Honda Plans Swoopy Civic Wagon for Europe

Honda Motor Corp. says the Civic wagon concept it will present at next month's Geneva auto show offers "strong cues" to the look of the production model.

Honda's sketch of the compact car reveals a swooping roofline with "floating" D-pillar and hidden rear door handles, wrap-around taillamps and pronounced body creases above the front and rear wheel wells.

The zoomy wagon, which will go on sale in Europe at the end of the year, will be produced at Honda's assembly plant in Swindon, England. The company says it will not offer the model in the U.S.

Auto Express says the wagon may be called the Civic Aerodeck, a name Honda has used before for its European Civic wagons. The British enthusiast magazine speculates that the wagon will offer the same choice of four-cylinder engines already available for Civic hatchbacks: 1.4- and 1.8-liter gasoline powerplants and 1.6- and 2.2-liter diesels.