Honda Civic Will Get A Speedy Facelift After Bad Reviews
Over its nearly 40-year run, the Honda Civic has become synonymous with reliability, affordability, and value. In fact, the Civic is so ubiquitous on American streets that it's become nearly invisible.
Then the 2012 Civic rolled out, and people started to notice -- but not in the good way. Today, Honda says it's working to address the 2012 Civic's critics with a makeover, and according to a report in Automotive News, it could come a full year ahead of schedule.
THE PROBLEM
The Honda Civic has never been the most fashion-forward car on the lots, but then again, it hasn't needed to be. The Civic has staked its reputation on conservative, functional design and respectable performance that nearly everyone can afford. And of course, it's benefited from the Honda name, which means "durability" to many shoppers. As a result, it's become the leading compact model in retail sales.
When Honda began planning the 2012 Civic back in 2009, the world's economies were in free-fall -- and this is where the problems began. Honda's CEO, Takanobu Ito, was unable to see past the financial climate of the day, and he brought the Civic's redesign to a screeching halt. The new model's wheelbase got shortened, and its feature set diminished to keep the sticker price down for cost-conscious consumers.
Today, the world's economies are wobbling back toward normalcy. Though family finances aren't what they should be, people are still buying cars, and they want bang for their buck. So when the 2012 Civic rolled out in April, with its bland styling and cheap, plastic dashboard, few people were impressed.
Critics panned the 2012 Civic, with the Wall Street Journal going so far as to call it "a betrayal". (We awarded it a pretty lousy 6.8 out of 10.) Customers gave it a spin, but demand quickly tapered off once they'd sat in it. Poorly written advertising didn't help.
Moral #1: Few people want to drive a cheap-feeling car.
Moral #2: Have an English teacher give your nationwide ad campaign the once-over.
THE SOLUTION
The bad press surrounding the 2012 Civic isn't going unnoticed at Honda HQ. In fact, John Mendel, executive vice president for American Honda, said that the company has heard the Civic's critics and is looking for ways to address their concerns. He went on to say that while the current Civic wouldn't ordinarily see a facelift before 2014, the process has been fast-tracked, and the refreshed model could appear on lots as soon as early 2013.
How Honda will pull that off in such a relatively short timeframe remains to be seen. The company has been working hard to recover from the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that severely disrupted its activities in Japan back in March and delayed the rollout of the 2012 Civic. Now Honda has shuttered facilities in Thailand due to the country's massive floods, and they may not open again for six months. Combined with the slow recovery of some auto markets, these facts may explain why Honda's shares have slipped 22% since August and why the company has scrapped its current financial forecasts.
SIDE NOTE
It's interesting to compare Honda's response to criticism of the 2012 Civic with its response to attacks on the 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour. When the latter debuted on Facebook in September 2009, Honda fans were outraged, calling it one of the ugliest cars they'd seen. Honda said it was "listening", but its responses didn't prove it. Honda reps tried to explain the new model by saying that the pics on Facebook didn't do it justice, and in the end, the Crosstour isn't for everyone. So there.
Two years later, Honda's tone is decidedly different, and customers should see results. What caused the change? Did Honda finally realize the power of the web and social media? Or is the company taking criticism of the Civic more seriously because it's Honda's bread and butter? Only Ito and his team know for sure, but we'd be surprised if it weren't a little of both.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Saab Sold To Chinese Investors, But Will Beijing Approve?
The strange saga of Saab has taken another hairpin turn this morning: in a short post to its website, Saab says that Chinese firms Pang Da and Youngman will now purchase 100% of the company. But the three parties still have a few hoops to jump through, including getting authority from Chinese regulators.
Earlier this week, you'll recall that Guy Lofalk -- the man in charge of Saab's restructuring -- formally asked Swedish courts to scrap the automaker's reorganization plans. At the time, Pang Da and Youngman seemed to be backing away from a deal that would've allowed them to purchase 54% of Saab for around $335 million. Lofalk argued that without that cash, and without any vehicles rolling off Saab's production line, the automaker had no way of remaining a viable business.
And so, Lofalk did what many would do: he pulled the plug. By asking the courts to nix Saab's reorganization plans, Lofalk was essentially asking Sweden to push Saab into bankruptcy. If that had happened, government officials would've seized Saab's assets and begun liquidating them to pay off Saab's outstanding debts -- including workers' wages.
