Next Gen Honda Civic to Arrive Late

Like clockwork, Honda models are routinely overhauled every five years, sometimes sooner. Other manufacturers follow a similar arrangement, but Honda is one of the few who does so across its entire model line.

Larger Civic

The Honda Civic, first introduced to the US market in the 1970s, has been consistently changed over the years, even growing in size from a B segment (subcompact) to a C segment (compact) model. It, along with the Accord, are the two top selling Honda models in America, perennial Top 10 finishers year after year.

The current generation of the Civic was introduced in September 2005 as a 2006 model, which means that an all new Civic is due out this September. In uncustomary fashion, Honda has decided to delay the Civic for at least one full year as it takes into consideration a couple of things: newer, stricter US fuel economy and emissions standards as well as fresh competition in the form of the Chevrolet Cruze and next generation Ford Focus.

Autoweek reports that Honda was originally considering making the next generation Civic even larger than the current model, but has since changed its plans to align it with the current model’s footprint. The Obama administration successfully pushed for tougher higher corporate average fleet economy numbers effective with 2016 models, necessitating automotive manufacturers being implementing changes in advance of the new regulations.

New Competition

Honda may also be taking a pause as they evaluate the impact of the Chevrolet Cruze which will debut this summer and the next generation Ford Focus, due out next year. These two compact cars have been selling well globally and are expected to give their Asian competitors stiff competition when they hit US showrooms.

By observing what Chevrolet and Ford are bringing to the market first, Honda will be able to make whatever changes necessary to make sure that the next generation Civic remains a top performer. And that delay may prove to be beneficial especially if the next Civic proves to be an even better model than the one it replaces.

Mazda To Roll Out The Mazda3 In L.A.

The all-new Mazda3 will be revealed at next month's L.A. Auto Show, a popular model first introduced to the world in 2003.

Mazda has announced that they will be rolling out their next generation compact, the Mazda3, at next month’s auto show in Los Angeles. The popular compact, which goes be Axela in Japan, has been on the market since 2003 and is sold in more than 100 countries.

Overwhelmingly successful, the Mazda3 has realized more than 1.8 million sales to date, a pace that Mazda fully expects to maintain when the car goes on sale stateside next year. At that is a good thing too: fully one out of every three vehicles sold by Mazda is the Mazda3/Axela, proving that a lot is riding on this car having a successful launch.

Mazda is keeping most details about the car mum until its press preview on November 19th, but we do know that the car will have a five door hatchback configuration and be powered by a 2.0L I4 as standard equipment, with an optional 2.5L – the same engine used in the larger Mazda6 – made available.

Ford’s Global Platform

Because Ford holds about a 38% share of Mazda’s business, the automakers have teamed up to produce several platforms including the one that powers the Mazda3. Ford, which also owns Volvo, uses the platform to underpin its Focus (European version) and Volvo’s S40, saving each automaker hundreds of millions in development and tooling costs.

The sportiest of all Mazda3 models is the Mazdaspeed3, which made its debut in 2006. Designed for the tuner and sports hatch industry, the car is powered by a turbocharged engine and has a 6 speed manual transmission, limited slip differential, upgraded brakes, suspension, tires, chassis and many other performance enhancements.

Stiff Competition, A Strong Performer Nonetheless

The Mazda3 has some stiff competition in the form of the Honda Civic, Ford Focus, Nissan Sentra, Volkswagen Jetta, and Toyota Corolla. But, Mazda has carved out a nice niche for itself, one that should help the automaker continue to hold its own as consumers embrace the car’s combination of style, value, sportiness, and fuel efficiency.

Source: Mazda Corporation