Michelle Krebs over at Edmunds Auto Observer has taken a deep-dive look at the broader implications of the Civic redesign, and came up with some very interesting points. For starters, Krebs speculates that the next Civic was delayed in part because it wasn't competitive compared to the new, vastly improved competition from companies like Hyundai, General Motors and Ford. While some analysts feel that the Honda redesign shows that the Japanese automaker is willing to swallow some humble pie and get things right, Krebs counters that going back to the drawing board shows that Honda has lost its touch with the car-buying public. Further support for her theory centers around the lackluster greeting for the Insight by both consumers and pundits, Acura's polarizing styling language and the love/hate Accord Crosstour and its embarassing social media launch efforts. Analyst John Wolkonowicz of Global Insight appears to agree with Krebs, saying that Honda is living off of its reputation from the 1980s and 1990s.
Where do we stand on the Honda Civic design pushback? We're thinking that as long as the Civic continues to sell in big numbers with relatively small incentives, Honda is smart to head back to the drawing board, especially as it is still selling strongly five years into its lifecycle. However, we've been worried that Honda has been losing its engineering-led focus for a while now, so we'll be looking to the next-gen Civic for some level of redemption.
Be sure to take our poll and check out our high-res gallery of Honda Civic history before heading over to the Auto Observer for some very interesting analysis.
05-27-10, 04:15 PM
#6
Lexus Test Driver
More corporate lies. All the reasons listed for the delay are BS. Insulting. No car company in their right mind would delay a fresh, all-new model in one of the hottest segments unless something was terribly going wrong.
Trending Topics
05-27-10, 09:10 PM
#8
Lexus Test Driver
Is that the current generation Fit you are referring to? If so, I can't agree. Wheel well openings are too small for the body, wheels are tiny and as large as the headlights, the entire front mimicks a mini-van, and the rest of the body reeks of similar nerdiness. Lucky for Honda, there are a lot of nerds, techies, and greenies out there, so it sells well. But sporty and cutting-edge like past Hondas it is not.
05-28-10, 05:49 AM
#10
Lexus Test Driver
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: somewhere out there
Posts: 1,227
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
seriously, but the Civic delay at least means they know that there's a problem.
Instead of just throwing another half hearted car on the market they're going back to the drawing board.
All in all it's a good sign, but at the same time it's a sad that they couldn't just get it right with their first attempt.
Instead of just throwing another half hearted car on the market they're going back to the drawing board.
All in all it's a good sign, but at the same time it's a sad that they couldn't just get it right with their first attempt.
05-28-10, 08:03 PM
#11
Why does nearly ever manufacturer insist on making their cars bigger? Isn't that why they have several different models within different segments?
People buying a Civic obviously preferred the smaller car for some particular reason. No advantage to increasing the size of it.
People buying a Civic obviously preferred the smaller car for some particular reason. No advantage to increasing the size of it.
05-28-10, 09:06 PM
#12
Why does nearly ever manufacturer insist on making their cars bigger? Isn't that why they have several different models within different segments?
People buying a Civic obviously preferred the smaller car for some particular reason. No advantage to increasing the size of it.
People buying a Civic obviously preferred the smaller car for some particular reason. No advantage to increasing the size of it.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
MPLexus301
Car Chat
209
10-13-10 09:04 AM
