New Hondas are too Eurotrash for my tastes.
Posted on 01/08/2006 12:31:29 PM PST by paulat
Honda sweeps honors at Detroit auto show
Sun Jan 8, 12:26 PM ET
DETROIT (Reuters) - Honda Motor Corp. (7267.T) swept the top honors at the Detroit auto show on Sunday as its all-new Civic and first-ever pickup, the Ridgeline, were voted car and truck of the year by a panel of automotive writers.
The result marked another setback for Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F - news) and General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - news), which have been losing market share to Japanese competitors in their home market and have pledged to mount a comeback in the passenger car market.
The Ford Fusion and the Pontiac Solstice had been the other finalists for the North American Car of the Year award, given by a panel of 49 car writers from the United States and Canada.
The revamped 2006 Civic and the Ridgeline, Honda's first truck offering, had also won vehicle of the year honors from trade magazine Motor Trend, giving Honda a first-of-its-kind sweep in all four major awards and an important marketing tool to attract new buyers.
"I don't know how you can top this. We certainly hoped for one, didn't expect two (awards)," said John Mandel, senior vice president at American Honda. "Words can't express the excitement. It's the first time it's ever been done, I believe."
The Ridgeline, which Honda introduced in April, is on track to meet the company's target for 50,000 unit sales in North America in the first full year, Mandel said.
Honda has promoted its first entry into the truck market, which features a relatively short bed and roomier passenger cabin, in part on the basis of its responsive handling and safety features.
Honda expects to sell more than 300,000 Civics in 2006, Mandel said, adding that sales since the revamped model's launch had benefited from renewed consumer attention to fuel economy.
The Civic also comes in a hybrid version, offering 49 miles per gallon for city driving and 51 miles per gallon on the highway.
"Sales have been phenomenal. It's really hit the ground running," Mandel said of the Civic.
The full-time auto writers who voted on the vehicle-of-the- year awards assigned points to each entrant on the basis of ride, performance, safety and value considerations.
The Civic Coupe price starts at $14,360, while the Ridgeline starts at $27,700 before optional features.
the dashboard on the new Civic is horrible.
nice work. My '96 Volvo 850 (pre-Ford takeover) has 146,000 miles and running strong (knock on wood). I like Hondas but that Element SUV is awful looking.
We have a '95 Honda Accord we have never had a bit of trouble with. I think there is 126,000 miles on it.
the Solstice should have won it. great design, rear drive, advanced hyrdoforming manufacturing techniques, a 12-18 month order backlog.
New Hondas are too Eurotrash for my tastes.
Except that when you sit in a Solstice, it's like you're sitting in a bathtub.
I drive a '93 Prelude w/197,000 miles. A great little car and fast as hell.
New Honda from that angle looks like a VW Rabbit/Golf of 20 years ago.
LOL!!! That's my baby!!
Paladin2...that's an '86.
We were a 4 Honda family at one point, now we don't have any. I've switched to trucks. But they are great cars.
That's really an '05 or '06 Honda? Wow, looks like an '82 Civic...
Oh, lol... good shape.
It's a late 80's Honda. I think LdSentinal has a different definition of "new" than we do.
Does Detroit still make cars? I thought they had moved all the manufacturing plants overseas.
2006 Honda Civic DX Coupe
Most of the 'foreign' cars are made here. Most Hondas are manufactured in Ohio or Alabama.
My question is, are Honda, Toyota and Nissan's American plants UAW facilities? It looks like that union has helped destroy GM and is closing in fast on killing Ford (of course, mgmt. also made awful decisions at those companies... mostly involving caving in to the UAW's ludicrous demands.)
The Ridgeline?
That's the fugliest pickup I've ever seen.
The Subaru Brat was more attractive.
Who did they pay off?
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