Even for a Japanese company, the redesign of a brand new model just 18 months after its launch onto the market is a surprising move and it suggests that there was something wrong with the car to begin with.
It all started with a hammering of the (North American market) ninth generation of the Honda Civic by Consumer Reports, which dropped the car from its “Recommended List” and continued with an admission from Honda Motor CEO Takanobu Ito that the compact model wasn’t what it should have been.
Surprisingly, despite all the pounding from the press, the Civic increased its sales this year by 40 percent through September, to 234,029 units…
Nevertheless, Honda wants to rectify all problems noted by motoring journalists and buyers alike, and which include the Civic’s mundane looks inside and out, and the quality of the interior, with a redesign for the 2013 model year.
The revamped 2013 Civic sedan was introduced today in advance of its world premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November, with U.S. sales to start on the same day.
Honda said in a statement that the latest Civic “will encompass a host of safety, feature, comfort, chassis and interior styling enhancements that will further define the top-selling Civic as the best car in the compact class.”
We only get two pictures of the exterior that reveal a redesigned face that borrows the more sculpted lines of the new Accord and a revised rear end with new combination lamps that extend into the boot, and a different bumper with new lower diffuser panel finished with a honeycomb mesh vent.
“The 2013 Honda Civic exterior refinements infuse Civic with a more youthful, premium style. Coupling these with additional changes beneath will ensure that Civic maintains its top-ranked status,” said Vicki Poponi, assistant vice president of product planning for American Honda.
For more details including a look into what has changed in the interior and underneath the skin, we will have to wait until the unveiling of the car in LA at the end of the month.
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