Civic sales surge as competitors abandon sedans

NotSerious

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I mean they've started doing a better job with the new ILX and TLX but the real issue is they're still on the old platform. i 100% would have got an ilx on a 10th gen platform over my civic.
I am quite sure the ILX has been discontinued. There is no 2020 model on their website even though the other models have had the 2020 versions up for weeks. There might be a 2021 model on a new platform, but the tenth generation civic is already long in the tooth. They should wait for the 11th gen.
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integra15

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They are bringing back the Type S so that is a start... But competing against SUV crazed customers you have to have something going for you.

Honda and Toyota have the basic car market covered.

BMW/Audi/Tesla/Mercedes cars can survive on brand name alone.

Acura / Infiniti / even Lexus and others, what can they do to survive? Being just a fast car isn't enough anymore.
 

Rayzorman1

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The car companies are profit driven period as any business should be. The reality is that the demand for SUV's, for whatever reason has dramatically increased in the past 10 years and the manufacturers have responded.

Here in Canada there are severe GHG regulations being mandated at the National and Provincial level. Honda is moving toward electrifying 2/3 of the fleet by 2030. No surprise as Honda has always prided itself at being a green company from the start. Don't panic, the plan isn't simply EV's, it will be achieved with the introduction of Hybrids and EV's while continuing to improve the efficiency of their internal combustion engines. Honda is the largest engine manufacturer in the world. The ultimate goal is to reduce the already industry low GHG impact across the fleet.

Exchange rates, increasing production costs etc will also play into the available number of Model, Trim, Option and Colour combinations in each market in comparison to the individual market size and where the product is made in the world. The US will obviously be in a much better "option" position than us in Canada. Sales in California are in line with Canada's national sales volume.
 

GalacticGrape

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The funny thing is, some people don't even need a suv but still got it.
I can relate to this, kind of. (I have a thread about this) I have a 2011 Nissan Xterra Pro-4x, daily drive it to work M-F, 25 miles round trip. I love the space it offers for loading up the kids, and putting stuff back in the cargo area. I bought it to daily drive and offroad, and I did offroad. But the reality is I don't offroad anymore, and have been considering downsizing to a Civic Hatchback. The X is great for taking trips to the mountains and having 4x4 in case of inclement weather but the reality is, that is less than 5% of what I need a vehicle for. I've owned two Civics in the past, both sedans, a 1995 and 2000.

Should I finally downsize, I think our family will manage just fine. But I know there will be times I'll miss the X...I think?
 

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I’ll agree on the 2 door hatch
 


Rayzorman1

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Greed or common sense? Honda is a volume brand and builds accessible products for the masses. If suitable demand isn’t there, don’t expect the product.
 
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Zeffy94

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The 2012 Civic is the definite result of Honda letting the beancounters make decisions. Amazing how they bounced back one year later with the emergency refresh of the 9th gen Civic. Then you look at the 9th gen and 10th gen and it’s pretty much like Honda made up for every mistake the 9th gen had.
 

Rayzorman1

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The 2012 Civic is the definite result of Honda letting the beancounters make decisions. Amazing how they bounced back one year later with the emergency refresh of the 9th gen Civic. Then you look at the 9th gen and 10th gen and it’s pretty much like Honda made up for every mistake the 9th gen had.
This is absolutely correct, but not for greed vs. a strong knee jerk reaction to the crash in 2008. The moment I saw that 12 I cringed. It is not the Honda way to let the beancounters design the cars but it was obvious. The quick reaction though is proof that the consumer is what drives the products. Again though, volume brands will cater to the volume market.
 

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I think it is a mistake for companies to abandon sedans. Think about how many people that may go to a dealership to look at sedans at first then end up in an SUV. People that feel like they want a car are going to start at the dealerships that still sell sedans but may realize that something like an HR-V or CR-V is more what they need. Ford won't get those customers anymore except when customers are looking for used vehicles. I guess they decided they just can't compete with Honda and Toyota in that segment. In the compact class, Ford in particular really messed up with the Focus and that crappy transmission. I had one and overall it was a decent car, but the transmission started to exhibit issues with only 10,000 miles. Got rid of it for my current Civic and it's such a much better car. So much more room in the back for the kids too. Honestly the Focus didn't have much more back legroom than my mustang did.
 

