So what the hell did happen to the Honda Civic in 2012? (2006 priase)

As we near the announcement of the re-designed 2016 Honda Civic. I'm wondering what exactly went wrong in 2012? It was sort of unknown to me how average the Civic got. As I just recently drove one. I remember the day my Chinese friend got his new 2006 Civic. It was jet black, a cold night, and the engine howled. I couldn't believe a delivery boy who worked two jobs was able to afford a car like that. And in my memory it was one of the best looking economy boxes I ever seen. I thought for sure I was looking at it through rose tinted glasses, but went online recently and looked at the pictures of them. Sure enough, its still good looking today.

The 2.4L only revs to 7200, which isn't very exciting.

/thread

It's a fwd barge. Honda needs to keep the motor, drop the weight to sub 2500lbs. And what's Hondas thinking? "Hey, our new civic still sucks, what should we do?" "Oh slap a turbo on it, all the L.A. Gang bangers will buy/steal them"

The new one looks mustang level big/giant even in coupe form.

The last civic I would have bought with my own money was the Del Sol. Mind you, that tells you more about me than the car.

All the Japanese manufacturers went a little soft over the last decade or so except for Mazda and Subaru. OK Toyota had the LFA, and Nissan the GTR and the upcoming NSX looks good but those are expensive high dollar vehicles. The FRS is good but that has a Subie drive train. Nissan has the Z cars. Don't know why they don't do anything for me. Really the last Honda I liked was the CRX. Mitsubishi? RIP Evo. They all focused on the middle of the road sedans and mini vans.........of course that's where the money is.

What happened is the Civic got porky enough to require an Accord-sized engine just to drag itself around.

They need to stop giving the people awd (read: fwd with some ass end support), jelly bean shaped, rubber band transmissioned, 4500lb, chrome plated, "electronically controlled nano-babysitter" vehicles and make ppl learn to drive. This is a reoccurring statement found within every car persons mind. I know I've typed this in at least three times in three threads on this forum, this week.

And to save time, the acronym will now be S.C.U.M. "Stop Catering Us Manufacturers!"

This is why Mazda or Ford will most likely get my money in the next few years. I used to like Hondas and Toyotas, but their corporate board rooms seem to have forgotten about enthusiasts. I'm voting with my wallet and giving money to a company that seems to care about how a car drives, not numbers or stupid gadgets I don't want/need.

Damn, that came across like a "get out of my yard" post.

Duke wrote: What happened is the Civic got porky enough to require an Accord-sized engine just to drag itself around.

Ironically, the Civic is one of the lightest cars in it's category. I'd hardly call a 1.8L Accord sized.

Heh, I have a '13 Civic Si. I didn't even look at the non-Si Civics, but I did look at the last-gen Mazda 3, a Golf of some kind, the Focus.

Yeah, it's big. And 7200 does come up awfully fast. But I liked the engine better than the lump in the 3 and there's no Focus you could buy at the Si price point that has a big engine and the nice bits that the Si does. The Golf wasn't worth mentioning.

I wanted a zippy engine, seats that weren't made out of mouse hair, a sun roof, and a Bluetooth-connected stereo. And that might be the rub - I'm no longer a 20-something, I like some creature comforts here and there, and Honda decided to deliver. I can take three work friends to lunch and it's just be a nice sedan to them, not some tooth-jarring, buzzy-motor'd tin can (that honor is given to my Miata).

So, yeah, the Civic Si grew up. I wish it was a hatch, but the trunk is spacious, even if it suffers from the current tiny-trunk-opening fad. I love that I can chirp the tires going into 2nd gear, I like throwing it around a corner or two, it heel-toes nicely, and the Torsen makes low-traction moments fun, but I also love that most folks just see a gray sedan.

Civic aside, I don't know what the hell happened to C-segment cars in general. While looking to replace my E39 5-series touring (wagon) - a vehicle most would consider relatively large - I have found that almost every C-segment contender is within 3 inches of the E39's width and no more than 10 inches shorter, with some competitors like the Dart being nearly the same length. That's made it considerably harder to shop, as getting a dimensionally smaller vehicle is high on my list of priorities, so now I'm in the B-segment...

