2013 Honda Civic previewed

Honda has restyled the front and rear fascias, hood and trunk lid of the Civic. The interior is also expected to get a significant restyling to incorporate more premium, soft-touch materials. Honda has not yet revealed the redesigned interior.

The Civic's restyling was accelerated by Honda after the 2011 model, which marked a complete redesign for the car, was widely criticized for its bland design and extensive use of cheap-looking plastic on the interior.

Civic sales in 2011 suffered in the wake of the criticism, along with parts shortages caused by the earthquake in Japan. Sales of the Civic totaled 221,235 units in 2011, down 15 percent from 2010. Through the first 10 months of this year Civic sales totaled 254,716, up 38.8 percent from the same period last year, as dealers have more cars and Honda has been aggressive with incentives to reignite sales.

For the 2013 model, the Civic gets a new front bumper design with lower air inlet, a honeycomb grille insert and redesigned headlights. The new hood has sharper character lines.

Out back, the redesigned trunk lid has a sharp rear edge and the taillamps flow into the trunk. The redesigned rear bumper includes a new lower diffuser with a honeycomb vent.

The debut of the 2013 Honda Civic is scheduled for Nov. 29.

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