Ike

There are other good cars on there, but there certainly are some real duds.

P.S. I prettymuch hate Motortrend, but I think the new Civic was a good call.

Steiner

They've picked a lot of American cars too.

Japan8

Why not? The exterior styling is Zzzz. Even Toyota has done better with the IS350. The Interior styling... I was going to totally diss it, but actually it is well done with the exception of the dash. Whoever designed that should be freaking fired on the spot... do not pass go, do not collect $200. I checked it out at the Toyota Motorshow... totally If that was enough to qualify you to win then the '95 Prelude Si should have won. If you are talking about value, blah, blah, blah, then the Mazda3 should have won. Good performance for its class, good handling, you can get it fully loaded with leather (on the entry level car!) for MSRP of like $22,000. The freaking Civic Coupe EX (not even Si) is like $18,000 starting MSRP. This MT Car of the Year thing is a total freaking goose egg...

playdoh43

scion was taking a pretty big bite into civic sales. Honda needed a fresh civic bad and they succeded. while I wouldnt pick the civic, i honestly cant pick against it either. forget the SI, the civic a great car for what it is.

Japan8

What the hell are you talking about. Visit Honda's website. The Cvic Coupe STARTS at $18,000. Then there's the EX model and you've still only got the 140hp motor. The Si isn't even listed yet... it's probably going to START at least $20,000 MSRP.. no leather or anything... add options (read $$) from here. Looks like a shitty deal to me. Get a base RX-8 for about $25,000 MSRP... if we talk street price... ****... you're talking about $25k +/- for a GT and $20k +/- for a base or sport package. According to the JDM mags backseat is useless. At least the 8's are useful, it's RWD... I REALLY HATE FWD, the 8 has a better dash, the 8 will probably prove to be faster and handle better. Case closed for me. I don't see any reason for me to buy a Civic Si. I'd buy an 8 instead. If I had more money, I could pickup a GTO or a Mustang GT or even a WRX. Closer to the same class, I still get a Scion or Mazda3 instead.

czr and SHOWOFF hit exactly upon my thoughts. Even if you look at the regular Civic... still overpriced. A fully loaded Mazda3 is MSRP around $22,000... this is with leather interior, sunroof and nav. Honda is raping America because too many dumb people are caught up in the name, so they'll pay whatever Honda charges.

Honda hasn't put a single thing on the table to make me want to buy the car over any of the others. Rather they've only given me reasons NOT to buy it. On that note... MT is a load of *****!

Japan8

Over the WRX? Over the Lexus IS? Over the Infiniti M? As mentioned... the Scion biting into Civic sales... so none of them were worthy of the vote? Like or hate it... the new Mustang (think level of improvement, bang for the buck and brisk sales). So many other cars that this new and yet unproven car which has ugly *** styling, a f&%$#d up dash and is overpriced has no right to win. Is it well built? Sure. OVERAL ergonomics? Pretty good. Interior quality doesn't look like an entry level car (well neither does the price). But so what? There are other cars like that too. Like I said... Honda brings nothing to the table. Nothing remarkably better and costs more. If it wasn't for Honda's rep... this car would flop (it'd sell... just well below what HOnda wants).

playdoh43

um... you do realize that its the entire civic line that won the award right? .... the SI would be lucky to even make 5% of civic sales. you being in Japan must have catched one of the recent Best Motoring videos where the new type R civic and integra beat the rx8 @ tsukuba? neways i just want to point out that performance isnt everything, theres plenty of other things like fuel economy, utility, etc etc that are considered in the award.

Japan8

Um, that'd be the OLD Civic Type R as there is no Type R, Hatchback or coupe for the new Civic in the JDM.... yet. The coupe looks NG, but there is talk about the hatchback from Europe. Even then, the Civic Type R has the same engine as the freaking Integra Type R... it had better kickass. Kicking *** at Tsukuba ain't everything. Ever ridden or driven Tsukuba? How about Motegi? Ebisu? Short track at Okegawa? Yeah... that's what I thought. Anyone can win once.

Yes I do realize the whole Civic line won. How much of ALL of my comments don't apply to all Civics? Just the price/performance comparison to the RX-8, WRX, Mustang, etc. The styling, dash, and price/value comparisons all still stand. It still looks like ***. The dash is still freaking stupid (Honda seems to be making a habit of this... think '95 Prelude). The performance is average. It is still just another FWD sub-compact. Is leather even an option? I don't remember seeing it for the EX coupe. It is still priced too high. AND... there are still plenty of other cars that are more inspiring, offering move value, etc.