As we mentioned, though, Pang Da and Youngman hadn't completely turned their backs on Saab. They met with company representatives on two occasions to propose a 100% buyout of the brand, but both times they were rejected -- largely due to passionate objections from the man who bought Saab from General Motors last year, Victor Muller.
In the end, Lofalk's more even-keeled view of the situation has won out. He knows that the only way to save Saab -- and its employees' jobs -- is to sell the company whole-hog to Pang Da and Youngman. The final price: 100 million Euros, or about $141 million U.S, which will be paid in installments.
The catches
There are a few catches in Saab's sale plan -- some easy to manage, some not so easy.
For starters, Saab has to remain in reorganization. That's simple to do: Lofalk has already withdrawn his request to the Swedish courts.
Then there are the requirements of the various stakeholders to meet -- most importantly, "the commitment of Pang Da and Youngman to provide long term funding to Saab Automobile". Now that the notion of a full sale has become fixed in everyone's mind, presumably the details of that transaction can be handled at the negotiating table without too much hullabaloo.
The biggest problem, however, will be securing approval from Chinese regulators. At the moment, China is awash with car companies, both domestic and foreign. Government officials understand that the country's auto market is booming now, but they also understand that it will begin to cool before long. To avoid troubles and bankruptcies down the line, they're keen on limiting the number of automakers doing business in China. (True, China is more capitalist than it's been in the past, but it's still a long way from "free market".)
As you might remember, Beijing quietly nixed the sale of HUMMER to Sichuan Tengzhong in 2009. Could the same fate befall Saab? It's hard to say, since Chinese officials are notoriously oblique, transparency being an entirely new concept.
50/50
On the upside (for Saab fans), Saabs are comparatively small and efficient when measured against HUMMER vehicles, which was a concern at the time that HUMMER's sale to Tengzhong was canned. (China is trying to make headway in the green economy, and many thought that HUMMER's reputation for building gas-guzzlers would run counter to that goal.)
On the downside, Saab is a struggling car brand that will require vast resources to get up and running again. China already approved the sale of one upscale Swedish marque just last year -- will it take on another? The deal is only valid until November 15, so the clock, she's a-ticking.
For another take on this story, check our sister site, Motor Authority.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Ford’s MyKey To Feature Inbound Call And Text Blocking
If you’re the parent of a new driver, Ford’s MyKey lets you set up the family car to be more teen-driver friendly. MyKey lets you limit top speed, deactivate the audio system unless front passengers are buckled up, limit audio volume, block adult content satellite radio channels, prohibit disabling of the traction control system and even get more warning when the fuel tank nears empty.
Starting with the 2012 Ford Explorer, MyKey will also let you block inbound calls and texts to your teen driver’s phone. The “Do Not Disturb” feature is already present on 2011 model year Ford vehicles equipped with SYNC and MyFord Touch, but the automaker will now begin incorporating this feature as part of MyKey on the 2012 Explorer.
When activated and used with a Bluetooth-paired phone, Do Not Disturb automatically routes inbound calls to voicemail, and blocks notifications of text messages. The system still allows drivers to make voice-activated outbound calls, and SYNC 911 Assist can be used in case of emergency.
Ford has long supported federal and state-level bans on texting while driving, and its SYNC and MyFord Touch systems help to minimize driver distractions by automating functions with voice commands. Blocking inbound calls and texts is another way that the automaker hopes will ensure new driver safety.
Do Not Disturb isn’t foolproof, since it required the used of a Bluetooth-paired phone, which teens can easily defeat. Still, it gives parents just a bit more peace of mind, and (in theory at least) will help new drivers rack up time behind the wheel with minimal distractions.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Incentives Edge Higher, Sales Rate Hits A New Record
Incentive spending is up among many automakers, and when incentives rise, car sales often follow. In fact, new data suggests a Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (SAAR) of 13.4 million new car sales for the year, which is higher than the U.S. has seen since August 2009.
Incentives make a comeback
Incentives hit record highs in the spring of 2010, but tumbled after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11 of this year. The subsequent shortage of vehicles from Asia forced vehicle prices upward and caused automakers to roll back incentives. Even car companies that weren't directly affected by the disaster cut incentives -- after all, if low supplies caused Toyota and Honda to keep prices high, there wasn't much need for Ford, GM, or other brands to make deep price cuts.
