Its the one obvious thing Honda hasn't learned (or chose to ignore) over the years, many people like power/torque and automatics (and not CVTs). So they didn't bother developing anything. The Accord 2.0T and 10 speed can't be shoehorned into a luxury model Civic, wouldn't that sell?
Civic has been the top selling passenger car for many many years and Corolla is finally outselling them this year. I don’t think the CVT is hurting them. To people buying a commuter car, an automatic is an automatic is an automatic.
Yeah, true, and they won't have a problem selling a bunch of them either, base engine or 1.5t.
I was thinking more of the performance versions, and possibly the upcoming hatch. There are different market segments available for the Civic, and Honda only fills one (performance, stick shift). The other segment is plentiful enough power and torque (2.0T) + luxury including much needed sound deadening, and adjustable suspension, to compete with cars like my GLi.