After decades of building a reputation as an affordable compact car with pep and styling, the Honda Civic went astray. The design became conservative. The Civic Si sport version fell short on performance.
"There was an uproar," said Mark Pafumi, 35, a lead engineer for Honda Motor in North America whose first car was a used Civic. "A lot of the enthusiasts were really screaming: 'What the heck are you doing? We love your products, but you've let us down.' "
Pafumi and the rest of the Civic team appear to have listened. After a redesign for 2006, the Civic earned Car of the Year honors earlier this year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It's also won back the love of Honda enthusiast websites.
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