HONDA
PREVIEWS NEW CIVIC AT JUNE LUNCHEON; NEXT LUNCHEON JULY 14
photos by Pepe Delfino
A
compact car packed with lots of technology.
That’s
just one way to look at the new 2012 Civic Honda previewed at the June
luncheon.
More
than 40 members and guests gathered at the Mondrian Hotel in Miami Beach
for the presentation by Jay Guzowski, senior product planner for Honda;
Gina Jorge, assistant manager for Honda Public Relations; and Sara
Pines, regional manager of public relations.
A
staple in the Japanese company’s stable of vehicles since it was
introduced in the 1973 model year, the Civic is offered in six models as
it enters its ninth generation starting with the familiar Coupes and
Sedans ($15,605-$23,455) that are available in DX, LX, EX, and EX-L
trim.
The
sporty Si ($22,205-$23,905) also is offered in sedan and coupe form.
For
those seeking even more fuel efficiency than the standard Civic sedan
delivers (39 mpg highway), there are the Civic Hybrid (44 mpg both city
and highway) and Civic HF (41 highway) models to choose from.
And
coming in the fall is the Civic Natural Gas model (formerly GX).
They
come with an amazing number of features either as standard or as
optional, giving buyers a wide number of choices to personalize their
vehicles.
Following the program, President Paul Borden conducted a brief business
session that included more details on the upcoming Topless in Miami
event.
The
event has drawn entries from 15 different manufacturers and will feature
competition among 18 different vehicles to determine SAMA’s Convertible
of the Year in addition to four category winners (luxury, family, sports
car, and small).
Members have been emailed separate notices for the event, which will
begin at 9 a.m. Thursday, June 30, at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne.
Please respond immediately if you want to take part. After the judging
throughout the day, winners in various categories will be announced at a
dinner that night.
Paul
also announced that clothing collected for relief for tornado victims in
Joplin, Missouri, instead was turned over to the Salvation Army for
distribution in Haiti, which still has a long way to go in recovering
from the earthquake of 2010.
Despite the efforts of Vice President Bill Adam, transportation for the
three pallets of donations could not be arranged to get the material to
Joplin. Relief agencies there prefer cash donations.
Ron
Beasley, who will be in charge of the judging for the Topless in Miami
event, reminded members that soon it will be time to think about
nomination of officers for 2012.
As per
the by-laws, Paul Borden is not eligible for a third term as president.
Nominations will be made at the October meeting, and the election will
be conducted in November.
We
want to thank Honda for its sponsorship of our very successful June
event and look forward to future events with the company.
Please
note the early date for our next meeting. It will
be Thursday, July 14, with Hyundai as the sponsor.
We
look forward to seeing you there!
To
view larger images, please click here.
