It’s no secret that the 2012 Honda Civic has been the subject of harsh criticism since its launch earlier this year. It’s also no secret that Honda is rushing to redesign the Civic, and while we originally reported that the new car would be coming sometime in 2013 or 2014, a memo to the automaker’s dealer network states that the reworked Civic will arrive before the end of 2012.

We use the term “redesign” lightly, of course. As much as Honda wants to improve upon its new Civic, the truth is that the updates to the car will almost assuredly be the standard mid-cycle refresh kit. Our best guess is that the interior will benefit from more soft-touch materials and added sound deadening and there could be new paint and wheel design options. According to The Associated Press, American Honda President Tetsuo Iwamura stated that the automaker will “improve the Civic’s drivability,” meaning a slight suspension and driveline tuning could be in store, as well.

Still, any improvements will indeed be welcomed. Iwamura told AP that the Civic is still the “leader in compact cars,” but lackluster sales and a failure to earn a Consumer Reports Recommended rating – a first for the Civic – say otherwise.

When you get more, you usually expect to pay more. But that’s hardly the case with the latest Honda CR-V. Despite representing a comprehensive revision of the previous model and packing more features, American Honda has only increased the popular CUV’s base price by an average of $181. Models equipped with the navigation system have actually dropped by $300, on average.

In the grander scheme of things, the base CR-V LX 2WD starts at $22,295 (*not including $810 for destination), while the top-of-the-line EX-L AWD model with navigation comes within spitting distance of the $30k mark. Follow the jump for the press release to view the full breakdown through the various trim levels.

Combining electric propulsion with a performance orientation is a delicate balance. Tesla managed to pull it off to some success. Audi has toyed with the idea with its E-Tron concepts. And some have been experimenting with bringing F1′s KERS regenerative braking system to road-going sports cars.

Honda, for its part, tried to nail it down with the CR-Z, which was supposed to be a hybrid sport-hatch, but like the Lexus CT 200h, it ended up lacking in the “sport” part of the equation. Which is why this latest development has caught our attention.

Just a few weeks ago at the Tokyo Motor Show, Honda showed off a tempting little package called the EV-STER. The concept spoke of a zippy little ride around town, all on electric power. Now, reports are indicating that, based on positive feedback from the show, Honda has already decided to green-light the project and put it into production. Sources suggest it will be ready sometime in the new year ahead, and could offer a more conventional gasoline engine in addition to the electric powertrain.

Of course none of this is to say that Honda would bring the production EV-STER to the North American market, but we’ll be excited if it gets built at all.

Let’s face it, nobody pays MSRP anymore. In fact, the most savvy car buyers among us don’t even pay invoice price. Thanks to Internet pricing sites like TrueCar.com, it doesn’t take negotiating skills or friends in the business to get dealers to sell you cars at deep discount. And that fact has Honda ticked off.

According to Automotive News, Honda has issued an ultimatum to its dealers: Stop selling cars below invoice price through these websites, or lose the per-car marketing spiffs that the factory gives dealers. Since Honda corporate turned the screws on its dealers in October, TrueCar says Honda sales through its service are down.

While many dealers do opt to play ball with TrueCar, offering guaranteed discounted prices up front and hoping to make more money on other aspects of their business, some are not thrilled with TrueCar.

We Lavrincs are unabashed Honda CR-V fans. So much so that both my wife and father have one parked in their respective garages. When it comes to practicality, ideal ride height, fuel economy and ingress and egress, the CR-V is hard to beat. All of which helps to explain why it’s placed either first or second in the compact CUV sales race since it was first introduced to the U.S. back in 1996.

The CR-V allows my wife to shlep a dog, a few cases of wine and untold amounts of catering supplies with room to spare. For my dad, the CR-V means that he can get in and out with ease and drive with the “command view” seating that Boomers are always after. And when asked what they’d like to see changed or improved, their list was remarkably small. Dad wanted softer seats and less road noise, while the wife wanted more cubbies and a bit more connectivity. Without directly conferring with my immediate family, Honda has managed to addressed all of these issues and more with the 2012 model, and it’s thrown in better fuel economy and a host of new features to boot.

Despite all of these improvements, with every automaker pouring hundreds of millions into crossover development and scads of new entrants appearing each year, Honda simply couldn’t afford to take it easy on this model – especially in light of its recent struggles. So with some trepidation, I flew to San Diego, California recently to see if the 2012 Honda CR-V is still good enough to retain its status as my go-to recommendation for the anti-wagon crowd.