Japanese automakers still face hurdles on the production front -- including the floods currently ravaging Southeast Asia -- but they've recovered enough to scale up supply in the U.S. And of course, with greater supply comes reduced demand, meaning more incentives for consumers.
Not surprisingly, Asian automakers are leading the pack on incentives, with Nissan up 6.1% over September 2011, Toyota up 6.6%, and Hyundai/Kia up a whopping 13.6%. (That's especially interesting since Hyundai/Kia's home in South Korea wasn't affected by the earthquake or tsunami, though many consumers assumed they had been and began avoiding the brands.)
Incentives from U.S. automakers were slightly lower in October compared to September, but generally higher than they were a year ago. Ford incentives were up 2.4% compared to October 2010, and GM's were up 2.7%. Chrysler is the only one of the Big Three to post a year-over-year drop, ringing in 3.3% lower than October 2010.
Sales are on the rise
On average, automakers are now shelling out $2,669 per vehicle on incentives. That may help explain why they're on track to sell some 1,035,042 units this month -- a drop of 1.7% from September, but an impressive 9% above October 2010. If those projections come true, that would bring the SAAR up to 13.4 million light vehicle sales for the year, up from 13.1 million last month and up from 12.2 million in October 2010. In fact, a SAAR of 13.4 million would be the highest we've seen since August 2009 -- a period when some might argue that sales stats were artificially inflated because of the federal government's Cash-for-Clunkers program.
This data comes from TrueCar, which uses actual sales to project trends across the industry. The company's Jesse Toprak expects to see the SAAR maintain its upward trend: "Consumers are no longer dragging their feet on new vehicle purchases as they feel the economy is moving in the right direction.... This will be the fifth straight month where SAAR will rise and the highest we’ve seen in over two years."
Accordingly, most auto brands are doing better than they were a year ago. At the high end of the scale, Dodge is up 33.7% compared to October 2010, Volkswagen is at 42.8% (not surprising, given yesterday's news), and Mazda -- which was, of course, affected by the Tohoku disaster -- is up a stunning 47%.
Most of the downward trends are meager by comparison: Scion is off 15.3% compared to October 2010, and its big brother, Lexus, is down 17.1%, but both are set to make gains compared to September 2011. Saab is one of only three companies (the others being Lincoln and MINI) that are in the red compared to both last year and last month, clocking in 22.4% below September 2011 and a staggering 55.1% below October 2010.
If you're a statistics junkie, there are plenty more numbers where these came from. Click here to view the full report.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Filling Up Your Car May Make You Sick
If filling the gas tank on your car these days leaves you hunched over and nauseous, it may not be just the price of gas that’s causing your symptoms. Gas pump handles, it seems, are among the dirtiest surfaces you touch on a regular basis.A recent study by Kimberly-Clark Professional found that gas pump handles are breeding grounds for both bacteria and viruses. In fact, gas pumps are worse than handles on public mailboxes, escalator rails, parking meters and crosswalk buttons.
Why are gas pumps so unsanitary? According to the study’s head, Dr. Kelly Arehart, the answer is relatively obvious: no one ever cleans the thing you touch on a daily basis.
Reuters reports that the study examined gas pumps in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and Philadelphia, and all tested high for levels of adenosine triphosphate. While that itself won’t make you sick, it does indicate the presence of animal, vegetable, bacteria, yeast or mold cells, some of which can transmit serious illness.
If you’re really worried about the germs on your self-service gas pump handle, you can wear a disposable vinyl glove or use hand sanitizer when you finish. If that’s still not enough to assuage your paranoia, take solace in knowing that New Jersey and Oregon both permit only full-service gas stations. Move there, and the cleanliness of gas pump handles becomes someone else’s problem.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Ford Slides, As Jeep Gains Traction As Most Reliable Domestic Brand
Ford has taken a significant tumble in reliability due to some of its latest vehicle technologies, while Jeep is now the most reliable domestic brand, according to the latest annual-survey data from Consumer Reports.
Both of those pieces of news might come as a bit of a surprise. Consumers have finally caught on to the excellent products coming from Ford [NYSE: F] nowadays; but it seems that some of the same features that might be drawing shoppers in are also negatively affecting reliability.
