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Saturday, November 26, 2005

2006 Honda Civic Voted Motor Trend's Car Of The Year!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com)

The Honda Civic has captured Motor Trend magazine's "Car of the Year" award, the publication for auto enthusiasts announced Tuesday. The magazine said that it is giving the award to the Civic for all four of its new versions.

"Honda deserves a standing ovation for not playing it safe again," said a statement from Angus MacKenzie, Motor Trend editor-in-chief. "With the sizzling Si, a sleek coupe, an elegant sedan and a Hybrid that averages 50 miles per gallon, each model shines through with what Motor Trend looks for when crowning Car of the Year."

It is the first Motor Trend "Car of the Year" award for Honda, although it had won "Import Car of the Year" from the publication four times in the past, most recently in 1994. "For 2006, the Civic underwent the most radical transformation in its 33-year history," said a statement from John Mendel, senior vice president of American Honda. "It is a cornerstone of the Honda lineup, and we're delighted that Motor Trend has recognized ... the new Civic. Customers have validated our direction, too, as evidenced by strong sales of the new model." The magazine tested 28 newly designed models before honoring the Civic, the largest field of candidates the magazine had considered in the award's 57-year history. The magazine said it considers three factors in picking a winner: significance, superiority and value. Significance refers to impact on the market, while superiority looks for class-leading levels of performance, style and functionality. For value, the editors say they ask the question, "What does this vehicle deliver in relation to what the consumer has to pay to purchase and own it?" The Civic, which had been the nation's best-selling compact car model, was the only Honda model up for consideration for the award, and Japanese auto manufacturers had a relatively thin list of candidates. Toyota's Avalon and Lexus GS and IS models were up for consideration. The Nissan's Infiniti M35/M45 models were also considered. In addition, Mazda, which is controlled by Ford Motor Co., had the Mazda5, a small wagon%

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