Honda launches 9th generation Civic with music contest

We can’t recall ever bursting into song at the sight of the ubiquitous Honda Civic, but that’s what the manufacturer is looking for as they launch the ninth generation of the urban runabout with a songwriting competition on Facebook. Those inspired by the Honda car for the common man have until June 5 to submit their compositions.

"We've seen a high crossover of Civic fans and music lovers. And with the launch of the 2012 Honda Civic we saw a perfect opportunity to give our amazing fans a little bit of both," said Steve Center, vice president of national marketing operations for American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "We know our talented fans will show off their skills and submit some great Civic-inspired tunes onto our Facebook page."

Honda claims to have already received a number of tracks from a diverse group of musicians writing about the Civic Sedan and Coupe, the sportier Civic Si and the high mileage Civic Hybrid. Interested songwriters should visit http://pub.honda.com/Xqp to enter.

Voting will begin June 8 and run through July 17. More information on how to submit or vote can be found on the Sounds of Civic tab on the Honda Civic Facebook page.

When the votes are counted July 17, eight finalists will each receive $2,500 in music gear from Sam Ash Music Stores. The composer of the music getter the most votes out of the finalists will receive a brand new 2012 Civic and the opportunity to perform live at a 2011 Honda Civic Tour date in L.A.

To kick-start the program and invoke the muse, Honda contacted several popular YouTube musicians to create songs about the 2012 Civic. Among these were Maria Zouroudis, Julia Dales, Greg Holden and Madi Diaz, as well as Los Angeles hip-hop artist, Free Will, whose videos are on the Honda Civic Facebook Page as well as the Honda YouTube channel.

Throughout the contest, fans can follow updates through the soundsofcivic hashtag on Twitter and the Sounds of Civic tab on the Honda Civic Facebook page.

The 2012 Civic lineup went on sale at Honda dealerships nationwide on April 20 with a base price starting at $15,605. The line features the conventional gasoline-powered Civic Sedan and Coupe, two high-performance Civic Si models, the Civic Hybrid, a Civic Natural Gas variant and an all-new Civic HF high fuel economy model.

All models have received higher EPA fuel-economy ratings over last year’s models by as much as 8 percent on the highway in Civic Sedans and Coupes equipped with automatic transmissions.

The Civic Hybrid gets up to 44-mpg city and highway combined.