The exterior of the 11th generation Honda "Civic" is designed to fit the value that the target user wants, and it is said that this is the character that the successive Civic has. What is the "Civic character" and what is the aim of the new design? We talked to the exterior designer in detail.
The interviewee was Mr. Kazumasa Asano, Assistant Chief Engineer, Product Design Studio, Automobile Design Development Office, Design Center, Honda R & D.
Honda Civic New Exterior Designer Kazumasa Asano
First, look back on the history of 50 years
----: First of all, how did you feel when you decided to be in charge of the exterior design of the Civic, which will be a major pillar of Honda as a global model?
Mr. Kazumasa Asano (honorific title omitted below): To be honest, it's quite heavy ... (laughs). It's a car with such a long history, and the number of units sold is amazing (Editor's note: As of 2020, more than 27 million units have been sold worldwide). Being in charge of the 11th generation made me happy as an exterior designer, but on the other hand, I was wondering how to put it together.
----: So how did you decide to put it together?
Asano: Before actually getting into a concrete shape, the Civic has a history of about 50 years, so I really thought about how it was made.
----: So did you look back first?
Asano: That's right. As a characteristic of Civic, there is no such thing as the same here when looking at the actual shape. There are examples such as "inheriting the C-pillar" in other cars, but there are few things that are inherited as modeling. However, looking at the Civic characters for a long time, I felt that they were making it with the idea that it was exactly matched to the value of the customer at that time. That is the Civic character, and I thought that the designer was thinking about what kind of design would be best for the customer at that time.
Looking back on the design of the successive Civic 50 years. What I paid particular attention to was the 3rd generation glassy cabin ----: Then, the character of the 11th generation Civic this time also focused on the design that the target Generation Z and its predecessors would like. That's right.
Asano: I thought I should do that.
----: Compared to the Civic user base so far, Generation Z (people born in the mid-1990s to early 2000s who grew up in the Internet environment) seems to be considerably younger. However.
Asano: Yes. I intend to design for another generation, the younger generation, as opposed to the current design.
Honda Civic New ----: How is it specifically expressed in the exterior design?
Asano: The predecessor was designed to target the Generation Y generation (the generation born between the early 1980s and the mid-1990s). On the other hand, Generation Z is a generation that has a very special feeling, but is easy to get close to, easy to use, and chooses the essential ones. If you look at the things they use, they insist and have this! Instead of showing the brands of watches and shoes, for example, it is changing to choose what you really think is beautiful and good. I designed the design so that it blends in nicely with their lives from the perspective of what is good.
----: At that time, did you have anything that you referred to or imagined, not just the car?
Asano: Taking watches as an example, there are some brands that are easy to understand. But it's not such a world, it's very simple, it's clicked and it's beautiful, but I'm not choosing a very expensive one. I wear it simply from the perspective that "a simple design is good". Looking at their lives, I think they are people who are not particular about brands, but who have knowledge from various information and choose good things properly.
One-stroke form "Sokai exterior"
Honda Civic's new exterior design concept "Sokai Exterior" ----: How did you think about the new Civic's exterior design concept for such target users?
Asano: I wondered if we should create a different concept for the overall picture of the grand concept of "exhilarating Civic." However, since the world view of the grand concept is aimed not only at the entire car and exterior, but also at the interior and driving, I wanted to make the exterior a "Sokai exterior" and align it comfortably with everyone.
----: Why is it in romaji?
Asano: The word "exhilarating" conveys an image in Japan, but when I tried to disseminate it globally, it was difficult to translate it. I dared to express it in romaji so that the global people could know the impression of the exhilarating image of Japanese people.
----: Where is the best way to express that exhilaration?
Asano: What I was most particular about was the design of the cabin as seen from the outside. When I imagined exhilaration as a concrete form, I thought that it would be directly connected to the interior space. So I thought about what it means to be exhilarating in the exterior. Looking at the appearance of a person riding in a car from the outside, this car looks very comfortable, and I designed it from the perspective of what it looks like to look neat.
Honda Civic new side view. It can be seen that the glass area is wide and the tone is horizontal. ----: Didn't you have the image of an exhilarating run?
Asano: Of course, that is also included. The total height of the new Civic is quite low (1415 mm), and you can feel the goodness of driving comfortably, so for example, at the moment you see it at a glance, if you get on this car, you can go to various cities and drive smoothly. I designed it with the intention of giving such an impression at a glance, such as being able to drive as if it were a car.
----: What kind of expression do you use in the design to be more specific?
Asano: First of all, I wanted to make the cabin look like glassy, so I took a large glass area. Also, the wedge shape has been stopped this time, and the tone is fairly horizontal. At the front, the A-pillar is designed to stick into the tires so that you can feel a good stance by pulling the A-pillar toward the room in consideration of good driving performance and visibility.
The most important part of this design is the design of the rear end of the roof. Actually, I examined various patterns. I also considered an extra window type with two pieces of glass and a so-called hatchback style. Under such circumstances, the design that makes you feel comfortable and refreshing the moment you see it is not a shape that the form is rattling, for example, a spoiler is attached and the form is broken, but it is drawn with a single stroke. Shouldn't it be shaped like this? So I decided to design the cabin like this.
