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Honda overhauls North American operations with eye towards more autonomy

The increasing sales success of Honda North America (HNA) has led to Honda brass in Japan reorganizing regional operations here. The management shuffling here and in Japan is intended to both streamline and confer more responsibility on HNA "as the region assumes a larger role in shaping Honda's global business," and as Honda builds more facilities that serve several roles in the product development pipeline.
Honda's executive vice president and president of HNA Tetsuo Iwamura was named COO of automotive operations, taking over a position that had been handled by company president Takanobu Ito. Iwamura's new role puts him in charge of anything Honda makes that has four wheels, which Automotive News says equates to 78 percent of the company's global revenue.
The current company CFO, Fumihiko Ike, will fill the now-vacant role of company chairman and Kohei Takeuchi will take his place. Takeuchi is presently the operating officer, general manager of the accounting division. The executive swaps take effect April 1, 2013.

Honda shows facelifted Euro Civic hatch with new Sport variant

Honda has released the details on its freshened Euro-spec Civic ahead of its debut at the 2014 Paris Motor Show, whose media days are set to open next week. Aside from a fairly pleasant visual upgrade for both the standard Civic as well as the Civic Tourer, Paris will also see the arrival of a new Civic Sport model.
The new Civic wears a sportier front fascia, while the rear end is home to a new, stylish set of LED taillights. Honda has also revised the rear bumper, side skirts and spoiler. In the cabin, a new, Android-powered infotainment system called Honda Connect takes its place in the center stack, providing typical functions like radio, media, navigation and Bluetooth, as well as the ability to browse the Internet. The entire system is confined by a seven-inch display that offers pinch, swipe and tap functions that should be familiar to smartphone owners.
The big news, though, is the new Sport model (shown above). While this isn't a Civic Type R - with its 1.8-liter, 140-horsepower engine, it's not even a decaf Type R - it does deliver some more aggressive looks to the Civic line. There are standard 17-inch wheels, as well as a new, sportier Type R-inspired front fascia and a color-coded rear spoiler. Alongside that 1.8-liter gas engine is a 118-hp diesel mill that displaces 1.6 liters.

Acura organizes new business division to confront falling sedan sales

Honda and Acura North America have announced a major restructuring of operations in hopes of turning around Acura's flagging business. For 2013, sales for Acura's sedans dropped 10.4 percent, while its CUV sales grew by 21 percent. The newly formed Acura Business Planning Office will attempt to right the ship.
As part of the restructuring, Acura is promoting Erik Berkman from President of Honda R&D Americas to lead a new division called the Acura Business Planning Office. Berkman has been with Honda since 1982 and led development of the 2006 Accord. He was also the first US engineer to head North American research and development and has been head of Honda Performance Development since 2008. "Erik's appointment to the new Acura Business Planning Office is a clear indication of the high priority we place on Acura," said Honda spokesperson Jeffrey Smith to Automotive News.
American Honda Motor President and CEO Tetsuo Iwamura is also going to be working to improve the business. He has been elected chairman of American Honda's board, and has simultaneously taken the new position of Corporate Brand Officer to improve the management of the company's brands.