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| Home » Honda Civic News » Honda Canada Begins Production of New 2006 Civic at Canadian Plant | ||
10/12/2005
"Honda in Canada began with the Civic," said Hiroshi Kobayashi, president and chief executive officer, Honda Canada, Inc. "Our time in Canada has been one of steady growth and great opportunity." Honda's been building Civics in Alliston since 1986, the first Japanese automaker to do so. Now it's the third largest vehicle manufacturer in the country, and sources in excess of $2 billion annually from Canadian suppliers. In total, more than 3.5 million vehicles have been built by HCM, of which 2 million have been Civics. Now, an entirely new Civic will continue the tradition, with more power, sleeker styling and as much interior room, better interior quality, as previous Honda Accords. Its new design should be more appealing to buyers starting to tire of the old 2005 model, although it was still selling strongly last month. As mentioned, both sedan and coupe models are available, the former soon available with a hybrid drivetrain and the latter dressed up in sporty 197-horsepower Si trim, but Honda, an early adaptor with its previous Civic wagon, hasn't bought into the current five-door trend. Like the Si, base Civics get an improved, larger engine, now making 140-horsepower. The ride, while more refined, is sportier than the outgoing Civic, while there's no shortage of available safety equipment, such as standard antilock brakes, side airbags, side curtain airbags and active head restraints for front occupants. Honda should be able to maintain its best-selling car in Canada status with the new Civic, and with that continue HCM's third-largest auto manufacturer status. Macleans |