Consumer Reports points to issues with the MyFord Touch infotainment and connectivity interface—which the organization had already called “frustrating” and a “complicated distraction when driving”—and also points to issues with the new PowerShift automated manual transmission used throughout the 2011 and 2012 Ford Fiesta and Ford Focus lineups.
MyFord Touch had already been blamed for Ford's plunge in J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey (IQS), earlier this year. So far, MyFord Touch and its sibling system, MyLincoln Touch system, have been installed in the Ford Edge, Lincoln MKX, Ford Explorer, and Ford Focus; but versions of the system are due within the next year for many more models in the Ford lineup, including the 2013 Ford Taurus.
Jeep, on the other hand, was bolstered by good reliability indications so far for its redesigned Grand Cherokee SUV. That's a significant achievement, as the previous-generation Grand Cherokee, as well as others before it, carried unimpressive reliability records.
The annual Consumer Reports reliability results were revealed today at an Automotive Press Association lunch in downtown Detroit. They're based on responses to the Consumer Reports 2011 Annual Auto Survey, for 1.3 million vehicles owned or leased by CR subscribers.
Meanwhile, as Ford sees some technology teething pains, Chrysler vehicles are finally doing better, reports the organization. Jeep has become the most reliable domestic brand, moving up seven spots to 13th overall. Chrysler jumped 12 spots—with a 'well above average' rating for the Chrysler 200, so far, bolstering the brand's showing—while Dodge improved its ranking by three, aided by the Durango.
GM slips, somewhat
GM also took a tumble in reliability, but not nearly as much so as Ford. CR cites the Buick LaCrosse, Buick Enclave AWD, and Cadillac SRX as examples of vehicles that had been at least average last year but are no not recommended. Additionally, the Buick Regal and Chevrolet Cruze, two all-new models introduced in the past year, landed below average in reliability.
(more...)2011 Ford Explorer Hits 100,000 Sales In 2011
When Ford introduced the new 2011 Explorer in July 2010, the automaker knew it had a potential sales hit on its hands. What Ford didn’t know was how many customers would quickly take to the completely revised mid-size SUV.
The answer is in, and it turns out that over 100,000 Explorers have been sold from January through early October of 2011. Compared to the same period in 2010, that’s sales growth of 290 percent, giving Ford a 6.3-percent share of mid-size utility market.
The numbers also qualify the 2011 Ford Explorer as the fastest-growing mid-size SUV in the United States, with sales either tripled or quadrupled in all regions compared to last year. In fact, 2011 is the first time that Ford has breached the 100,000-sales barrier with the Explorer since 2007.
Ford conducted extensive consumer research prior to the development of the 2011 Explorer, but critics still took issue it for its unibody construction, reduced towing capacity and (somewhat) limited off-road capability. Sales seem to prove that opponents of the new Explorer are in the minority, and we’d make the case that the new Explorer is a vastly improved product for consumers who spend the bulk of their time driving in the wilds of suburbia.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
Saab Ends Deal With Pang Da & Youngman: The End Is (Probably) Near
Saab fans, we have some bad news: the automaker has cancelled its agreements with Chinese firms Pang Da and Youngman. As a result, Saab's future seems a little dimmer and grimmer.
If you've been following this story, you know that Pang Da and Youngman have been the only investors willing to give Saab the funds it needs to survive. (North Street Capital agreed to loans and equity swaps worth $70 million, but that won't keep the company afloat for long.) In total, Saab's Chinese suitors have been planning to offer the automaker $335 million in exchange for a 54% stake in the company.
In recent weeks, though, Pang Da and Youngman have begun quietly backing away from the deal, and their disinterest has not gone unnoticed. Today, Saab's parent company, Swedish Automobile, officially ended the Subscription Agreement into which the three entities had entered, meaning that Pang Da and Youngman's cash is no longer an option.
That said, Pang Da and Youngman haven't completely walked away from the table. In closed-door talks last Wednesday and again on Saturday, the two made a counter-offer to purchase 100% of the company. Saab has not released the details of those offers, but both were declined.
So where does this leave Saab?
Pang Da and Youngman's interest in Saab seems to be all-or-nothing. Our guess is that they aren't interested in being part-owners of a struggling company, but they wouldn't mind taking over Saab entirely to retool it in their own image.
