Honda hires stars Jonas, Lovato with millennial market in mind
Japanese automaker relies on youth power to sell its latest version of popular vehicle
NEW YORK— To emphasize the importance of Civic to the youth market, Honda hired singers Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas to help unveil the brand’s new hatchback on the eve of the New York Auto Show’s media days.
The fact that Civic has been the bestselling car in Canada since the last Ice Age, to just about every age group, matters not to the Americans.
What counts is that Civic is the bestselling car to millennials down here.
Get ’em when they’re young and keep ’em, is just about every marketing person’s mantra.
Historically, you couldn’t throw something called a “hatchback” off a building onto an unsuspecting American customer because they view that term as meaning “desperately down-market.”
But this time the Americans are referring to it as a “hatch.” while Honda Canada is tending toward “five-door.”
The added cargo capacity and flexibility of the hatchback configuration is intended, and probably will be, more attractive to the younger buyers who typically are more rational than their parents.
As are Canadians. Our dealers are thrilled to get this new body style in their showrooms, which arrives this fall as a 2017 model-year car.
The hatchback, built in England, shares platform, some powertrains and most oily bits with sedan and coupe models, both of which are assembled in Alliston, Ont.
At least initially, the hatchback will only get the 1.6L turbocharged four cylinder, with either a CVT or a sixspeed manual transmission. But the turbo engine will be available in all body styles with the manual gearbox starting this fall.
Honda also announced that a race-prepared version of the Civic coupe will be entered in the Red Bull Global Rallycross Series.
A particularly zany variant of motorsport, Rallycross pits up as many as ten 600-horsepower cars wheel-to-wheel on “stadium” circuits, with a combination of asphalt and dirt surfaces, some water puddles, and jumps as high as 20 metres.
Such traditional racing names as team owners Ganassi and Andretti, and drivers Nelson Piquet Jr. and Scott Speed are involved, as are some of the more youth-oriented stars like Ken Block, Tanner Foust and Travis Pastrana. The Hondas will be helmed by Swede Sebastian Eriksson and Finn Joni Wiman.
The theory behind this endeavour is to try to bond the brand with a youthful sporty image.
Honda’s U.S. people don’t seem to remember that the Canada-only Honda Michelin series pretty much invented the concept of “showroom-stock” racing and became the longest-running one-marque racing series anywhere in the world.
And, to the same youth-attracting end.
Hmm, maybe there’s a reason Civic has always done so much better in Canada than in the States. Honda Canada figured that out 30 years ago.
Lovato also showed her Civic sedan, which will accompany her — and Nick Jonas — on the “Honda Civic Tour” across the U.S. this summer.
No Canadian dates? What’s up with that?
She designed the paint scheme, which looks like she threw a gallon of “rose gold” paint into the air and a black car drove into it at high speed.
Lovato autographed the car on the spot; one lucky concertgoer will win it at the end of the tour. Freelance writer Jim Kenzie is chief auto reviewer for Toronto Star Wheels. For this story, his travel and other expenses were paid for by the manufacturer. To reach him, email wheels@thestar.ca and put his name in the subject line.