Character line with a different meaning from the Accord
Honda Civic New exterior designer Kazumasa Asano ----: I think that the character line that goes from the headlights to the tail lamps is very effective there. I think that this line also uses "Accord", but why did you adopt it in Civic?
Asano: The Accord also has a character line, but the way it is handled is a little different. In the case of the Accord, the car itself is long, so it is designed to make the stroke longer and look beautiful when viewed from the side view. In the case of the Civic, the cabin is large, so it is an image that can firmly support it.
When you actually see the Civic from the front or the rear, it swells like an egg, and I am conscious of closing it as I go back and forth. By doing so, the surface itself is squeezed back and forth, so the position of the tire naturally protrudes to the outside. The line around the center is on the outside, and the front and rear lines are narrowed down so that the tires are sticking out. Then, the tires are firmly in the four corners so that you can feel the good running and the good stance.
----: Around the front, the image is a little different from before, such as using honeycomb for the grill. Honda seems to have changed the design taste from around "Vezel", but what is the idea of this new Civic?
Honda Civic New Asano: We are doing it within the same brand, so we are doing it from the perspective of what kind of face we should turn to next, but since Vezel is like this, Civic should have a similar face That's not the case, and the Civic is designed from the perspective that it needs to have a Civic look.
The main aim is that when I've been looking at the Civics of all time, I think that the sporty and youthfulness is the basis of the Civic, so I definitely must not remove it. So, in order to make the face look very fearless, the grille comes out a little (front) while making the upper area look as thin as possible, and headlights are brought to the left and right from there to connect.
This is also a story of the past, but when I searched for something in common while the face of Civic was changing, there was one. The position of the upper grill was a little low, and the headlights were a little high. If the grille is above the headlights and the headlights are on the side or a little below, I think it will look like a slightly more upscale car. (Civic) That's not the case, so the grille and headlights are in the same position as in the past, and I managed to incorporate them.
In addition, the area around the lower grill is boldly designed with a letter "H" so that the stance can be seen very well from any angle.
I wanted to review the position of the center of gravity of the rear
----: I dare to use the honeycomb grill this time, but the honeycomb is also used for the interior. Is this the idea of commonality?
Asano: At the exterior, the sporting expression is easy to understand, so we want our customers to take a quick look and give the impression that it is a sporty car, and we want to have something in common with the interior.
Honda Civic New ----: On the other hand, I have the impression that the area around the rear is finished without any external taste.
Asano: Explaining the intention of modeling, we started by wanting to review the position of the center of gravity for the rear. It is also there that the form of the whole body is made horizontal. If you use the wedge shape as before, the front quarter view will show a lot of movement, momentum and a sense of speed, but the rear will inevitably become tall. For example, the mounting position of the lamp body and the volume of the bumper also affect it, and the butt will inevitably rise. When I went to various countries, not to mention Japan, it didn't seem to be running stably.
Therefore, in order to show a very stable and sharp movement, I wanted to make the rear look like "sitting", so I lowered the volume of the rear as much as possible while keeping it horizontal. It's not just that it keeps falling, but where it tightens properly, we aim for a tight overall volume. Specifically, it is tightened especially under the bumper. It is an image that the inflection of the surface makes the hips rise smoothly. Also, I think that the black graphic below can be shown by lowering the center of gravity by bringing the body color to the bottom without arranging it too high.
Honda Civic New ----: By the way, is the C character of the tail lamp an image of Civic?
Asano: Actually, it has been adopted by both the predecessor and the predecessor, and it has become an eye catcher. At night, it was one character that I could recognize as a Civic when I stepped on the brakes even when viewed from a great distance, so I think this is important and incorporate it. Other manufacturers are also doing various signatures and lines, but I thought that there are few places that have unified the design for three generations in a row, so I adopted it.
Discerning tailgate that realizes a "smooth cabin"
The tailgate that Mr. Kazumasa Asano was particular about ----: It is amazing that the opening of the tailgate wraps around to the side around the rear. What is this commitment?
Asano: This is a very particular point. It was realized in close cooperation with the design. Not to mention how to open the tailgate, but what I wanted to focus on most was a smooth cabin. I'm focusing most on the place where I want to eliminate the part where the corner is made toward the back and it breaks or flutters.
After that, the position of the rear hinge is near the back of the person's head (when he sits down), but this is a hard point and a neck, so it is difficult to lower the roof line. Of course, there is a way to bully (sacrifice) the package to establish the design, but neither Civic nor Honda want to sacrifice the package alone. This started with the common understanding of all the interior design, exterior design, and packaging, and then what to do.
I started by talking about bringing the hinge position to the outside of the pillar. Regarding the cut line, when you imagine a noiseless cabin, for example, if you put the cut line in the middle of the C pillar, it will be ruined at once. I definitely don't want to split the line that flows from front to back. Another method is to put a cut line on the rear glass side and cut it at the lamp body, but in this case, the opening of the tailgate will be considerably reduced. What can we do without making such a sacrifice?
Then I suggested that I go around to the quarter glass, and everyone including the designer tried to go there. I think that the moment I saw it, I thought it was good. I had the designer do a lot of work.
Honda Civic New Exterior Designer Kazumasa Asano