Honda Takes Course For International Civics !
http://www.greensburgdailynews.com/l...265123059.html
Joe Hornaday
Greensburg Daily News
Greensburg’s Honda Manufacturing of Indiana (HMIN) factory began mass production of Honda Civic Sedans in the city almost a year ago. On Monday, the Honda plant announced that the auto-maker would be producing the Honda Civic Sedans for sale in Mexico and exported to 22 Latin American and Caribbean nations and U.S. territories.
The first Civics destined for export were shipped last week, according to Anita Sipes of Honda communications. Until now, the more than 50,000 Civics built at the Greensburg plant had been sold exclusively in the United States.
“We designed our Greensburg plant to be world class, and thanks to the spirit and quality work of our Indiana associates, we will soon be proving it around the globe,” Yuzo Uenohara, the president of Honda Manufacturing of Indiana (HMIN) LLC, explained.
The Greensburg plant was dedicated in Nov. 2008. The company’s associates work on all aspects of vehicle production, including metal stamping, plastic injection molding, painting, subassembly and final assembly. Engines for the Greensburg Civics are produced at Honda’s engine plant in nearby Anna, Ohio.
“The United States remains the primary market for our Indiana-built Civics,” Rick Schostek, Honda Manufacturing of Indiana vice president, said. “Manufacturing products for export broadens the experiences of our associates, contributes positively to America’s and Indiana’s international trade, and shows our commitment to the continued growth and evolution of our business in Indiana.”
Honda’s very first American auto production for export occurred in 1987 when the Marysville Auto Plant in Ohio built Honda Accords for shipment to Taiwan. Shipments to Japan followed the following year. Since the beginning of manufacturing operations in the United States 30 years ago, Honda has exported more than 3 million automobiles, light trucks, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and power products, according to the press release.
“We are proud of our Indiana workforce,” Schostek noted. “Our Greensburg plant has ramped up to full single-shift production, and now we have embarked on production for export. This is another step in our growth.”
In addition to Mexico, the Greensburg plant will build vehicles for sale throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Guam and Saipan.
Earlier this year, Honda announced that the Greensburg plant had become the sole production source of the near-zero emissions, natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX Sedan.
================================================== =====================
Honda Safety Institute Opens its Doors !
Honda’s Safety Institute is an international model center unique in Europe. With this, Honda dispose of 36 similar facilities around the world, concentrated especially in Asia and South America. However, for its expansion to the old continent Honda has chosen Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, in Barcelona, for the implantation of its first European centre for the training of riders.
The HIS disposes of modern facility that takes up a surface of 25,000m2, presided by a building equipped with different classrooms. For the practical lessons, there are three clearly differenced areas: an asphalted track for multiple uses, a section with different coefficients of friction for the braking practice, an off-road track and area for trial. In short, these facilities are designed to hold up to 15,000 attendants a year and have meant an inversion close to 4 million Euros.
The HIS will offer a practical and theoretical formation through the experimented instructors of Honda’s Driving School, an entity with more than 17 years of experience that accounts for more than 144,000 participants.
The established training program has a total of 7 courses to offer:
The facility of the HIS, as well as its variety of activities, guarantees quality formation to all attendants. Also, it’s worth highlighting the price of participation, from 70 to 100 Euros, including use of the motorcycle and the complete rider’s equipment necessary to participate in the course with the highest protection.
In addition and as it has been since 1992, the HIS will continue to provide free formation in what regards Road Safety, as Montesa Honda S.A. subventions 100% of the cost of the participation of the students from High schools, including the transport to the HIS, and back to their high school.
The educational program of the HIS includes various formulas for the control of the motorcycle, highlighting the different activities in the off-road area, the trial track and the use of the Riding Simulators. In addition, with the aim to provide more pedagogical orientation to every course, all participants receive as a gift a Manual of Basic Riding Techniques in book and DVD format.
Honda Safety Program
Starting in 2004 with the signing of the European Chart of Safety on the Road, the Japanese multinational devotes a good part of its resources to the three basic pillars of Safety: Preventive, Active and Passive.
In the area of Preventive Safety, the manufacturer highlights the commercialization of the only motorcycle with a mass-produced airbag, the GL18000 Goldwing. In Active Safety, the 80% of the mass-produced motorcycles disposes of ABS Systems. In what concerns Preventive Safety, the manufacturer has developed its own Motorcycle Riding Simulator. And still it continues its investigation in intercommunication systems (ASV) and designed technologies to favour the visibility of vehicles.
