H Honda Ευρώπης μας έδωσε σήμερα ένα video στο οποίο μας teasάρει την ευρωπαϊκή έκδοση του νέου Civic η οποία θα παρουσιαστεί επίσημα και αυτή στη Φρανκφούρτη τον Σεπτέμβριο. Το Ευρωπαικό Civic θα είναι διαθέσιμο μόνο ως πεντάθυρο hatchback σε αντίθεση με τo Αμερικάνικο, το οποίο είναι διαθέσιμο σε 2-πορτο coupe και 4-θέσιο sedan.
Η Honda δηλώνει ότι έχει βελτιώσει την οδηγική συμπεριφορά του αυτοκινήτου, ειδικά για την Ευρωπαική αγορά, (αφού δεν άκουσε και λίγα για την τωρινή γενιά του Civic) και τοποθέτησε παχύτερο ημιάκαμπτο άξονα και αντιστρεπτική ράβδο καθώς και coilover αναρτήσεις στον πίσω άξονα. Οι πωλήσεις του μοντέλου θα ξεκινήσουν στις αρχές του 2012.
Επίσης η Honda ανακοίνωσε σήμερα ότι τόσο το νέο Civic όσο και το νέο CR-V θα κατασκευάζονται για την Ευρωπαϊκή αγορά, στο εργοστάσιο της εταιρίας στην Αγγλία.
[Πηγή: Honda]
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HONDA TO LAUNCH NEW CIVIC AT FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW
Honda will launch the new Civic at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Developed specifically for the European market, the Civic will be offered exclusively as a five-door hatchback and will compete in the C-segment. It will reach European showrooms in early 2012.
In the build-up to the reveal of the new Civic, Honda is releasing a series of short form films detailing its development. The first of these focuses on ride & handling.
NEW HONDA CIVIC: RIDE & HANDLING – TWO GENERATIONS AHEAD
The ride and handling of the new Honda Civic has been developed in Europe. Working closely with European colleagues and external experts, the Japanese development team analysed the current Civic’s performance. This led to a focus on improving the ride quality of the new Civic, while retaining the sporty handling of the current model.
Honda’s engineers were conscious that European roads are some of the most varied in the world, mixing fast highways with poorly surfaced country lanes. Initial testing was carried out at the Research and Development facilities in Japan, before the development team transferred to Europe to finalise the car.
“Every time we visited Europe during the development of the car, we achieved significant improvements in the ride and handling, tuning the car for the local demands,” says Kazuo Sunaoshi, Development Leader – Chassis. “The new Civic is not just an evolution. In terms of ride quality, we have taken a major step forwards, equivalent to two generations of development.”
The new Civic retains the largest cabin space within the C-segment by utilising the compact torsion beam rear suspension from the current Civic. To further improve body control and stability at high speeds, the wall thickness of the torsion beam and the diameter of the stabiliser bar have been increased. In addition, overall ride comfort and handling have been developed through the introduction of new fluid-filled compliance bushings to the rear suspension system.
PRODUCTION OF NEW CIVIC AND NEXT GENERATION CR-V TO BE BUILT AT HONDA’S UK PLANT
Honda has confirmed that both the new Civic hatchback for Europe and the next generation CR-V will be built at Honda of the UK Manufacturing (HUM) in Swindon, UK.
In a further boost to HUM, weekly production will return to normal levels in early September after a period of parts supply interruption following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan earlier this year.
Associates proud to build new Civic
The new Civic – designed exclusively for Europe and tested extensively on the region’s roads – will be the ninth generation of the popular hatchback. Honda’s first ever Civic went on sale back in 1972.
Production of the small family car will start later in the year at HUM, ahead of the sales launch in early 2012.
The introduction of the new model into production remained on plan during the recent parts supply interruption and the 3,000 Honda Associates continue to prepare for the arrival of the new Civic, as well as conduct additional training to further their development during this time.
“Our Associates are all really excited to be producing the next generation of Civic here at Swindon,” says Mark Trowbridge, Director of Quality and New Model at HUM “The next six months will be busy, as we ramp up to full production following the training and trial builds of the new car.
“The fact that we will be the only Honda plant in the world producing this hatchback version of the new Civic, makes us extremely proud of the highly skilled and dedicated team we have working here in Swindon,” Mark continued.
The company’s decision to also produce the next generation CR-V at HUM is a further endorsement of the high quality produced by Honda’s UK based Associates. The new CR-V will go on sale in Europe from Autumn 2012.
Production to return to normal
Honda can also confirm that weekly production at HUM will return to normal levels from early September, following a period of parts supply interruption and reduced production levels following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Parts supply from Japan has continued to improve significantly and HUM is aiming to recover volume quickly in order to respond to customer requirements.
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