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Honda will shift development of the next-generation Civic to the U.S. reports by The Nikkei [sub] and Reuters say. Reuters has a quote from Honda spokesman Satoshi Takami, who said: “Localizing Civic development in the United States is among various factors we are considering. Generally speaking, Honda wants to develop cars locally where we sell them.” The Nikkei said that the Accord may also be developed in the U.S.
North America accounts for half of total Civic sales. The 2012 Civic, was panned by critics. A facelifted 2013 Civic will be shown on Thursday at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
According to Reuters, Honda is considering developing the next generation Civic at its R&D center in Ohio, rather than at home in Tochigi,
22 Comments on “Honda Civic To Be Developed in Ohio?...”
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And the Civic boys love their Hondas in Columbus, just south of Marysville. Enough to sport late model Si’s with white wheels and tatoos up their arms to match.
That makes sense as they already develop NA only vehicles already.
Not surprising. Honda doesn’t offer the Civic in Japan any more (too big and thirsty), so why bother developing it there?
When Honda unveiled the new NSX in January-ish, they said that, more or less, they were moving to Ohio.
This could mean standard rusted quarter panels..snow tires on the rear or three different size tires.
A GO BUCK`S and SAVE THE PLANET bumper sticker(NRA member optional)
Just what Honda needs in keeping with their offerings of late.
A mix of bleeding liberal`s and trailer trash in the design studio.
Ford has been going down the path of consolidating its design philosophy and model range. I hope Honda isn’t doing the opposite, making NA cars which drift away from high standards.
Is Honda admitting that their design center in Japan can no longer make
a desirable car for the American market
A recipe for guaranteed failure. When Scion went down this road, it went from being a promising, quirky brand, to a bland, nondescript failure.
I could see the Civic being developed in California, but Ohio… I’m no prophet, but I’d be willing to bet on more products like the current generation, with less and less of the cheap-and-cheerful qualities that originally made a Civic a Civic.
But Honda isnt a quirky car company, at least not any more. I think that this move could work out — after all, when VW gave up on forcefeeding the American market sporty European-style Passats and Jettas and replaced them with vehicles designed especially for the american market, sales started to boom.
Well- you are right about that one. Most VW enthusiasts hate the americanized Jettas and Passats with a vengence, but VW is crying all the way to the bank!
The 2014 Civic OE, Ohio Edition.
Only available in beige.
Only automatic.
Extra rustproofing.
Comes with holder for high school parking pass.
Optional satnav goes only to office parks or Kroger.
LOL!
And Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) which will search out speed limit signs on the freeway, set itself at 2 mph below, then automatically move the car into the leftmost lane!
Live in Ohio, but born and raised in Michigan, where people at least make an attempt at lane discipline!! (The Highway Patrol is not is bad as most people make it out to be! “Nine, you’re fine; ten, you’re mine!”)
LOL, we are amazed at how bad Michigan drivers are/have been! Not to say we are a lot better, but we seem to be a tiny bit.
This move may point to a couple of interesting things:
1) Engineering cost in the US may be lower than in Japan.
2) Confirms that US automotive engineering is state of the art (nothing strange there)
3) They want to use for their benefit the extensive auto industry network available over there.
Considering that the Euro Civic is different than the US ones, it is consistent with what the Honda bloke said.
Not sure why not California instead of Ohio (cheaper?), but it makes some sense to localize cars on global platforms, if that’s what they’re doing.
Car companies do this a lot, and even Honda has had bigger Accords in the US (and other select markets) than elsewhere for a while. We also get the Euro/Japanese Accord as the Acura TSX.
It worked for VW to engineer larger and cheaper cars here, so it probably makes sense for others too. I guess it only hurts those who like sportier cars…
Look at the area just northwest of Marysville, OH on Google Maps satellite view. The Honda R&D offices are across the road from the Transportation Research Center test track and a huge Honda factory. Working in Marysville, it’s possible to have a short commute to work and still live less than half an hour from Columbus, OH. The cost of living is fairly low compared to California and the presence of Ohio State nearby keeps things interesting.
But their R&D headquarters has always been in Southern CA. That’s why it’s a bit baffling why they choose to develop the new Civic in OH.
I’ve been lead to believe that the Ohio R&D center is significantly larger with a wider variety of engineers and designers than the California center
Is corporate finally listening to me/us? :)
A rather strange bunch of comments here. Honda’s engine plant at Anna, Ohio, 40 miles from the plant at Marysville is the world’s largest engine plant. It manufactures the new DREAM engines. The Russell’s Point transmission plant makes the transmissions. Much of Honda output has been from Ohio for years. Yes, I live in Ohio, not in California, land of lunatics.