Riders training starts in 1970, when Honda Motor Co Ltd. created its own department of Road Safety promotion. In 1992, Montesa Honda started its own training program with the creation of Hondas Riding School (HEC), an entity that in the last years completes its activities with Honda by Zk School.
The creation of the HIS reinforces all Montesa Honda’s effort in the area of Preventive Safety, specifically in the training area, representing an important social contribution to the riders collective.
http://londonbikers.com/news/12379/h...pens-its-doors
================================================== =================
Road Test: 2009 Honda Civic Coupe !
Firm suspension and good ride quality
Bob Mchugh, The Province
Published: Thursday, September 24, 2009
The eighth-generation Honda Civic has been a phenomenal success. Introduced as a 2006 model and built in Canada, it was the Canadian Car of the Year (2006) and has been the top-selling car both here and the US. Sold as both a four-door sedan and two-door coupe, it received a minor redesign and interior refit for the 2009 model year.
More than 1.2 million have been sold in Canada since 1973, and many of those were undoubtedly repeat Civic owners.
If Honda sticks to its normal five-year generation cycle, the current Civic is heading into its final year (2010) of production. And you can be sure that Honda is already doing final grooming a ninth-generation Civic somewhere, behind closed doors.
In addition to a proven track record for great reliability and resale value retention, the forward-thinking contemporary styling of the current Civic still looks fresh and edgy. That's especially true for the Civic Coupe, the subject of this review.
The fresh face of the '09 Civic Coupe was made possible with a new bumper, grille and headlights. The Coupe comes in six trim levels and the up-level models come with new alloy wheel designs.
The base trim Coupe is the LX, with a great start price of just $17,190. Moving up the trim levels, there's DX-A ($18,490), DX-G ($19,780), LX ($21,580), my test coupe the EX-L ($23,780) and the top line Si ($26,680).
All except the Si come with the same 1.8-litre, 16-valve, SOHC, i-VTEC engine. It can produce 140 horsepower and helps the Civic Coupe achieve ultra-low-emission vehicle status.
Fuel economy is excellent -- with the manual transmission it achieves a 7.4/5.4 L/100km city/highway rating on regular fuel.
Performance features of Civic Coupe Si include a two-litre i-VTEC, 197 horsepower engine, a sport-tuned suspension system, a close-ratio, six-speed manual transmission (no auto option), a limited-slip differential, four-wheel-disc brakes and sport seats.
My test EX-L came with the optional five-speed automatic transmission. A grade-logic feature in this transmission downshifts it on an incline to provide engine braking.
The EX-L trim adds most of what you get in the Si, including leather upholstery, a 350-watt sound system, steering wheel controls, a power moon roof and (my favourite) electronic-stability control - without the performance upgrades.
The Looks
Not sure why a car with two doors almost always looks better than a car with four, but it does. Civic Coupe certainly follows that rule as it's an attractive aerodynamic design with a nice profile and rounded clean lines.
It doesn't share any body panels with Civic Sedan. The Coupe's cab-forward design is lower and it has a more steeply raked windshield. Short front and rear body overhangs, a wide stance and a more radical slop on the trunk gives it a dramatically different look.
The Inside
There's a price to pay for that shapely coupe styling on the inside. The rear seat head and leg room is limited, if you're above average height.
Getting in and out of the rear seat also involves some extra dexterity, but a single-lever release feature on the front passenger seat makes this task much easier.
My test Civic Coupe came with a tilt and telescoping steering column, a manually adjustable-height seat cushion and an adjustable centre armrest.
All this helped to make a comfortable driving position easy to find. The rear seats also had a 60/40 split fold-down feature.
The two-tier instrument panel is a clever idea that places important gauges (fuel/engine temperature and speed) above the steering wheel and a little farther away, to make it easier for your eyes to scan back and forth from the road ahead. The speedometer is a digital readout that can be switched from kilometres to miles at the press of a switch, which is very handy when travelling in the U.S.
Trunk space in the Civic Coupe (at 327 litres) is decent, yet less than the sedan, which offers 340.
Safety
The Civic Coupe comes with standard side-impact airbags and other good safety features, but it didn't do as well as the Civic sedan in side impact tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Vehicle Stability Assist, which is Honda's name for electronic-
stability control, is standard on the EX-L and Si versions of the Coupe, but not on the other trim levels.
The Drive
A shorter wheelbase gives the Civic Coupe more agile handling characteristics than the sedan. It also benefits from a tight, rigid chassis and a double-wishbone rear suspension, which is unusual in a car at this price point.
