Honda Patents New 2012 Civic Sedan and Coupe Designs in Europe

A peek through the European patent office files revealed images of Honda’s freshly launched in North America, 2012 Civic in both four-door sedan and two-door coupe guise. Given that the European market will get its own, bespoke version of the Civic, chances are that Honda simply wanted to cover its back like most of the competition just in case another automaker (we are looking towards you China) got any crazy ideas.

However, it is possible that Honda will offer the four-door saloon model in certain European countries to compete against the Volkswagen Jetta. With the exception of one version of the Civic sedan seen in this set of images and which features slightly modified taillights with additional strips that extend towards the license plate holder, there are no other differences compared to the North American Civic.

Honda to introduce a small diesel engine for the Civic by 2013

Seems like Honda have finally managed to see what they were surprisingly blind to till now. The company has realized that the lack of diesel engines for its small and medium sized cars is turning out to be the major reason behind its cars taking a drubbing against its rivals in both developed and developing markets.

Honda UK’s managing director David Hodgetts has told ‘Fleet News’ that the new diesel engine will be introduced once the new Civic has completed its one year in the market. The new engine may also be used on other models such as the Accord and Jazz.
Honda has not been a very keen diesel engine maker. The only diesel engine the Japanese company has made is the 2.4-liter i-CTDi engine, which later evolved into the i-DTEC and was utilized it in the Accord the CR-V and Civic. The engine was removed from the Civic later.

The new engine would most likely be in the 1.6-1.8-liter class with very low CO2 emission figures and powerful enough to present itself as fit enough to go under the Accord’s bonnet. Although nothing has been said officially about it by Honda, but the possibility of an even smaller version of this engine may power the likes of the Jazz and Brio cannot be denied. If that happens, the 2013 next-generation Jazz would feature it.

Will Honda bring the new diesel engines to India in the new City and Civic? Well, if they are sane enough, they should. Fingers crossed!

2012 Honda Civic revealed, pictures and all the details

Honda has revealed the official details and images of its next-gen 2012 Civic. The bad news for all you Civic aficionados is that in its latest iteration, the Civic doesn’t quite impress. The 2012 car is brand new, alright, with everything component being designed and developed from the scratch. But we really wonder if Honda took so much pain, why couldn’t they come up with something more appealing and distinguishing for this saloon which created a sensation when the current version was unveiled. I still remember, Car UK and all the other UK based publications went crazy praising the new age design of the current Civic when it was first introduced.

And what we get for 2012 is this – a design which has hardly any positive aesthetic distinction over its predecessor. Except for the more tapered headlamp, a slightly modified grille and a wee bit more aggressive bumper, the 2012 Civic somehow doesn’t look like a new car. The rear end has gone under the scalpel of the cosmetic surgeon as well, with those roundish tail-lamps now replaced with angular ones. It’s all just too token to make us pop out of our seats and take notice.

From the inside, the car now gets a driver oriented dash, which doesn’t quite look too great. Thankfully, the sophisticated blue-illuminated speedo behind the steering wheel has been retained.

There are no changes to the power train either. The car comes equipped with the same 1.8-litre engine that powers the current gen car. Capable of putting out 140 horses, the engine is said to be marginally more fuel efficient than its current version. Transmission duties are taken care of by a 5-speed auto and manual.

Apart from the usual sedan version of the car, there are a few other versions as well. There is the Hybrid HF version to start with. Then there is a natural gas powered GX version.

For the performance freaks, there is the Si models which is equipped with a 2.4-litre 200bhp, 230Nm engine. This model comes with a sporty 6-speex manual gearbox.

All in all, the 2012 version of the Civic doesn’t quite manage to create any excitement for us. The design remains largely the same, the powertrain remains the same, there doesn’t seem to be any willingness from Honda to add a diesel mill, and the interior too doesn’t anything novel.

We can only hope that Honda have done their homework well to have done what they done with this car. We wish them all the luck.

Honda to Build More CR-Vs in the U.S., Plans to Increase the use of Parts from Low-Cost Countries

The strong yen is affecting all Japanese automakers that are exporting their locally produced cars to America. Honda is one of them, as of the 72,000 CR-Vs built last year in Japan, 35,000 made their way to North America. Japan’s third largest automaker wants to invest in its North American plants to increase the number of CR-V it builds here and reduce exports from Japan, thus minimizing losses due to exchange rates.

“Our profit structure has improved mainly thanks to robust overseas operations, and the toughest area remains exports from Japan”, Chief Financial Officer Yoichi Hojo told reporters at Honda's headquarters on Wednesday. “With a little investment, we would be able to increase production of the CR-V in the United States, so that's the most probable course of action (to reduce yen exposure)”, he said.

The company official said that Honda is currently examining various options to increase the crossover’s production. One of the factories that builds the CR-V, the East Liberty plant, in Ohio, is already operating at full capacity, but the neighboring Marysville plant is at 80%, while a factory in Indiana is working at half of its total capacity.

Should the need arise, Honda could also increase the output of its Mexican and Canadian plants.

In the future, the automaker also plans to use more components sourced from low-cost countries, such as China and India.

According to Yoichi Hojo, low-cost components will account for at least 10% of the upcoming 2012 Civic, a major improvement considering that the current generation uses very few if any low cost parts. The same ratio is at 17% in the case of the Fit subcompact, but Honda is aiming for about 30%.

Honda Rumors: 2012 Civic Si to get a 2.4-liter Engine

Earlier this month, Honda unveiled the Civic Si Concept coupe and Civic Concept sedan at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, signaling that the ninth generation 2012 Civic will follow soon, to be precise, this spring. However, the official press bits weren’t exactly what you’d call detailed, leaving lots of aspects, including the engine lineup, to our imagination.

Today, the Honda-obsessed team at the Temple of VTEC forums claim to have solved part of this mystery thanks some inside sources that told them a 2.4-liter gasoline engine, very similar to the Acura TSX’s powerplant, will make its way into the new Civic Si.

The new four-cylinder engine will replace the current K20Z3 197HP 2.0-liter unit and is expected to deliver a little over 200 horsepower and, thanks to its larger displacement, significantly more torque. The other conventional powerplant for the Civic's North American lineup is said to be the current 1.8-liter gasoline unit, possibly revised to return better fuel efficiency.

In other news, there are also rumors about Honda planning an HF trim level just for the sedan with gray or white exterior color. Fans of the manual transmissions can expect to find them on the DX- and LX-trimmed sedans as well as part of the EX trim level for coupe models.

VIDEO: Honda Civic Burnout Ends in Fiery Fail

As far as hooning goes, one would think that a simple burnout should get you in the least amount of trouble. However, the owner of this Honda Civic almost lost his car while dazzling the crowd [...], as after about 40 seconds the tires suddenly burst into flames.

So, what have we learned today? Well, first of all, avoid overdoing the burnout if your car is tied to a block of concrete. Also, always keep a fire extinguisher at hand, because it turns out that putting out flames with some refreshments isn’t very effective. Who would of thought it? Watch the video after the jump.

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