9th Gen Civic will be smaller and lighter... Honda tears up its old product plan

[oj88]

Here's the scoop. The next Civic will be smaller and lighter than the current ones. And since they're redoing much of the development already half-finished, there's a possibility that the release date will be somewhat delayed.

Source: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...573370637594314

Honda tears up its old product plan

Mark Rechtin
Automotive News
October 26, 2009 - 12:01 am ET

TOKYO -- Honda Motor Co. is reviewing its entire lineup with the aim of building less expensive and more fuel-efficient vehicles, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito says.

In the case of some next-generation products -- including the crucial Civic platform used on a variety of vehicles worldwide -- that means making major changes to vehicles already well along in the development process.

"We are taking more time to rethink the new Civic and all our models," Ito told Automotive News through an interpreter. "We had to revisit our development work and planning to comply with the change in the environment."

Smaller, lighter Civic

Specifically, Honda executives told Civic designers and engineers to make the car smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient than originally designed, said Tsuneo Tanai, COO for automotive operations.

Tanai said that before Lehman Bros. imploded in September 2008 and intensified the global financial crisis, Honda already was concerned about rising oil, steel and aluminum prices.

But Lehman Bros.' collapse and the global economic meltdown that followed prompted Ito to act. In December, his mandated re-evaluation led to killing Honda's V-8 and rear-wheel-drive programs.

Now, Tanai said, Honda is focusing on reducing weight on all its platforms and expanding its hybrid powertrain technology to more vehicle lines.

It also has added electric vehicles, which Honda initially opposed, to bump up the Honda fleet's fuel efficiency and lower its emissions.

The next Civic originally was planned to be larger than the current model, but now its exterior will be smaller. Honda aims to create a perceived sense of increased roominess inside without increasing the vehicle's overall size.

Making such midstream changes can be costly and cause significant delays in releasing a new product. Maintaining its product cadence will be difficult, as the redesigned Civic is due to arrive in less than a year if Honda follows a typical five-year cycle.

Ito and Tanai declined to talk about launch timing for the Civic or other vehicles. However, Ito said: "The team is struggling. We are injecting more manpower to meet our target."

Delaying the Civic platform would have a ripple effect across Honda's lineup, as other vehicles share the Civic's basic architecture: the CR-V and Element, Japan's Stream small minivan and Europe's FR-V.

Tanai is confident Honda is making the right choice. In May 2008, when gasoline prices peaked and consumer confidence was slumping, Honda hit a sales record for the Civic, beating even the Ford F-series pickup, the perennial U.S. sales leader.

"We perceived that U.S. customers are sensitive to the external environment, and their response is very direct. We felt we needed to take this into account," Tanai said through an interpreter.

The "Lehman shock," as Ito calls it, also caused Honda to re-evaluate its pricing strategy, to make its vehicles more affordable.

"The easiest option would be to make products cheaper, but we have to not only cut the price but also maintain the highest quality," Ito said. "This applies to all models, but the biggest is the world Civic."

[JJCarEnthusiast]

so somewhat like civic EG?

[p_borj]

eh bakit hindi nalang gumawa ng Civic Hatchbacks ulit hindi ba?

[basti08]

Smaller, lighter Civic....



The next Civic originally was planned to be larger than the current model, but now its exterior will be smaller....

Honda aims to create a perceived sense of increased roominess inside without increasing the vehicle's overall size.
...

The "Lehman shock," as Ito calls it, also caused Honda to re-evaluate its pricing strategy, to make its vehicles more affordable.

"The easiest option would be to make products cheaper, but we have to not only cut the price but also maintain the highest quality," Ito said. "This applies to all models, but the biggest is the world Civic."

Tama naman talaga eh.. if you can keep the size but improve the roominess, why not? atleast hindi magiging bulky yung kotse. The compact car nowadays are sized like that of 90s Corona, Altima, Galant etc. Kaya kelangan na sila mag resort to having 1.8 and 2.0 engines. If you look into it closely, hindi na COMPACT car ang binili mo. Yung Vios and City subcompact class ang pumalit sa dating compact class.

And of course, if they can produce it more affordable but still able to maintain quality eh di mas lalong ok.