Cars in this class are built with a close eye on costs, but Honda is a master at injecting fun and performance into everything it builds. The 1.8-litre engine is a willing worker that revs freely and offers a nice blend of both performance and fuel economy. A driver's car with a firm suspension that still offers good ride quality, the Civic Coupe has a solid and planted feel on the highway, for a small car.
Like all front-drive vehicles, there's a degree of under-steer when pushed into corners, but it's controlled better than most and the stability-control system helps out.
Driver vision is particularly good and the extra large windshield has unique overlapping wipers with outboard pivots near the base to the A-pillars. They do a particularly good job of clearing water off almost all of the glass area -- a bonus in the rain capital of Canada.
The Score
Attractively styled and fun to drive, the Honda Civic Coupe also offers excellent fuel economy and great reliability at a reasonable price.
2009 Honda Civic Coupe
Trim levels: DX, DX-A, DX-G, LX, EX-L and Si.
Sticker price: $17,190 to $26,680,
Power: 1.8-litre, I4, 140-horsepower; two-litre, I4, 197-horsepower.
Transmission: Five- and six-speed manuals and five-speed auto.
Fuel consumption: 1.8L/manual, 7.4/5.4 L/100 km (city/highway); 1.8L/auto, 8.2/5.7 L/100 km (city/highway).
Basic warranty: Three years/60,000 km.
Powertrain warranty: Five years/100,000 km.
Rust warranty: Five years/unlimited km.
The Competition
Chevrolet Cobalt: $15,495-$27,995.
Ford Focus Coupe: $17,999-$20,199.
Kia Koup: $18,495-$22,695.
Mini Cooper: $22,800-$38,390.
Volkswagen New Beetle: $24,175-$25,515.
Volvo C30: $27,695-$42,195.
On the web:
Consumer site: www.honda.ca
The Province: www.driving.ca
http://autos.canada.com/news/story.html?id=2024810&p=2
http://www.greensburgdailynews.com/l...265123059.html
Joe Hornaday
Greensburg Daily News
Greensburg’s Honda Manufacturing of Indiana (HMIN) factory began mass production of Honda Civic Sedans in the city almost a year ago. On Monday, the Honda plant announced that the auto-maker would be producing the Honda Civic Sedans for sale in Mexico and exported to 22 Latin American and Caribbean nations and U.S. territories.
The first Civics destined for export were shipped last week, according to Anita Sipes of Honda communications. Until now, the more than 50,000 Civics built at the Greensburg plant had been sold exclusively in the United States.
“We designed our Greensburg plant to be world class, and thanks to the spirit and quality work of our Indiana associates, we will soon be proving it around the globe,” Yuzo Uenohara, the president of Honda Manufacturing of Indiana (HMIN) LLC, explained.
The Greensburg plant was dedicated in Nov. 2008. The company’s associates work on all aspects of vehicle production, including metal stamping, plastic injection molding, painting, subassembly and final assembly. Engines for the Greensburg Civics are produced at Honda’s engine plant in nearby Anna, Ohio.
“The United States remains the primary market for our Indiana-built Civics,” Rick Schostek, Honda Manufacturing of Indiana vice president, said. “Manufacturing products for export broadens the experiences of our associates, contributes positively to America’s and Indiana’s international trade, and shows our commitment to the continued growth and evolution of our business in Indiana.”
Honda’s very first American auto production for export occurred in 1987 when the Marysville Auto Plant in Ohio built Honda Accords for shipment to Taiwan. Shipments to Japan followed the following year. Since the beginning of manufacturing operations in the United States 30 years ago, Honda has exported more than 3 million automobiles, light trucks, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and power products, according to the press release.
“We are proud of our Indiana workforce,” Schostek noted. “Our Greensburg plant has ramped up to full single-shift production, and now we have embarked on production for export. This is another step in our growth.”
In addition to Mexico, the Greensburg plant will build vehicles for sale throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Guam and Saipan.
Earlier this year, Honda announced that the Greensburg plant had become the sole production source of the near-zero emissions, natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX Sedan.
================================================== =====================
Honda Safety Institute Opens its Doors !
Honda’s Safety Institute is an international model center unique in Europe. With this, Honda dispose of 36 similar facilities around the world, concentrated especially in Asia and South America. However, for its expansion to the old continent Honda has chosen Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, in Barcelona, for the implantation of its first European centre for the training of riders.
