Honda does not do a good job with its concept cars. No, they are not design failures – rather, they usually are not truly concepts.

When Honda displays a concept vehicle at an auto show, visitors need to ask Honda show representatives if the car they are seeing will be built. Likely, the answer is yes as the vehicle you are looking at may already been green-lighted for production.

Concept Civic

At the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Honda revealed one such “concept” vehicle – the Honda Civic. Calling it a concept isn’t accurate – this model resembles the 2012 Honda Civic right down to the wheelwells.

But first, some Honda Civic history. This model was introduced as a subcompact to the US market in the early 1970s, the first Honda passenger vehicle sold in America. Always popular, the Honda Civic is a perennial top-five selling car for Honda, rivaling the Honda Accord in sales and competing directly against the Toyota Corolla. Read the rest of this entry »