CEO Ito Accepts Responsibility For Lackluster 2012 Honda Civic

 Cars, News  No Responses »
Dec 042011
 

2012 Honda Civic

The 2012 Honda Civic has been far from a critical or sales success. Critics express their displeasure with words and buyers have been expressing their displeasure by not buying Civics. During an interview at the Tokyo Motor Show, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito accepted responsibility for the poor performance of the Civic and vowed that his company would improve the car in the very near future.

U.S. sales of the Honda Civic are down 14.8% from last year’s mark, through the first ten months of 2011. Granted, inventory levels were down due to the twin disasters in Japan, but the Civic is showing no signs of life now that inventory levels are close to pre-disaster levels. Given that caveat, Honda’s design team admits dropping the ball and that the Civic’s current design is ”dull and uninspiring.”

Honda creative director Yoshinori Asahi was recently quoted as saying,” In the past few years the cars have been a bit boring.” Ito attempted to explain the lack of new design features by blaming market research that indicated Americans would accept more cheaply made cars during the recent recession, if they were fuel efficient. The company should seriously consider firing the group that performed that market research and examine their own inability to consider that the economy could turnaround before the 2012 Civic hit dealer’s lots.

Honda is hinting at a dramatic change for mid-cycle in 2013. A near complete redesign was scheduled for 2014, but sales for the Civic are so low and complaints so common that Honda has bumped that up a year. American Honda President John Mendel said that the company has been ” appropriately energized” to update and revamp the Civic.

1973 Honda Civic RS

The 2012 Honda Civic is being further crippled by its competitors. Ford, Chevrolet, Hyundai, and Kia have all released cars in direct competition with the Civic, but their offerings include updated tech features and, in some cases, better fuel economy. Given the current market, Honda needs to get something done quickly or the iconic Civic may need to be shelved.

 Posted by at 10:12 am  Tagged with:

Honda Civic Parts To Improve Your MPG

 Cars, Tuning  1 Response »
Nov 172011
 

2012 Honda Civic

The fuel efficiency of the 2012 Honda Civic is at the top of its class. While detractors have said many things about the Civic, its mpg rating has never been an issue. Still, it can be improved with a few relatively inexpensive items. Here are three aftermarket parts that will help you stretch your fuel dollar.

The least expensive item that you can possible buy to improve the mpg of your Honda Civic is a tire gauge. Sound ridiculous? Maybe, but over or under inflated tires have been proven to rob as much as 15% of a vehicle’s fuel efficiency. That can mean around five fewer miles per gallon in a typical Civic. Take into account the excessive wear on your tires and you can see how a $4 tire gauge could save you hundreds of dollars per year.

The next part is very simple as well. A new air filter allows increased air flow to the combustion chambers. By having more oxygen available, you Civic will use less fuel, the cylinders will fire more efficiently, and you can add another 5-10% fuel efficiency. These parts can cost about $10 each. There are performance filters from K&N and other companies that can be cleaned and reused for several years, saving you even more money.

Another way to improve fuel efficiency is to stabilize your Civic’s voltage system. A voltage tuning system offers several benefits including: low, mid, and high rev performance, increased horsepower, more torque, and throttle response all of which lead to better fuel economy through efficient throttle position sensing.

With an automatic transmission the 2012 Honda Civic is rated to get 28 mpg city and 39 mpg on the highway. You can add all of these parts for less than $350. Once they are in place, you could see your Civic’s mpg jump to 45 or higher on the highway. Spread those savings out over the lifetime of your car and you can see that the parts more than pay for themselves.

 Posted by at 10:33 am  Tagged with: ,
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