Ike

I think gas mileage played a large part in the Civic winning, but even moreso the diversity of the lineup. You've got a hybrid, a pretty nice little performance car, and a couple trims lower that are great little economy cars.

playdoh43

lol what does me having driven at all those tracks or not have anything to do with the video? i wish i was a professional driver in the video lol, but sorry to disappoint ya, im not.
im just pointing out that there are civics that can perform pretty well, its only a matter of time when the next type R comes out thats even faster than the previous one.

khtm

hahahhaha you mean the 2006 SATURN/RSX-S won? Wow they must really be grasping for straws this year.

I remember everyone freaking out when they found out it was dynoing 200hp to the wheels. Then the 0-60 of 7 seconds came out and everyone shut up. Good times.

XDEEDUBBX

settle down there...i was talking about the civic si. and yes they start at around 20k ish and yes it does come with 197hp. The majority of people will not buy this car for its performance but for its "functionality". Of course the rx8 will beat it, yes it has a better dash and it will perform better but guess what? the civic will have better "GAS MILEAGE". Thats why people buy civics. Parts are easy to find, and cheaper to fix. Not everyone likes the mazda 3. They arent' the best on gas mileage either. You may not like hondas but pound for pound they are a great value. And new civic owners will not have to worry about engine flooding, burning oil, unusable 9k powerband..etc..if you don't like the new civic then good for you. I own a 88 crx slowmatic that gets 36-38 mpg. I only spend $17 a week on gas. Let me know when an rx8 or a mazda can do that...

zoom44

i havent spent any money on gas in 2 weeks

XDEEDUBBX

you don't drive much do you zoom...i live in L.A. where driving is imperative!

crimson-rain

If that's why it won then what about the SRT-4?

playdoh43

the award is only for new models.

Cattywampus

A caravan won car of the year? LMAO

sunilseru

+1 here.

The TCO on the Civic would be way less than the RX-8. It is great value for the money. And it sure will offer the best performance at that price point. VTEC rocks!

BlueEyes

VTEC is okay. There are much better systems out there.

Japan8

And that was a big part of the point I was trying to make. Anything the Civic does, there is a competitor that does it too. Some better, some worse... some just different. The new Civic is nothing special... if not overpriced and fugly...

BlueEyes

I think the variety is really what won the contest for the Civic. It really does appeal to a broad base of car buyers.

Anyhow, I haven't seen any other car mentioned that made me say "Yeah, WTF was MT thinking" There are arguments for and against all the cars in the running, they chose the Civic. Get over it.

Japan8

As strange as it sounds... yep. Think about it. The Dodge Caravan was the FIRST mini-van. Before almighty Honda (who was actually one of the late arrivals), before Toyota... even before GM and Ford. Give credit where it's due.

And this is the kind of thing that I'm talking about... something new, innovative, somehow different... that should be winning car of the year. Not a boring *** Civic.

BlueEyes

What was new this year? and when was the last time a car company introduced a model with a sports car variant, hybrid variant an economy variant and something in betweent?

Japan8

Actually, most people buy civics because its a reliable car that they can afford and it doesn't look/feel like an economy car. Most people aren't buying one as their "beater" with a Miata, RX-8, 350Z or whatever in the garage for weekends. Gas mileage will tend to fall in the same category as looks and voice navigation... value of these things depends on the person which may decide which car you buy. Parts are fairly easy to find, but inexpensive? Compared to the 8? Sure. But you are using a strawman arguement here. I used the 8 as only one example (particuarly because of this site). The same doesn't hold true across the board.

Gas mileage? You should see how fast the needle drops when you drive aggressively in my S-Wagon (Protege5). At current prices it costs me about 5,000 yen (around $50 USD) to fill up. You want to whine about gasoline costs?! And Europe is even more expensive than Japan!

Japan8

I was actually going to respond to the preceding comment on this topic. I'll certainly give you that. Honda is probably the only company that offers such a broad range for one model of car (both the Civic and the Accord). The sports variant may be overpriced for what it is, but will still appeal to some (name value). The rest though... I think I have even posted it here before. I rented one last year in the States. It was surprising nice. Hardly felt like an "economy" car or Honda's entry level car. Even with their improvements, the Hyundai rentals can't compare. I can see why people buy them. But that's not the topic here is it? The topic is "Car of the Year." Maybe what we are really missing is soild criteria for judging this...