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Honda Civic Concept

If you were expecting more than evolution for the 2012 Honda Civic, it's time to bring your expectations down. Riffing off the breakthrough 2006 Civic, Honda's Generation IX icon gets a bit smaller on the outside and gets the brand's interpretation of Flame Surfacing, even going so far as to include a faux Hoffmeister kink on the coupe's inner c-pillar.
Honda showed both a sedan concept and Si coupe concept for the '12 Civic, which goes on sale in a few months. It's smaller on the outside, though it's difficult at first glance to see where. The sedan's rear deck looks shorter and tighter, though it's very likely that the next Civic will remain one of the most space efficient compacts on the market.
Honda Civic SI Concept Front End
Its maker offered precious little information about the next Civic. The three powertrains include a more efficient conventional i-VTEC four that Honda says will make a 40-mpg highway EPA rating. The GX natural gas-powered Civic sedan will expand its market from four states to all 50. And the Civic hybrid will get lithium-ion battery technology.
The Si's nose is distinguished from the standard sedan's thin air intake on the lower fascia. On the Si, the lower grille is a much larger intake, bookended by thin horizontal slats with the foglamps, and there's a solid blacked-out horizontal bar. It's much like the CR-Z's lower fascia. As part of the Bangle influence, both versions have stronger side surfacing, resulting in pronounced tumblehome in the rear.
Honda Civic SI Concept Rear Three Quarter
Honda's two concept bucks were bereft of full interiors, though the company showed a rendering of the next Civic's dash that continues the digital speedometer above an analog tach look, in a dual-cowl cockpit design. The '12 Civic continues with the ACE body structure and will have vehicle stability assist, standard, on all models. Both Civics showed off handsome graphite 19-inch 5 x 2-spoke wheels.
Honda also wheeled out Fallout Boy lead Pete Wentz to talk about the 10th anniversary of the Honda Civic Tour. As with the next Civic, Honda's North American chief, John Mendel, was coy about details of this year's pop music tour, saying the automaker will announce this year's headliner within a few weeks.

Honda Civic Concept