Insurance
New Honda Civic Delayed
October 19, 2011 | 
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For its first six generations, the Honda Civic was on a four-year lifecycle. Mk 7 went to five years, still better than most its competition. And that’s what was supposed to happen with the current model (pictured), which we named 2006 Car of the Year. The Mk 8 Civic’s styling still is cutting edge compared with most other compacts, like the Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra, and two cars soon to be replaced, the Chevrolet Cobalt and Ford Focus. So what’s the problem?
The Civic’s replacement has been delayed a year to the 2012 model, placing the current car on a six-year cycle. Some reports have blamed a last-minute redesign and that Honda wants to cut back on its ever-growing length. That’s not possible: Bumper fascias are designed early in a new car’s development, and they’re not easily changed at the last minute. With all the major engineering work essentially completed, the extra calendar year of development may help Honda comply with more strict U.S. crash standards, however.In truth, the delay is probably more due to the economy and its effect on the world auto market, and on a philosophical shift at Honda.The Toyota Corolla has been on a six-year product cycle for a few generations, and the current car was delayed to the 2009 model year to give designers time to respond to the 2006 Civic’s radical design. Toyota made last-minute design changes to the upper body-it didn’t change the length. Honda, which has been transforming itself from an engineering-based automaker to a marketing-based one, had already planned to ease the Civic into a six-year cycle, but that wasn’t going to happen until after an all-new ’11 Civic launched.The danger is this: While Honda does sell more Accords in the big U.S. market, the Civic has always defined the brand here. Delaying the new Civic could potentially leave room for GM and Ford, which both believe compacts will replace midsize sedans as the primary car segment here in the U.S., time to sharpen their efforts in the compact field. What’s more, the Civic also faces a lot of pressure from ever-improving Hyundai Elantras and Kia Fortes.Bottom line is the delayed ’12 Honda Civic had better be another cutting-edge compact in design and engineering, or the brand will have become just another Toyota wannabe.
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Louisiana Auto Insurance Coverage
Auto insurance coverage has been made mandatory in almost all the states in the United States of America. This is to ensure that every motorist will have enough finances to be able to pay for any damage he might have caused in an accident. This is in accordance with the financial responsibility laws. The state of Louisiana also follows the Tort system of rules. According to the Tort system, in case of an accident, a person has to be found responsible for an accident and this person and his insurance company will have to pay for any and all the damages caused.
Every state fixes a minimum amount of insurance known as minimum liability. For the state of Louisiana, the minimum liability is of the form 10/20/10. This stands for a minimum of ten thousand dollars for bodily injury per person in an accident. The minimum amount for bodily injury in total is twenty thousand dollars, covering two people. The minimum amount for property damage is ten thousand dollars. Bodily injury will cover any medical costs for injuries sustained during the accident and will also cover lost wages, if any. Property damage will cover any damage the car might have suffered. It will pay for any repair or even replacement if needed. It will also pay for damages caused to buildings, fences and lamp posts.
While this is the minimum liability, insurance companies advise the motorist to get insurance for higher amounts. The ideal amount would a hundred thousand dollars for bodily injury per person and three hundred thousand dollars for bodily injury in total.
There are many other forms of insurance coverage as well. One such common insurance coverage is the uninsured motorists’ coverage. This is often confused with underinsured motorists’ coverage. Uninsured motorists’ coverage is used in case you are involved in an accident with a motorist who is not insured. This insurance policy will help you cover any costs incurred in the accident. Underinsured motorists’ coverage is similar. This policy will cover the costs of any damage incurred in case you are involved in an accident with a motorist who does not have adequate insurance.
The next kind of insurance would be physical damage insurance policy. There are two kinds of physical damage policies. They are Collision and comprehensive insurance policy. Collision is a policy that will help you cover the costs of repairing your car in case you are in an accident. If you are in an accident, minimum liability will only pay for the other person’s medical bills and cars. Your car is not covered by that policy. At such a time collision will help you pay for any repair work or even replacement of your car. Some policies even have an option of covering lost wages. Comprehensive policy will cover any damage incurred by the car when it has not been in an accident. This will cover the costs of any damages when the car is damaged by natural agents such as hail or snow or even torrential rain. It will also cover the damages if you car has been vandalised. It will also cover damages in case of theft.
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