Gruber

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Read an interesting take on who exactly determines what cars are sold in the U.S. from Road & Track. Makes me wonder who is really at fault for the increase in SUVs and the decrease in small/sporty options; the manufacturers, the dealers, or the consumers? We can't buy a car if a dealer doesn't order it, and dealers can't order cars if the manufacturers stopped making them. It's definitely circular, but I don't think the consumers can be blamed 100% for the increase in bulky, raised, and generic eyesores.

IMG_1048.jpg
This text is just a rant without merit. You can order a car from factory. Through a dealer of course, because of state laws, and obviously only if the factory allows it . To change state laws, I guess you need to start some lobbying action, but I will certainly vote against you, because I want brick-and-mortar dealerships. But I can help if anyone wants to dismantle Amazon.

Buying through a dealer is a luxury to me. If feel like buying a car, I can have it in my garage today. Without dealers, car sales would degenerate to some sort of Amazon. I would rather buy a silver car than wait for weeks and months for delivery. I wanted a yellow car (any car) sometime ago, but I couldn't find any in the whole region. I went to dealerships of different brands and asked "Do you have any yellow cars?" Hey always answered "Sorry, no yellow cars, but we do have an imperial shitload of white and gray cars..." I didn't rant about it, because I realize that very few people around here want a yellow car, and no dealer wants odd cars to sit for months on the lot waiting for a special needs buyer. They would rather have people compromise on a few popular colors and options, which is understandable. No conspiracy here.

Dealers order what consumers want, period. A small number of niche buyers may not find their weird combinations of trims, colors, and features, but yes, they still can have it the cheap way - (cheap for the industry) - the Amazon way. Everybody knows that reducing inventory is the trendy way for manufacturing industry to reduce costs. That's why it's the industry who shoves down the throats of the consumers the factory-direct or Amazon style car sales, not the dealers imposing what you can buy, which they simply don't do. This is the real conspiracy and their goal is to destroy all retail. The effect will be that waiting for a car 6 months to a year will become standard, because there will be zero inventory of cars ready for purchase and every single car they still assemble will be "in high demand." Of course it will be actually true, because there will be no unsold cars they need to unload.
 


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I can relate to this, kind of. (I have a thread about this) I have a 2011 Nissan Xterra Pro-4x, daily drive it to work M-F, 25 miles round trip. I love the space it offers for loading up the kids, and putting stuff back in the cargo area. I bought it to daily drive and offroad, and I did offroad. But the reality is I don't offroad anymore, and have been considering downsizing to a Civic Hatchback. The X is great for taking trips to the mountains and having 4x4 in case of inclement weather but the reality is, that is less than 5% of what I need a vehicle for. I've owned two Civics in the past, both sedans, a 1995 and 2000.

Should I finally downsize, I think our family will manage just fine. But I know there will be times I'll miss the X...I think?
If u travel a lot in the states then keep the X. My gf needs a new car soon, and we gonna use that new car to travel. I don’t know which suv should I get I want either new Honda Passport AWD or 4Runner TRD Off Road. I once took my Si from California to Utah just fine but I want something bigger and sometime my gf can help me to drive too cause she doesn’t know how to drive stick in my civic...
 

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There's a whole world out there outside NA, where small cars dominate. Fuel is expensive in most markets. Ford and GM play in those markets under various brands. They're just playing their chips in NA and target high, short term profit. Fuel is cheap in NA, and income high in comparison to other regions.

Period of oil glut will end one day... and they will then retool for smaller vehicles... their own, just adopted from other markets.... or go all electric. Methinks.
My bet is they are going to try to bank on SUVs and less-efficient vehicles, then when either oil prices surge or emissions restrictions push those vehicles off the road, they'll make another round of profits from people who suddenly need a small efficient vehicle. Dry the market as much as possible of efficient options, then bring a bunch of new options when they are suddenly in demand.
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