The HIS disposes of modern facility that takes up a surface of 25,000m2, presided by a building equipped with different classrooms. For the practical lessons, there are three clearly differenced areas: an asphalted track for multiple uses, a section with different coefficients of friction for the braking practice, an off-road track and area for trial. In short, these facilities are designed to hold up to 15,000 attendants a year and have meant an inversion close to 4 million Euros.
The HIS will offer a practical and theoretical formation through the experimented instructors of Honda’s Driving School, an entity with more than 17 years of experience that accounts for more than 144,000 participants.
The established training program has a total of 7 courses to offer:
- Special for kids: The best way to learn and have fun. The program of the course includes a strengthened theoretical and practical formation with the use of the Riding Simulator.
- Road Safety: Basic initiation course for 50cc scooter riding and the development of responsible riding.
- Validation of the B-A1 license: Course for car drivers that want to get initiated in 125cc scooter riding.
- Basic Defensive Riding: Course for mid displacement motorcycle riders with little experience.
- Medium Defensive Riding: Specialized course for medium to high displacement motorcycle riders with many years of experience that want to improve their riding technique.
- Advanced Defensive Riding: Course designed for medium to high displacement motorcycle riders with many years experience that want to perfect their ability level through advanced riding techniques.
- Professionals: Specific course for motorcycle professionals. The contents, as the duration of the course adapt to the necessities of each group.
The facility of the HIS, as well as its variety of activities, guarantees quality formation to all attendants. Also, it’s worth highlighting the price of participation, from 70 to 100 Euros, including use of the motorcycle and the complete rider’s equipment necessary to participate in the course with the highest protection.
In addition and as it has been since 1992, the HIS will continue to provide free formation in what regards Road Safety, as Montesa Honda S.A. subventions 100% of the cost of the participation of the students from High schools, including the transport to the HIS, and back to their high school.
The educational program of the HIS includes various formulas for the control of the motorcycle, highlighting the different activities in the off-road area, the trial track and the use of the Riding Simulators. In addition, with the aim to provide more pedagogical orientation to every course, all participants receive as a gift a Manual of Basic Riding Techniques in book and DVD format.
Honda Safety Program
Starting in 2004 with the signing of the European Chart of Safety on the Road, the Japanese multinational devotes a good part of its resources to the three basic pillars of Safety: Preventive, Active and Passive.
In the area of Preventive Safety, the manufacturer highlights the commercialization of the only motorcycle with a mass-produced airbag, the GL18000 Goldwing. In Active Safety, the 80% of the mass-produced motorcycles disposes of ABS Systems. In what concerns Preventive Safety, the manufacturer has developed its own Motorcycle Riding Simulator. And still it continues its investigation in intercommunication systems (ASV) and designed technologies to favour the visibility of vehicles.
Riders training starts in 1970, when Honda Motor Co Ltd. created its own department of Road Safety promotion. In 1992, Montesa Honda started its own training program with the creation of Hondas Riding School (HEC), an entity that in the last years completes its activities with Honda by Zk School.
The creation of the HIS reinforces all Montesa Honda’s effort in the area of Preventive Safety, specifically in the training area, representing an important social contribution to the riders collective.
http://londonbikers.com/news/12379/h...pens-its-doors
================================================== =================
Road Test: 2009 Honda Civic Coupe !
Firm suspension and good ride quality
Bob Mchugh, The Province
Published: Thursday, September 24, 2009
The eighth-generation Honda Civic has been a phenomenal success. Introduced as a 2006 model and built in Canada, it was the Canadian Car of the Year (2006) and has been the top-selling car both here and the US. Sold as both a four-door sedan and two-door coupe, it received a minor redesign and interior refit for the 2009 model year.
More than 1.2 million have been sold in Canada since 1973, and many of those were undoubtedly repeat Civic owners.
If Honda sticks to its normal five-year generation cycle, the current Civic is heading into its final year (2010) of production. And you can be sure that Honda is already doing final grooming a ninth-generation Civic somewhere, behind closed doors.
In addition to a proven track record for great reliability and resale value retention, the forward-thinking contemporary styling of the current Civic still looks fresh and edgy. That's especially true for the Civic Coupe, the subject of this review.
The fresh face of the '09 Civic Coupe was made possible with a new bumper, grille and headlights. The Coupe comes in six trim levels and the up-level models come with new alloy wheel designs.
The base trim Coupe is the LX, with a great start price of just $17,190. Moving up the trim levels, there's DX-A ($18,490), DX-G ($19,780), LX ($21,580), my test coupe the EX-L ($23,780) and the top line Si ($26,680).
