Civic production in U.S. about to get boosted
Apparently there are a lot more Civic-minded new car shoppers than Honda had anticipated. After reporting a 13 percent drop in U.S. sales of the cars last month, Honda Motor Co. is set to increase North American Civic production by as many as 60,000 units annually. Honda will be rearranging assembly-plant operations to make up the difference. A second Alliston, Ontario plant will be used for building Civics starting in April, Honda said Monday. The annual production volume will increase by 16 percent. Pilot SUV production at that plant will begin to be switched over from the Canadian factory to a Lincoln, Alabama plant in February.
"This underscores Honda's flexibility, that they can quickly shift production like this to meet demand," said Michael Robinet, an analyst at consulting firm CSM Worldwide Inc. in Farmington Hills. "They're more likely to see bottlenecks at parts suppliers than in-house capacity bottlenecks from this kind of move."
North American Civic production could hit 440,000 a year. The Civic is currently built in East Liberty, Ohio, as well as another Alliston plant. With the increase, Civics may outnumber Accords in North America, which have been the company's biggest seller in the U.S. for two decades. Honda produced 382,332 Accords in 2005. So far this year, the two are running neck-and-neck: 285,188 Accords versus 284,933 Civics. No word on how much these changes will cost, but Honda has also announced that it would build a $550 million plant in Greensburg, Ind., to make as many as 200,000 small cars a year when it opens in 2008.
[Source: The Detroit News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mike Razpizdaev 8:44PM (10/24/2006)
Great car but if fuel economy will improve on the next model, that would be even better.
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$0.02 8:49PM (10/24/2006)
...these cars are everywhere! Another success story for Honda. I checked out the new 07 Elantra today for my daughter and drove them back-to-back. Hyundai has an interesting alternative and about $3k less loaded with leather, heated seats, etc.
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Chucklenuts 9:37PM (10/24/2006)
I'm not surprised. The Accords have moved into entry-level luxury car pricing territory and the Civic is now priced where the Accord once was. Unfortunately.
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PiCASSO 9:44PM (10/24/2006)
If they only had a different interior... I would be in Honda's dealership when my lease of my Mazda3 runs out. That Star Trek Enteprise interior never worked for me. I was thinking that majority of the people followed my taste. I guess not.
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Carster 11:49PM (10/24/2006)
Coming from the youth crowd of Autoblog readers this new Civic is nothing but a success for Honda... The last Civic body style really lost the attention of many of the Civic fans and really opened the doors to the other motorsports that the young guys and gals really look to now like drifting and WRC. Back in the Eg and EK body styles of the Civic, there was really no other car that young ones looked to besides the Integra maybe... But with this car back as a very affordable option, the Civic is back on the market for tunning cars, but with a tad bit more competition. Good luck Civic!
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Ryan 10:08PM (10/24/2006)
It's funny, by simple observation on the streets here in Las Vegas, Nevada I thought the Civic was kinda flopping, I guess not, I really thought they were when Honda's sales were down last month.
Either way, I would expect a remix of that dash board to something more bland and "mainstream" and the digital speedometer (my guess) is on the chopping block, that is just a matter of time before it goes back to normal.
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r.yo 10:47PM (10/24/2006)
Chucklenuts (seriously?)-
Don't worry, the Civic is now also *sized* where the Accords used to be, so it's all good.
(The noblest spirit embiggens the smallest car)
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Ben 10:49PM (10/24/2006)
My 07 civic comes NEXT week! I can't wait and I'm glad to be part of the increased demand
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Lithous 10:54PM (10/24/2006)
For a company which makes 50% of their profit in the U.S. (Honda) it sure isn't showing the love by not making all their cars here (like the two domestics are expected to do).
At least I know I won't order a Fusion or Impala because they aren't made here so instead I know to order an Aura or a G6 or a Lucerne and it is gauranteed to be made here. If you order your Honda car (Accord or Civic) it may or may not be made in the U.S.
Kinda throws that import fan-toddler saying a bit off doesn't it? You know, the one about buy a Honda made here or a GM made in Mexico or Canada.
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Paul 10:57PM (10/24/2006)
proof that the inferior american workers can assemble a quality product if under the strict supervision of the superior asian engineers.
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Tim 11:02PM (10/24/2006)
Is it just me that thinks Honda's new car designs are very girly and/or ugly?? I liked the 2004 model alot but the new ones just don't rub me the right way at all. (Too ovally) Everytime i see a dude driving one of those I can't figure it out.
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Petey 11:18PM (10/24/2006)
Tim, the term you're looking for is metrosexual.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrosexual
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mike 11:10PM (10/24/2006)
What am I missing?
Apparently there are a lot more Civic-minded new car shoppers than Honda had anticipated. After reporting a 13 percent drop in U.S. sales of the cars last month, Honda Motor Co. is set to increase North American Civic production by as many as 60,000 units annually.
To me, this reads:
Honda didn't realize that the Civic was so popular until their sales DROPPED by 13% last month. And since they are sold 13% FEWER cars it might be a good idea to INCREASE PRODUCTION by 60,000 Civics per year.
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Michael Karesh 11:28PM (10/24/2006)
Gotta love the headline.
Just in case some people aren't aware, the plant in question is in Ontario. And Ontario is in Canada. Which is not part of the U.S.
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tekdemon 9:43AM (10/25/2006)
Heh, the Civic may have gone up in price, but it really has also bloated up to become a much larger car than it used to be-and it's really also gone up quite a bit in classiness (interior wise).
Basically the Fit is going to take the place of where the Civic used to be. So it's all good.
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cliff 11:49PM (10/24/2006)
a little trivia,
Do you know honda civic are rated one of the top class cars in the Philippines. No wonder Honda is so popular among Asians..
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Miyoshi 12:01AM (10/25/2006)
Now all Honda needs to do is start ramping up Civic production in Second Life then they can compete with Pontiac and Nissan.
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Glenn 1:29AM (10/25/2006)
Cabforward Design .. MacPherson Strut (touted for safety and no lower cost).
Why oh why did Chrysler cancel the Neon .. everyone has gone cabforward now. This is what the Neon redesign should have looked like in 2000, but the buyout (takeover) drained all the money away from the project.
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Glenn 1:55AM (10/25/2006)
Cabforward Design .. MacPherson Strut (touted for safety and no lower cost).
Why oh why did Chrysler cancel the Neon .. everyone has gone cabforward now. This is what the Neon redesign should have looked like in 2000, but the buyout (takeover) drained all the money away from the project.
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BOB 3:02AM (10/25/2006)
GEE -- REPLACE A GOOD, BUT DOWDY, CAR WITH A SHARP LOOKING, EVEN CONTROVERSIAL NEW EDITION!! HOW CLEVER! I THINK DETROIT USED TO TRY IT EVERY YEAR, BUT HAS FORGOTTEN.
YES, THE CURRENT CIVIC TAKES THE SLOT OF THE 80's ACCORD. THE PRESENT ACCORD IS DULL, BUT NOT AS DULL AS THE PILOT. THE RIDGELINE IS GREAT, BUT FAIRLY HIDEOUS. WHEN THESE ARE REPLACED AS EFFECTIVELY AS THE CIVIC WAS, THE DOMESTICS WILL HAVE EVEN MORE TROUBLE. (UNLESS THEY REMEMBER HOW TO MAKE COOL CARS AGAIN)
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