Honda Motor has run deeper into troubled waters with its 2012 Civic receiving a unanimous disapproval by the critics. The car which was showcased at the New York auto show in April (2011) and has been given a thumbs-down by the critics for its hard plastic interior.
Apart from the critics, US consumer magazine, Consumer Reports has allotted the car an 11th slot out of 12 in the small sedan segment in the US market. Consumer Reports also criticized Civic for its steering and braking. Bill Visnic, an analyst with Edmunds.com stated that Honda’s reputation which was built on “engineering excellence” is at stake as Honda is becoming “kind of a very normal car company.” Analysts feel that the company might lose its standing in the industry if its cars are not well received.
Currently the sale of Honda cars in the US is down by 10 per cent so far this year (2011) due to its disrupted supply, which is the result of the earthquake which hit Japan in March, 2011. Critics believe the sales of the brand could further dip if its cars, including Honda Civic do not receive a positive response from the customers.
Meanwhile Honda on August 5, 2011, stated that it would recall 2.49 million cars (including Accord sedan), small SUVs and minivans worldwide to fix a software problem which if untreated could damage the automatic transmission. As a part of the recall, 1.5 million vehicles in the United States, 760,000 in China and 135,142 in Canada would be recalled.
