More pictures of the 2012 Honda Civic sedan

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Looking more and more like a cross between the current model and a 2001 Camry.

Which isn’t horrible, really. But the competition seemed to have moved on. And on….

The coupe, on the other hand, could be much more interesting.

Conversation 20 comments

  1. Actually that would be the 2002 Camry…Just sayin'.

    But either way, that's not good. I think they were better off keeping around the 2009 refresh a bit longer till they could actually DESIGN something. I guess they think too many people only know the current Civic which is why the front is a very light evolutionary change.

  2. This car is looking more and more invisible.
    Honda/Acura styling has taken a HUGE step back in the last several years. Every Acura has an ugly 'beak' for a grille and even the Accord has some useless ugly-tacked on reflectors on the trunk lid now. I just don't get it. Sometimes I truly believe they are seeing just how ugly they can make a car and just to see how many people buy it.

  3. without some sort of wagon or hatch, the civic will never make it back onto our list for possible new car.
    this looks terribly terribly boring.

  4. 2001 Camry?

    Are you kidding me? Where, Vince? MAYBE the taillights share a similar shape, but that is where it ends.

  5. Honda needs to stop everything right now, just stop everything and just not even continue with this car or the next Fit. They are absolute disasters and they need to be completely redone.

    I like Honda a lot, but the last five years has been a very pronounced downward spiral for them.

  6. The Civic Coupe concept at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show was pure Japanese "Boy Racer". It looked like the current car with a ricer front end.

  7. People barking for a Civic wagon….well….CRV people! It is a Civic. All SUV's anymore (especially the car based we call crossovers- CUVs) are just actually tall station wagons to fool the buying public…and It's working.

  8. Honda needs a new style team to do 2 things:

    1. Make Honda less bland;
    2. Create specific brand identity for Acura.

    Hondas are great cars, but can't be too racy or adults in rear seats would be uncomfortable. But if Hyundai can make a slick Sonata, Honda should be able to make a more impressive Accord.

    The Civic must meet certain low price points so can't be too good or it would cost too much and steal sales from the Accord. Still, the 2012 Civic isn't much of an improvement over the current model except for the coupe which looks much better. The upcoming Civic sedan is a yawner.

    Acura needs a FULL makeover to give the brand an identity. Slapping an ugly elephant seal snout on Acuras does differentiate Acura from other cars, but not for the better.

    Acura needs elegant cars with continuity in style among its small, medium, and top-line models as BMW and Mercedes have been doing successfully for years. Unfortunate that Acura has become a nearly forgotten luxury brand.

  9. This is just so horribly bad.

    First Honda lets the quality/reliability start sliding…

    Then after losing a pile of lawsuits they decide to make the cars look as bad & cheap as they feel & perform.

    Not sure whether to laugh or cry!?!?!

  10. Well, at least they kept the folding side mirrors. They didn't cheap out on that. I've had fixed mirrors break twice on me on an older Camry and I never want to experience that again.

    The new rear end is homely, but I imagine it allows for a bigger trunk.

  11. "Anonymous said…
    This is just so horribly bad.

    First Honda lets the quality/reliability start sliding…

    Then after losing a pile of lawsuits they decide to make the cars look as bad & cheap as they feel & perform.

    Not sure whether to laugh or cry!?!?!

    February 10, 2011 4:10 PM"

    It irks me when people says that their reliability is sliding, because IT ISN'T.

    Honda is still rated as THE NUMBER ONE MOST RELIABLE manufacturer by Consumer Reports and TrueDelta, and is in the top three with JD Power as far as reliability AND quality goes.

    People like to bash things that they don't understand and don't research, which I have never understood. If I don't know something for sure, I keep my mouth shut.

    The lawsuit this guy is referring to is for the brakes on the Accord wearing out quickly. Hey, guess what, a softer pad brakes in less distance keeping you safer. People suing for a WEAR ITEM can only happen in America.

