Honda has high hopes for new Civic

Honda has high hopes for new Civic

David Conant, Honda's largest and most successful dealer, eagerly awaited Thursday, the day the first of the new generation of Civics arrived on his lots.

There's a lot riding on the car. Honda is the house that the Civic built in the United States, but in recent years the compact model has lost some of its luster.

``The old car had its shortcomings -- it lost its youth appeal,'' Conant said.

The new 2006 Civic models, with more powerful engines, sleek new designs, upgraded interiors, better fuel economy and more standard safety features, are an attempt by Japan's third-largest automaker to reignite Civic's fire, and Honda's sales, in the United States.

Civic and mid-size Accord models account for almost half of Honda's U.S. sales, but demand for both has dropped this year. As a result, while rivals Toyota and Nissan are posting double-digit percentage sales increases, Honda sales are up just 2.4 percent.

The company needs strong Civic sales to help it maintain its passenger car volume in a shrinking market.

``This is a critical launch for us,'' said John Mendel, vice president for Honda division automotive operations at Torrance-based American Honda Motor. ``The Civic is the entry to the Honda brand for many, many people.''

The company's new marketing tagline, ``Civic: It will reverse your thinking,'' acknowledges the product line's slipping image and promises that the new models will be a cure.

For the mainstream models, the big problem has been the loss of the buzz about Honda that previous generations of the Civic created, back when used models were highly desired by high school and college students with a yen to customize their rides. It was those young Honda fans who often pushed their parents into dealer showrooms and who, as they grew up and started earning money of their own, maintained their loyalty to the brand.

``It has been the car that introduces people to Honda and keeps them in the family'' as they move into Accords and Pilot sport-utility vehicles and finally upscale Acura models, said Jesse Toprak, senior analyst at auto market information provider Edmunds.com in Santa Monica.

Since its introduction in 1973, just as an oil shortage made economy cars popular, the Civic has been Honda's ``everything'' car: an aspirational vehicle for those too young to buy; an affordable first new car; a car for young families; and a comfortable and economic commuter car for buyers of all ages and financial backgrounds. The Civic grew steadily -- in size and sales -- through six redesigns, or generations.

But with the seventh-generation Civic, launched in 2000, Honda executives chased after the aging baby boomers who had been the Civic's core buyers and lost sight of the huge pool of younger buyers in the ``echo boom'' generations.

The resulting car was comfortable but conservative.

In stressing ride comfort and cost-cutting packaging efficiencies, Honda made the car harder for do-it-yourself performance enthusiasts to customize. Schoolboys who once tacked posters of hopped-up Civics on their bedroom walls began lusting after Subaru WRXs.

Honda executives forgot an industry truism: It is easier to sell a young car to an older buyer than an old car to a young buyer.

Now they're remembering.

``We need to re-energize the Civic; it's one of our crown jewels,'' said Mendel, a former Ford and Mazda marketing executive. ``We want to get a new generation to rediscover Honda as a brand of choice.''

A sure sign of the Civic's malaise is that in the past seven months, as soaring gasoline prices have touched off a nationwide hunt for fuel-efficient cars, sales of the 38-mpg Civic have dropped almost 12 percent.

``That shows there's a problem and that they really need to do something to turn things around,'' said analyst Wes Brown of Iceology, a Los Angeles-based consumer research firm.

Said Tom Peyton, Honda's senior advertising manager: ``We'll do it with this car.''

He said Honda would spend ``at least 50 percent more'' than on any other launch in its U.S. history to market the eighth-generation Civic, which has been redesigned from the ground up. In addition to standard print media and television advertising, Honda will branch out into the Internet, specialty publications and event marketing such as sponsoring concerts and lifestyle events.

For 2006, the Civic lineup will be sold as four distinct models: the mainstream sedan, the youth-oriented coupe, a gasoline-electric hybrid sedan with a more powerful drive system, and a high-performance, 197-horsepower Si coupe intended to win back performance enthusiasts and cast a positive glow over the entire line.

The company, which in the past has simply assumed that people understood that it made good cars, will begin blowing its own horn with the new Civic, Peyton said.

``That's something that hasn't been the case,'' dealer Conant said. ``But Mendel has all that Ford background, and Peyton came over from Chrysler, and they get it.''

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name all the reasons why they suck.

if i'm not mistaken, that also applies for corollas..

-not classy
-look the same
-cheap cars
-too many on road
-interior is plain
-new generation is ugly

but the thing is, the new SI has a 195 hp k20a with a 6 speed and FACTORY LSD

i think the new civic will be very successful both coupe n sedan......but i cant say the same for the new hatch comin out....

all true

If thats the case, then Corolla's are ridiculously slower.

They're running K20Z3 engines. Not K20A.

Last I read, no hatch is coming over here. Only the coupe and sedan models will.

well here's a point you're missing dude, Corollas might be all that you know BUT when we are modded we get WAY more looks than a civic and all because we're unique man, civics are seen EVERYWHERE but Corollas are a different story.

Honda's design theme is bland every vehicle they have has some sort of blandness effect on it. the civic is too common and highly overrated. pretty much anyone with any budget can afford one. on the corollas though they can cost a bit more and have a better build quality than the civic. the main thing with Honda is that the engines are very fuel efficient and reliable. Toyota has pretty much equal with the engines but then it comes down to auto tranny's toyota actually is the number one company with the least amount per 100 built and honda lately has not been doing as well as they should.the new interiors and standards that they are building the civics are barely starting to make headlines. the corolla does not have anything to worry about since toyota is already known of thier quality. truth is the corolla was designed to be a workhorse and the civic was designed mainly for the efficiency of a small engine. Both companies have pioneered what they stated when they first came out.

BTW i am sure some of you have read this before but i will NEVER own a Honda again. Unless its a 97 or below or if newer is built in japan because the american built versions have too many problems and when co-developed with FORD for tranny's(98-02 gen Accord V6 models) it just makes for a bad recipe.

honda is always getting blander and blander. while toyota and lexus is going in a different direction in styling. the new civic looks ulgy both coupe and sedan especially with the new corp. grill. we'll just have to wait and see til the 07 corolla comes out.

I don't think the new civic looks that bad...but if it comes standard with a black hood careless of the color of the car...well...we got something else to point and laugh at honda for...

anyone know what the 07 corolla's are gonna look like..?

well i took a look and i think they look bad even the si.. so what it has 195hp my tc has 165 give or take a little... honduh is overrated

while the corolla is nothing fancy, compared to the civic, i think its pretty classy, 'specially the LE, interior wise and all that.

they dont call em "mini-lexus" for nothing

not saying that as a fan-boy either

I gotta give it to honda the new civic has improved both in style and hp, that is when you compare it to the models that are out now.

Honda's quality has gone down that they need and will do anything to gain back in sales especially when the corolla and camry have sold very well. Honda has the CR-V and Odessey to keep them going, with the exception to thier luxury brand Acura.

isnt they majority of small car buyers still older adults and small family??? if so would you really think that hondas new civic is going to win their hearts. i can see the last generation and this current generation can win but with this coming model i can only see teens that have no money buy them.

and one biggest mistake from honda is the ridgeliner. i think thats the worst truck out on the streets.

which leads me to think, wtf is toyota gonna do to the next corolla, since theyre all competing for the compact car market