[USA] Honda Civic Facelift (Spy)

[Touareg 2.5]

automobilemag

Anche se dopo un inizio non proprio felice, le vendite stiano andando meglio del previsto

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You may recall Honda’s 2012 Civiccomprehensively hammered last year byConsumer Reports. The publication's verdict was such a big blow that Honda decided to speed-up its next redesign and its CEO took responsibility for its poor performance.

One would expect its sales to slump; but instead, they have gotten through the roof. Civicdeliveries have increased this year by 40 percent through September, to 234,029 units and Honda’s compact car is on course to regain the segment crown in the U.S. after finishing third last year behind the Toyota Corolla and Chevrolet Cruze.

This brings up an interesting question: how much does automotive experts’ testing weigh on buyers’ decision when the time comes to buy a new car?

Here’s what CR said, among other things, at the time: "The Civic has slid backward with its redesign. It feels insubstantial against recently redesigned competition. Vague steering weakens its agility and robs it of its fun-to-drive feel. Stopping distances are long, the ride is choppy, and road noise is pronounced.”

So why is Honda's compact currently the sixth best-selling vehicle in the States?

Kelly Blue Book’s analyst Alec Gutierrez has an explanation for this phenomenon: “The overall competitive set from all manufacturers has become so good that, for some of us so-called experts in the industry, perhaps our expectations have gotten impossible to reach.”

[...]

Perhaps, after all, experts’ verdicts are outweighed by other factors such as pricing and marketing. Gutierrez concedes that this might be the case but we must consider other things, too, such as brand loyalty and perceptions of quality, which don’t change overnight.

[Pandino]

Ma quanto è bella a tre volumi?

[Touareg 2.5]

Ma quanto è bella a tre volumi?

[Regazzoni]

Ma quanto è bella a tre volumi?

[PaoloGTC]

Secondo me non piace nemmeno a loro che l'han fatta. L'han già decorata come bersaglio mobile....

[Waterland]

Secondo me merita invece

[Pandino]

... .