Honda Civic: 'Car of the Year' - Motor Trend

[Niko_Fx]

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The Honda Civic has captured Motor Trend magazine's "Car of the Year" award, the publication for auto enthusiasts announced Tuesday.



The magazine said that it is giving the award to the Civic for all four of its new versions.

"Honda deserves a standing ovation for not playing it safe again," said a statement from Angus MacKenzie, Motor Trend editor-in-chief. "With the sizzling Si, a sleek coupe, an elegant sedan and a Hybrid that averages 50 miles per gallon, each model shines through with what Motor Trend looks for when crowning Car of the Year."

It is the first Motor Trend "Car of the Year" award for Honda, although it had won "Import Car of the Year" from the publication four times in the past, most recently in 1994.

"For 2006, the Civic underwent the most radical transformation in its 33-year history," said a statement from John Mendel, senior vice president of American Honda. "It is a cornerstone of the Honda lineup, and we're delighted that Motor Trend has recognized ... the new Civic. Customers have validated our direction, too, as evidenced by strong sales of the new model."

The magazine tested 28 newly designed models before honoring the Civic, the largest field of candidates the magazine had considered in the award's 57-year history.

The magazine said it considers three factors in picking a winner: significance, superiority and value. Significance refers to impact on the market, while superiority looks for class-leading levels of performance, style and functionality. For value, the editors say they ask the question, "What does this vehicle deliver in relation to what the consumer has to pay to purchase and own it?"

The Civic, which had been the nation's best-selling compact car model, was the only Honda model up for consideration for the award, and Japanese auto manufacturers had a relatively thin list of candidates.

Toyota's Avalon and Lexus GS and IS models were up for consideration. The Nissan's Infiniti M35/M45 models were also considered.

In addition, Mazda, which is controlled by Ford Motor Co., had the Mazda5, a small wagon, and the MX-5 sports car up for consideration, while Mitsubishi, in which DaimlerChrysler recently sold its controlling stake, had the Eclipse GT as a contender.

Korean auto manufacturers had almost as many models in contention for the award as the Japanese, with Hyundai's Accent, Azera and Sonata up for consideration, as well as the Kia Rio.

U.S. auto makers were well represented among the models tested, with six models from General Motors: the Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS, Chevrolet Cobalt, Chevrolet HHR, Chevrolet Impala, Pontiac Solstice. Ford Motor Co had the closely related Ford Fusion, Lincoln Zephyr and Mercury Milan. All three of those cars are based on the same basic engineering platform.

There were also three models from German-American auto maker DaimlerChrysler, the Dodge Charger and the Mercedes-Benz CLS and R-Class.

German auto makers had four contenders: the Audi A3, BMW 3 Series, as well as Volkswagen's Jetta and Passat.

A year ago, Motor Trend gave its Car of the Year to the Chrysler 300, which has been a key to improving sales and profits at DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group unit. A year before that it gave Car of the Year to the Toyota Prius, a gas and electric hybrid car that has proved an enormous sales success for that company.

[ScionDriver]

You know, I am not sure how I feel about it. I don't really like the new Civic but I don't hate it. I am curious to know how some of the other cars finished, mostly the Fusion, I think that is a good looking car.

[ZeTurbo]

Just when you think honda canot possibly make the civic any uglier they surpass themselves.
First, second and fifth generation civics were pretty decent. these othere ones are pretty mediocre. ( i am talking about styling only)

One thing about this last civic that i like is the interior. I love the 2 step dashboard.

Its a VERY VERY decent car, just too bad it looks like crap.

[NSXType-R]

Congratulations Honda! Wonderful work on the Civic. By the way, did you guys know that there might be a Civic Si 4 door?

[blackcat77]

Well deserved. It's a car for our times. When we finally get around to replacing our Focus, the Civic is right at the top of the list.

[Vindesh17]

Originally Posted by NSXType-R

Congratulations Honda! Wonderful work on the Civic. By the way, did you guys know that there might be a Civic Si 4 door?

What do they hope to accomplish by doing this?

[SupraMan22]

Originally Posted by Vindesh17

What do they hope to accomplish by doing this?

They accomplish taking steal that could be used for a better automobile. So nothing i guess. I'm iffy on the civics over all.

[woodstock827]

this is sooo sad.. i agree with zeturbo
this new civic is fugly!
civics just aren't the way they used to be.. they'r suppose to be lightweight and fuel economic... this civic is heavy and with its 140hp engine.. i'm not so sure about its fuel economy...
and civics are actually quite expensive in its class too so i'm not sure where this "value" criteria comes from...

[Niko_Fx]

Originally Posted by woodstock827

they'r suppose to be lightweight and fuel economic... this civic is heavy and with its 140hp engine.. i'm not so sure about its fuel economy...

They did quite good actually, the mpg of the new Civic is as good as the previous one while delivering more power.

'01-'05: 1.7L - 115HP Civic = 32city/36hwy mpg.

'06: 1.8L - 140HP Civic = 30city/38hwy mpg.

But yeah, it is in fact a bit heavier than the previous model.

[Prius]

I kind of like their decision, because I have to admit that they really hit the mark with the new Si, but I think it should go to maybe the Fusion or Lucerne.

[PerfAdv]

Originally Posted by Prius

I kind of like their decision, because I have to admit that they really hit the mark with the new Si, but I think it should go to maybe the Fusion or Lucerne.

Fusion is a re-skinned Mazda 6, not a bad thing, it's just that then the 6 should get the award. The Lucerne has very little new, it's a freshened up Buick Century.

EDIT: As for the Civic being ugly, it's one of the least ugly econo-cars.