All except the Si come with the same 1.8-litre, 16-valve, SOHC, i-VTEC engine. It can produce 140 horsepower and helps the Civic Coupe achieve ultra-low-emission vehicle status.
Fuel economy is excellent -- with the manual transmission it achieves a 7.4/5.4 L/100km city/highway rating on regular fuel.
Performance features of Civic Coupe Si include a two-litre i-VTEC, 197 horsepower engine, a sport-tuned suspension system, a close-ratio, six-speed manual transmission (no auto option), a limited-slip differential, four-wheel-disc brakes and sport seats.
My test EX-L came with the optional five-speed automatic transmission. A grade-logic feature in this transmission downshifts it on an incline to provide engine braking.
The EX-L trim adds most of what you get in the Si, including leather upholstery, a 350-watt sound system, steering wheel controls, a power moon roof and (my favourite) electronic-stability control - without the performance upgrades.
The Looks
Not sure why a car with two doors almost always looks better than a car with four, but it does. Civic Coupe certainly follows that rule as it's an attractive aerodynamic design with a nice profile and rounded clean lines.
It doesn't share any body panels with Civic Sedan. The Coupe's cab-forward design is lower and it has a more steeply raked windshield. Short front and rear body overhangs, a wide stance and a more radical slop on the trunk gives it a dramatically different look.
The Inside
There's a price to pay for that shapely coupe styling on the inside. The rear seat head and leg room is limited, if you're above average height.
Getting in and out of the rear seat also involves some extra dexterity, but a single-lever release feature on the front passenger seat makes this task much easier.
My test Civic Coupe came with a tilt and telescoping steering column, a manually adjustable-height seat cushion and an adjustable centre armrest.
All this helped to make a comfortable driving position easy to find. The rear seats also had a 60/40 split fold-down feature.
The two-tier instrument panel is a clever idea that places important gauges (fuel/engine temperature and speed) above the steering wheel and a little farther away, to make it easier for your eyes to scan back and forth from the road ahead. The speedometer is a digital readout that can be switched from kilometres to miles at the press of a switch, which is very handy when travelling in the U.S.
Trunk space in the Civic Coupe (at 327 litres) is decent, yet less than the sedan, which offers 340.
Safety
The Civic Coupe comes with standard side-impact airbags and other good safety features, but it didn't do as well as the Civic sedan in side impact tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Vehicle Stability Assist, which is Honda's name for electronic-
stability control, is standard on the EX-L and Si versions of the Coupe, but not on the other trim levels.
The Drive
A shorter wheelbase gives the Civic Coupe more agile handling characteristics than the sedan. It also benefits from a tight, rigid chassis and a double-wishbone rear suspension, which is unusual in a car at this price point.
Cars in this class are built with a close eye on costs, but Honda is a master at injecting fun and performance into everything it builds. The 1.8-litre engine is a willing worker that revs freely and offers a nice blend of both performance and fuel economy. A driver's car with a firm suspension that still offers good ride quality, the Civic Coupe has a solid and planted feel on the highway, for a small car.
Like all front-drive vehicles, there's a degree of under-steer when pushed into corners, but it's controlled better than most and the stability-control system helps out.
Driver vision is particularly good and the extra large windshield has unique overlapping wipers with outboard pivots near the base to the A-pillars. They do a particularly good job of clearing water off almost all of the glass area -- a bonus in the rain capital of Canada.
The Score
Attractively styled and fun to drive, the Honda Civic Coupe also offers excellent fuel economy and great reliability at a reasonable price.
2009 Honda Civic Coupe
Trim levels: DX, DX-A, DX-G, LX, EX-L and Si.
Sticker price: $17,190 to $26,680,
Power: 1.8-litre, I4, 140-horsepower; two-litre, I4, 197-horsepower.
Transmission: Five- and six-speed manuals and five-speed auto.
Fuel consumption: 1.8L/manual, 7.4/5.4 L/100 km (city/highway); 1.8L/auto, 8.2/5.7 L/100 km (city/highway).
Basic warranty: Three years/60,000 km.
Powertrain warranty: Five years/100,000 km.
Rust warranty: Five years/unlimited km.
The Competition
Chevrolet Cobalt: $15,495-$27,995.
Ford Focus Coupe: $17,999-$20,199.
Kia Koup: $18,495-$22,695.
Mini Cooper: $22,800-$38,390.
Volkswagen New Beetle: $24,175-$25,515.
Volvo C30: $27,695-$42,195.
On the web:
Consumer site: www.honda.ca
The Province: www.driving.ca
http://autos.canada.com/news/story.html?id=2024810&p=2
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