Honda US Operations to take lead in design

[fecurtis]

Honda's U.S. operations to take lead on more vehicle design

[Leonard1818]

kinda surprised nobody's said anything about this yet (but in reading some of the thread titles... I don't know why this is surprising )

Anyway, I thought I had read somewhere before the 9th gen came out that since they were doing away with the JDM type R that the 9th gen was to be designed by the NA team.

This article makes it sound like the 9th gen was not designed by the NA team but the next iteration will be. Either way it's nice that Honda is making *some* change *somewhere* to help it's lackluster designs as of late.

(though on a side note, I do like the new accord designs!)

[kevin49098]

Does this mean their designs could also influence Acura? I hope so.

[Geovone]

I was under the impression that Honda of Japan was behind the 9th gen civic with it's bland style and cheaper interior, while Honda of America initially wanted the civic to be what the ILX is?

[DesignDreamer]

I recently rented a 2011 Corolla SE and I quickly noticed the thin, cheap plastics and the base essentials inside the car. It reminded me of the material downgrades I saw in a 2012 Civic, from our 8th Gen. I am almost positive that when Honda saw Toyota using cheaper plastics in their cars, they followed suit to keep their costs in line with Toyota. What Honda wasn’t watching were the Koreans because they were stepping up their game. In doing so, Honda lost sight of their legacy and commitment to producing a high quality product at a reasonable price.

[Couped]

Great it's gonna look like a Prius

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by Geovone

I was under the impression that Honda of Japan was behind the 9th gen civic with it's bland style and cheaper interior, while Honda of America initially wanted the civic to be what the ILX is?

Honda of America wanted to increase the size and make it more powerful. Honda of Japan wanted to focus on making it lighter and more efficient. We can see which side won that argument.

[killswitch21]

Originally Posted by fecurtis

Honda of America wanted to increase the size and make it more powerful. Honda of Japan wanted to focus on making it lighter and more efficient. We can see which side won that argument.

Lol neither
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[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by killswitch21

Lol neither
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Lol I guess the accountants won.

[ismashface]

Originally Posted by DesignDreamer

I recently rented a 2011 Corolla SE and I quickly noticed the thin, cheap plastics and the base essentials inside the car. It reminded me of the material downgrades I saw in a 2012 Civic, from our 8th Gen. I am almost positive that when Honda saw Toyota using cheaper plastics in their cars, they followed suit to keep their costs in line with Toyota. What Honda wasn’t watching were the Koreans because they were stepping up their game. In doing so, Honda lost sight of their legacy and commitment to producing a high quality product at a reasonable price.

I think your right 100% i love my 8th i take cars apart piece by piece and the the newer cars feel cheaper on removel than removel of parts back 2 years.

[DesignDreamer]

Thanks! Let’s just hope Honda finally delivers a new Civic worthy of trading our 8ths for.