Also, to answer OP's question directly: http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1067966_honda-civic-will-get-a-speedy-facelift-after-bad-reviews

(Basically they dumbed down everything that made it interesting and it was reviewed terribly)

SlickDizzy wrote: Civic aside, I don't know what the hell happened to C-segment cars in general. While looking to replace my E39 5-series touring (wagon) - a vehicle most would consider relatively large - I have found that almost every C-segment contender is within 3 inches of the E39's width and no more than 10 inches shorter, with some competitors like the Dart being nearly the same length. That's made it considerably harder to shop, as getting a dimensionally smaller vehicle is high on my list of priorities, so now I'm in the B-segment...

Yea, they did get big as hell. I'm not sure if I can even think of a 2 door coupe car (not hatch) that isn't sort of big right now...

I just bought what is mostly a glorified Civic, a 1990 Acura Integra.

It's interesting that when I drive it, I look up at the door handles of current-gen Civics. I've forgotten just how TALL modern sedans are.

EvanR wrote: I just bought what is mostly a glorified Civic, a 1990 Acura Integra. It's interesting that when I drive it, I look up at the door handles of current-gen Civics. I've forgotten just how TALL modern sedans are.

Getting out of an 90s Integra is like: WHOA the ground is right there.

haha I recall thinking the same thing when I was next to 9th gen civic and looking up at its door handles.

Same for the trunk and rear end, the low hood line and bumper felt like it would go under the rear bumper of a civic if I were to rear end it...

All the small cars from the 90's are dwarfed by the "small" cars of today that carry the same nameplates. My 2012 Mazda 3 feels like a extended wheelbase minivan compared to a 1990 Civic. I'd rather be in angry Boston traffic in my 3 than in a 1990 Civic though. The 90's cars are a ton of fun to drive though because they feel like glorified go-karts!

Coldsnap wrote:

EvanR wrote: I just bought what is mostly a glorified Civic, a 1990 Acura Integra. It's interesting that when I drive it, I look up at the door handles of current-gen Civics. I've forgotten just how TALL modern sedans are.

Getting out of an 90s Integra is like: WHOA the ground is right there.

In my 1980 Corolla, you kind of have to step "up" out of the car rather than down. I love it

Obviously an apples to oranges comparison, but I was amazed at how I could be sitting in my lowered (but still year-round DD in Chicagoland) Miata, and if I looked straight I was staring about 2 inches below the door handles of my fiance's Corolla.

Coldsnap wrote:

SlickDizzy wrote: Civic aside, I don't know what the hell happened to C-segment cars in general. While looking to replace my E39 5-series touring (wagon) - a vehicle most would consider relatively large - I have found that almost every C-segment contender is within 3 inches of the E39's width and no more than 10 inches shorter, with some competitors like the Dart being nearly the same length. That's made it considerably harder to shop, as getting a dimensionally smaller vehicle is high on my list of priorities, so now I'm in the B-segment...

Yea, they did get big as hell. I'm not sure if I can even think of a 2 door coupe car....

Ok, I was flipping channels the other day and a movie was on (nt sure what) but the dude is driving a Alfa Spyder and talking to a lady in what I though was a nissan murano convert (only showing the size difference and the top of the door jambs). As she drives away it shows it to be a Chrysler 200 convertible. What happened to smallish cars. It was comically huge next to the old Alfa....

You can complain about the car getting too big, but that Type R still looks pretty interesting.

chandlerGTi wrote: ...What happened to smallish cars....

Saw one at lunch today, even better looking because it was silver with smoked grey wheels and a subtle spoiler, and I thought of this thread. It is a damn fine looking car!

In reply to pinchvalve:

That's an 8th-gen, pre-2012. But still pretty close. I prefer the sedans to the coupes, strangely. There's something weird about the back of the coupes that I don't like.