The Next Generation Honda Civic: My Take

There's been alot of talk about when the next generation Honda Civic is to come about, will it be a 2011 or a 2012 FMC? Regardless whether this 9th Generation Civic's official debut year, here are a few things suggestions that I think could be (and some that should) realistically done....

-Keep the size of the vehicle to where it is now, the roof line is good, great size trunk, and the flat rear floor really makes the rear seats spacious for almost anyone.

-Aerodynamics are good, but there's got to be a way to see that front hood, even just by a little bit, there are a few people that can't get past it.

-I haven't had any complaints with regards to power (fine line between more power and gas mileage), so I say hang onto the 1.8L but increase the hp to 148-150.

-Make Bluetooth standard on all trims. (Safety for Everyone....)

-Every generation of Civic has had some kind of unique change, be it the flat rear floor in the 01-05's, the heads up display in the 06-current, what are we going to do this time? I say, if there's a way to make the rear seats fold up like the FIT (yeah, I know the gas tank issue), that could go a long way to differentiate the vehicle from its competitors.

-Honda is going to be deadly once they figure out that people want heated seats (especially in the northern states and here in Canada!), 3 words - Cloth Heated Seats.

-Vehicle Stability Assist on all trim levels (fortifying the 'Safety for Everyone' slogan). The competitors are starting to use that one against us (even though I am not the biggest fan of this feature).

-XM Satellite Radio should be available.

-Navigation Systems should be available.

-The 5 speed Automatic Transmission is fine, please stay away from the CVT's. (google CVT reliablity issues....)

-Keep the heads up display, just update it.

-Have a performance upgrade kit (chip, intake, etc.) option for the Si model to go from (200-210hp range to the 240-250 range) regardless of price, people pay crazy money for the Mazda Speed and the Subaru WRX's....

-Power Seat available on the Leather models.

-Manual height adjustment on the passenger side (pipe dreamin' here....).

-Change tray on the left side of the steering wheel like in the 01-05's, not just some open square.

-Projector lenses on the front for upper models (or all). More upscale in appearance.

-Do not stray too far from the overall lines of the current model, it is a very good looking car (KIA seems to agree....ah, ah, ah-choo-Forte!!!!).

-Put a digital compass on the dash, much like the Accord's.

Anyway, that's all I can think of for now, if you have any ideas, please, put them down in the comments section - maybe Honda's listening!

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TOV: Next Generation Civic *Update*

Over the past few months, we have heard rumors coming out of Japan that the next generation Civic's introduction could possibly be delayed by as much as a year. Now we have heard some stuff coming from sources in the US that seem to support these earlier rumors.

First, I would like to emphasize that what we've heard comes from a source who A) is NOT a Honda associate, B) not in any way affiliated with any of Honda's competitors, and C) has provided reliable information in the past. With that said, this information definitely falls into the unsubstantiated RUMOR category, so take it at face value until we have a better feel for its validity.

The rumors suggest that there has been some internal debate concerning the scope of the 9th generation Civic redesign. This debate has taken place between the American team and their counterparts in Japan, and word has it that the American team wanted to take a significant step forward with the 9th generation Civic while the Japanese team was more interested in making incremental improvements. This difference in opinion is said to have resulted in several redesigns, which have delayed the development. There are prototypes said to be running around doing testing in the USA, but even if a spy were to snag shots of these prototypes, supposedly there is little chance that the finished product will look much like the prototype.

At this point, details are few, but we're hearing that the 9th generation Civic will be dimensionally very close to the current model (Hopefully that means it won't gain any weight). Power is said to be up by 5-8% across the board, with an increase in displacement from 1.8L to 2.0L (R20?) for standard Civics. The Si will reportedly end up with around 210-215hp.

Even if the car were on track for a model year 2011 introduction, with an autumn 2010 introduction (which is still entirely possible), it's pretty early to be hearing these sorts of details, so things are obviously subject to change.

Source;
http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=853379

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Lexus LF-A Supercar Spyshots by KPG

All I can say is wow, and it has the price tag to match too....
Here's the full spy report from the folks at KGP:

"We just caught a near production-ready Lexus LF-A prototype almost completely free of camouflage, giving us our best look yet at the upcoming supercar very close to showroom trim. This is the first time that the LF-A's revised front air-intake design has been seen uncovered. The final shape of the finessed side intake is also more apparent on this clean, white prototype. Finally, remove the white tape from the tail-light, and you'll have the final shape of the LF-A's rear-end, and the fully-trimmed rear exhaust vents and rear diffuser.
The LF-A is expected to be built using a carbon fiber chassis, keeping weight down to approximately 3,300 pounds. A V-10 should produce at least 550-hp, channeled through a GT-R style auto-manual tranny. The LF-A will probably reach production sometime in 2010, with low production numbers perhaps commanding a $400,000 price tag."

Source;
http://jalopnik.com/5361642/lexus-lf+a-clearest-look-yet

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Vote for Internet Car and Truck of the Year

Where Internet Pros & Average Joes vote on the Internet Car & Truck of the Year

Just follow the link and away you go....

http://www.internetcarandtruckoftheyear.com/Home_Page.html

Here's a link to the actual survey;

http://icotyfsemifinal.questionpro.com/

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the Honda Civic from Crank: High Voltage

A little slow on the news front, so I thought I'd include something I stumbled across on another blog....
Crank: High Voltage, the sequel to 2006’s equally action packed Crank, was released on DVD yesterday and we came up with some interesting ways to be inspired by the high adrenaline film. If horse racing and adrenaline junky stunts weren’t enough for you we’ve got you another Crank inspired blog. Not only do the movies have an awesome array of gadgets (including an AbioCor Artificial heart!) but since they’re always on the move they’ve got some pretty cool vehicles too. And so this week our auto spot is the Honda Civic used by Johnny Vang and his gang in the movie.