Saab says that talks with Pang Da and Youngman are "ongoing", but from where we sit, there doesn't appear to be much room for discussion. And even if there were, Chinese authorities would still have to authorize the investment -- a scenario that looks highly unlikely, according to numerous sources.
That leaves Saab in the middle of a reorganization, with little cash to keep it afloat in the medium- and long-term. Worse, the man in charge of overseeing that reorganization, Guy Lofalk, has a very dim view of Saab's prospects, and on Friday, he asked Swedish courts to put an end to Saab's reorganization plans. Victor Muller -- the man who bought the company from GM last year -- plans to fight Lofalk in court, but given the fact that said court already rejected Saab's petition for bankruptcy protection just last month, we're not so sure that Muller will prevail.
So in sum, Saab hasn't produced a vehicle in six months, it's unlikely to get any cash from its Chinese investors, and it might not be allowed to reorganize. The company may, indeed, be nearing the end of the tunnel, but that bright, white light probably isn't the sort of exit Saab was hoping for.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
NHTSA Publishes Its 2012 Vehicle Crash Test List
In 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revamped how they evaluate vehicles for safety ratings. Since then, only a handful of vehicles have been tested, and most didn’t fare as well as they had under previous testing guidelines.
For 2012, NHTSA will be crash-testing 74 vehicles, including 42 passenger cars, 22 SUVs and crossovers, two minivans and eight pickup trucks. By the agency’s accounting, this will yield consumer safety data on 81 percent of the model year 2012 passenger vehicles sold in the United States.
Rollover testing, some of which has already been conducted, will provide rollover-specific safety data on 92 percent of the 2012 vehicles available in the United States. The NHTSA will also begin advising drivers which vehicles come equipped with crash avoidance technologies such as lane departure warning, forward collision warning or both.
The list of vehicles to be tested includes such perpetual best sellers as the 2012 Chevy Silverado (in 2500 Series), the 2012 Ford F-150 Supercab, the 2012 Toyota Camry and the 2012 Ford Explorer. Even electric vehicles from Coda, Ford and Mitsubishi have been picked for crash testing in 2012, and the list of hybrids to be evaluated now includes the 2012 Toyota Prius v, the 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid and the 2012 Honda CR-Z.
The NHTSA will run validation testing on vehicles equipped with lane-departure warning systems and forward-collision warning systems including the 2012 BMW 328i, the 2012 Volvo S60 and the 2012 Chevy Equinox, to name just a few. This marks the first time that the agency will evaluate a manufacturer's anti-collision technology.
You’ll find the NHTSA press release, complete with a comprehensive listing of vehicles to be tested, here (PDF document link).
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
To Trim Prices, Automakers Dropping Content
When it comes to selling cars, one tried and true method to move inventory is this: drop the price. In the past, manufacturers often did so without de-contenting, since margins were usually strong enough to absorb a hit on selling price.Faced with higher production costs and stronger competition from global brands, that’s not always the case today. Instead, manufacturers are still slashing prices, only now they’re quietly trimming content from cars as well.
USA Today uses the slow-moving Nissan Murano Cross Cabriolet as an example. In 2011, the base price started at $46,390, but Nissan cut the base price to $44,540 for the 2012 model year.
What’s missing? The navigation system, which is now available as an option, priced at $1,850. In other words, 2012 Murano Cross Cabriolet, identically equipped, costs the same as it did in 2011.
The same thing happened with the Chevrolet Volt for 2012. GM cut the price by $1,000, but deleted the navigation system as a standard item. Adding it back in costs $1,995, or $995 more than the $1,000 saved. In other words, an apples-to-apples Chevy Volt is more expensive in 2012 than it was in 2011.
Sometimes manufacturers cut prices for bragging right alone. In 2011, the cheapest Dodge Journey equipped with a third row seat cost $23,240, which was $145 more than the next-least-expensive three row crossover, the Kia Sorento.
Dodge wanted to offer the least expensive three-row crossover for 2012, so they trimmed features to get to a $19,990 starting point. If you want amenities like roof rails or sunscreen glass, you need to buy the $2,000 SE Quick Order package, and all Journey option packages have gone up in price for 2012.
The bottom line is this: if you’ve had your eye on a particular make and model and suddenly find it thousands cheaper than it was last year, there’s probably a reason for that. Before signing on the dotted line, make sure you know exactly what you’re getting for your money.
This story originally appeared at The Car Connection