    All this is coming from a Mercedes owner. I don't even like Hondas that much aside from the Fit and CR-V, but I know they are reliable. Get a clue, guy.

  12. I own a dark blue 2007 Civic coupe, which I adore. Its classy, and when it came out it really didn't look like much on the road. The sedan even more so. And they still don't (well the coupe maybe). I still get compliments on it. Its just a really sweet car. Not perfect, but its not dull. Good steering feel, decent handling, good fuel milage, (weak breaks, but I didn't pay for the top trim model, with disc breaks at all four wheels, so that's excusable).

    I don't understand how Honda went from the current generation to this. The Civic, despite its controversial looks, was a BIG seller. And now that the competition has caught up style wise, why would you dumb down and dull down your design? That just makes no fiscal sense. At all.

    At least I won't be worried about being seen in a previous generation model, since the new generation either looks the same (coupe) or worse (sedan) than its preceding generation.

  13. The lawsuit this guy is referring to is for the brakes on the Accord wearing out quickly. Hey, guess what, a softer pad brakes in less distance keeping you safer. People suing for a WEAR ITEM can only happen in America.

    ACTUALLY I was referring to lawsuits involving Civics with consistantly premature tire wear (25k miles on a 65k rated tire).

    Other lawsuits involved excessive tire noise at highway speeds.

    Honda lost suits in both catagories.

    A friend sued and won a suit against Honda for dozens (yes DOZENS) of product failures–almost half of which were not under warranty (in a 2-yr old car). He sued (and won) for repair costs charged by the dealer, in addition to towing and rental car fees.

    But I'm not a lawyer and don't work for a car company so I hadn't heard of the Honda lawsuits for break problems/failures.

    I have heard of sludge problems and repeated engine problems but am not aware of lawsuits for thoses defects. Of course I don't know of ANY lawsuits against Chrysler, Ford, GM, Nissan, Volvo, or any others and I'm sure they have all had their share; so if I've heard of severl for Honda, I gotta guess it's the tip of the iceburg. I only know of the problems friends and relatives have had with Hondas in recent years, and certainly don't claim to have kept tabs of every lawsuit Honda (or anybody else) has ever lost. I'm just say'n… If the shoe fits…

  14. Don't forget the transmission lawsuit that was settled in 2006. That one was about for about 6 different models.
    I'm starting to question Honda's quality. I don't think it's as good as people say it is.

  15. To: February 12, 2011 6:47 PM

    Everything you posted is BS.

    You have got to be kidding, right, guy? The tires have NOTHING to do with Honda. The tire manufacturer is to blame there as the alignment and toe specs for the Civic are fine.

    Suing for excessive road noise? Ummm, no. You can't sue for that.

    It is obvious that you are pulling things out of thin air. ONE of your complaints was valid, and that was for the transmissions and that problem was solved.

    Listen, you are an absolute fool if you don't believe STATISTICALLY SOUND DATA. JD Power is one of the most respected sources for research data in America as their research methods ARE statistically sound and their sample size is very large. The same can be said for TrueDelta and Consumer Reports.

    Get real, guy.

  16. February 14, 2011 6:40 AM

    OK, lets get REAL.

    I wrote ONE of the "anit-honda" comments above, but not the rest; so obviously I'm not alone.

    Tire noise from the OEM tires which couldn't be reduced to the levels of competing cars — even after trying 5 different brands– is a sound insulation / poor design / poor quality problem. If it were a tire problem, changing tires would have eliminated it. Same for the premature and uneven wear. Neither is acceptable on a Honda costing almost $20k!!!

  17. TO: February 14, 2011 4:18 PM

    Sounds like you know NOTHING about automotive manufacturing.

    What is one of Honda's biggest goals for their vehicles? Efficiency and little emissions.

    When you start slapping heavy sound deadening mats on the vehicle what happens? Weight goes up, emissions go up, and fuel economy goes down.

    It has nothing to do with design or quality, it has to do with the actual coverage of the adhesive mats.

    Again, you have no idea of what you are talking about.

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