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Halfway through dev, Civic back to drawing board

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/26/report-...-lighter-ne/#at

The Civic is too big and heavy says the boss.

Quote:

the decision to restart the Civic's development halfway through the process is sure to be a major setback for the company's lifecycle schedule. And not just for the Civic itself, but also for vehicles that share its platform, including the CR-V crossover, the Element sport-utility-box, the JDM Stream and European-market FR-V minivans, to say nothing of the upcoming CR-Z, Acura RDX, and of course the all-important Canadian-market Acura CSX.

I would have to agree with the boss, the Civic is too big, but I think the Accord is as well.

Aren't most cars these days gained a bit of girth compared to their older counterparts? Are we going back to the late 90's Civic, in size?

Quote:

Originally Posted by shyong,Oct 27 2009, 01:38 PM

Aren't most cars these days gained a bit of girth compared to their older counterparts? Are we going back to the late 90's Civic, in size?

There's a bit of girth, then there's the fact that the Civic is technically mid sized it so big, and the Accord is technically full sized. The cars have outgrown their classes, so they have to get smaller. Still, this indicates smaller cars based on the Civic platform as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saki GT,Oct 27 2009, 11:53 AM

Only the Accord LX is full-size (no sunroof) and only then, just barely. Every other Accord is a mid-size car.

The Civic has a ton of interior room for its size but it's abundantly clear that it's not a true mid-size when you start trying to fit five people in it, or luggage for three. It's still nowhere near as big as an Accord, inside or out.

I like what Honda is doing (smaller, lighter) but honestly, they have the Fit to cover that market. I'd prefer they just keep the Civic as is but give it more power and more fuel efficiency while reducing the road noise. Refine it, don't redefine it. It doesn't weigh much already - just put some money into making it a better car to drive all the time.

Yes, they are too big.

Civic should be no longer than 174" and no wider than 67" and weights less than 2600lbs.

Accord should be no longer than 186" and no wider than 71" and weight less than 3100lbs.

Will the new, smaller Civic cannibalize sales from the Fit? :ponder:

Here's another route they could have taken - continued the existing Civic development efforts, just slap an "Accord" badge on it. Take the existing Fit, and slap a "Civic" badge on it. Take the current Accord platform and continue its use in other models.

Its because the average consumer is stupid. They always expect more in a new model. And the easiest and cheapest way to give them more is to give them more space. Then the manufacturers need to come up with new models after a few generations of expanding girth. To fill the old market of the original car.

i can't think of any case that the newer model is actually smaller than the previous generation... wonder how buyers would perceive this?...
i think psychologically the larger car worth more $$ even if it cost the same as the smaller one.
anyone agrees with me?