Sana ito na nga ang strat na sundin ng Honda

[ianmitsulancer]

^^^^
agree... downsizing has never been a trend in designing a successor. This is a change indeed.

Lets see what will happen in 2-3 years time pad andito na ang next gen Civic. I wont be surprised kung ibabalik nila ang 1.6 liter engines at least in other markets if Honda doesnt want to sell it here... but here is hoping that there will still be a visible gap from the City.

[basti08]

I think the City needs some diet too. The Top spec City is already 802K!!! Pota! in the 90s Galant GTi (early 90s) or VR (mid 90s) na ang mabibili mo dun ah. They should downsize it, retain the room of the interior and price it accordingly. Saka automakers should bring back the lower midsize market ex. Altima, JDM Accord, Avensis/Corona to slot below the current midsizers Camry, Accord, Teana etc.

[oj88]

Actually they also applied the "perceived roominess" of the cabin on the current 8th gen Civic. If you'll notice, the dashboard is twice as deep than any previous Civics. The engine bay firewall is roughly halfway through the dashboard. That will explain the relatively small bonnet. This also allowed designers to make the windshield vertically longer and to have a sleek angle of attack... adding to the sporty look. And what's a clever way to make use of that dead space on the forward part of the dashboard? They put in a two-tiered digital gauge. Pretty neat.

The downside with making an already compact car more compact is somewhat of safety. Removing all those extra "spaces" would be reducing the margin of safety for the car to absorb a crash. With little crumple zone real estate to play with, engineers would need to increase rigidity on some parts (in order to preserve the cabin). In which case, it will affect crash absorption and dissipation. It then becomes logical to have mandatory SRS for such cars. I'm no expert but that's how I look at it.

[basti08]

cab forward design is the answer, remember the rather small box type aka gen1 323 sedan? it is small but very very roomy inside. but yeah they could still retain some of the "spaces" for crashworthiness.

[oj88]

cab forward design is the answer, remember the rather small box type aka gen1 323 sedan? it is small but very very roomy inside. but yeah they could still retain some of the "spaces" for crashworthiness.

My bad. That's the term I was looking for. The 8th Civic utilizes exactly that... a cabin-forward design.

[digimon11]

hello im on the process of getting a new car,i visited honda phils webite,and im interested in the 1.8s variant,is there anyone out there who has pictures of it interiors? coz the one on the website only shows the 2.0 interiors..

[vito corleone]

Tama naman talaga eh.. if you can keep the size but improve the roominess, why not? atleast hindi magiging bulky yung kotse. The compact car nowadays are sized like that of 90s Corona, Altima, Galant etc. Kaya kelangan na sila mag resort to having 1.8 and 2.0 engines. If you look into it closely, hindi na COMPACT car ang binili mo. Yung Vios and City subcompact class ang pumalit sa dating compact class.

And of course, if they can produce it more affordable but still able to maintain quality eh di mas lalong ok.

Sana ito na nga ang strat na sundin ng Honda

yup, they overdo themselves by adding features to the next generation which necessitates a bigger and heavier frame, thus the bigger engine

this is a welcome move from honda and let's hope that the other car manufacturers follow suit. at sana, kasama na ring ang pagbaba ng srp ng vehicle

[lamborghinione]

"The easiest option would be to make products cheaper, but we have to not only cut the price but also maintain the highest quality," Ito said. "This applies to all models, but the biggest is the world Civic."

This is what I've been dreaming for many years now that Honda someday will include in its goals the cost reduction of its mighty cars including the Civic.

Honda may become unbeatable with these new goals.

[JackFlash]

yup, they overdo themselves by adding features to the next generation which necessitates a bigger and heavier frame, thus the bigger engine

this is a welcome move from honda and let's hope that the other car manufacturers follow suit. at sana, kasama na ring ang pagbaba ng srp ng vehicle

The real reason for the bigger sized "compacts" of yore: the one-time largest market for cars, the USA, was also getting larger - literally. Blame it on double, even triple quarter pounders w/ supersized sodas. Now that the new largest market for cars is Asia (China, India and the ""tigers"), Honda thought, "OK we can make the Civic small again."

Just being facetious.