During the film Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) is desperately searching for Vang and his cohorts as they have something very valuable to him – his heart! As Chev races around searching for the gang and trying to keep his artificial heart charged up, they use their Japanese coupe to escape him. Their Civic is a sixth generation 1996 coupe, in ‘New Vogue Silver Metallic’ with blue decals, and a rear spoiler. To be the perfect getaway car for a gang it needs to be big enough to fit in the members, but compact enough to move quickly. With their coupe being 175 inches long, 67 inches wide and only 54 inches high it’s just that. It features front double wishbone suspension, inspired by Hondas racing research. With its 1.6 litre engine its fast, but not quite fast enough to escape the charged up Chev Chelios.

The Honda Civic is the perfect car for anyone who wants something speedy but practical, and since they’re currently producing their eighth generation of Civic it’s obvious it’s a popular model. Grab yourself a cool car in the form of the Civic now, but remember it’s not properly equipped for transporting organs.

Source;
http://boxwish.com/blog/view/1104-auto-of-the-week-the-honda-civic-from-crank-high-voltage

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Tech News: European Diesel Hybrids

Here's a good article at Road & Track about what I thought was going to be the 'next big thing'....
Diesel-electric hybrid concepts from European automakers are all the rage at the 2009 Frankfurt International Motor Show.
Hybrids are great. Their clever interaction of combustion engine and electric motor can be optimized to exploit both means of propulsion.
Diesels are great too. Compared with gasoline counterparts, they offer a 25-percent benefit in fuel economy. And, unlike gasoline engines, diesels have gobs of low-end torque — just the thing for getting off the line adroitly.
Electric motors are great as well. They use no petroleum at all. And they too have gobs of low-end grunt, producing maximum torque from the first twist of the output shaft.
In fact, though, Europeans got on the hybrid bandwagon only lately. For a while there, they were most vocal in pointing out hybrid shortcomings of dual-propulsion complexity, battery weight and cost. Diesels, they propounded, were a much more rational engineering solution (especially when encouraged by fuel tax benefits in many European countries).
But there's an excellent argument that a diesel-electric hybrid is the automotive equivalent of wearing a belt and suspenders.
Diesels are more expensive than their gasoline counterparts, as are gasoline-electric hybrids. Thus, in a very real sense, a diesel-electric hybrid pays double for its technology. The costs of a diesel's necessarily robust construction, high-pressure injection and complex emissions controls must be added to the hybrid's electric motor, power electronics and battery costs.
What's more, a gasoline-electric mating is a fundamentally better one than diesel-electric. A gasoline engine's relative lack of low-end torque blends perfectly with an electric motor's instant twist. Also, a diesel's inherently abrupt startup and shutdown are a real challenge for engineers seeking transparent transitions, especially in Start/Stop, a key feature in the efficiency of hybrid interactions.
A diesel is super efficient at light load, when its air-fuel leanness extends to 50:1 and beyond. By contrast, a gasoline engine demands its ratio closely kept to around 14.7:1, and it's notoriously inefficient at light load. What's more, light load is the most efficient time for hybrids to run in pure electric mode. Whether off the line or at light load, gasoline and electric characteristics complement each other. Diesels and electrics are redundant.
Among European automakers, Porsche seems to sense this. The company has a quandary at the moment, whether to bring its highly successful Cayenne SUV to the U.S. in diesel form or as a newly developed gasoline-electric hybrid being introduced in Europe next spring.
The latter is quite an elegant system, its powertrain consisting of a 3.6-liter 333-bhp supercharged V-6 engine, intermediate clutch, 38-kW electric motor, lock-up torque converter and 8-speed automatic transmission, in that order. Think Honda Integrated Motor Assist with a clutch added between engine and motor. Disengagement of this clutch gives the Cayenne S Hybrid its pure-electric modes, including one called "Sailing," a coasting mode at speeds up at 86 mph.
Porsche's system is modular, and in time we can expect its recently introduced Panamera sedan to have a hybrid version — a gasoline-electric one.
No Zuffenhausen engineers are wearing belts and suspenders.

Source;
http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=36&article_id=8379&print_page=y

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Honda to make crossover vehicle at Ohio plant

EAST LIBERTY, Ohio
The Honda Motor Co. says a plant in western Ohio will be the production site for the automaker's new crossover utility vehicle.
Honda of America President Hidenobu Iwata (hee-DUH'-no-boo i-WAH'-tuh) said Thursday that the Honda Accord Crosstour will be built at the East Liberty plant that now produces the CR-V and the Element.
The Crosstour is a tallish, five-passenger wagon-like SUV based on a mid-size sedan. It goes into production this fall. Honda officials would not say how many will be manufactured.
Production is not expected to result in any new jobs at the plant that employs about 2,400.
The engines will be supplied by Honda's engine plant near Anna and the transmissions from the automaker's plant near Russells Point.

Source;
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9AL583G0.htm

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