on ThursdayBy Mike Gendall / The Daily ItemLYNN – Kelly Honda will unveil the redesigned 2012 Honda Civic at a pre-Earth Day launch party Thursday evening.General sales manager Eric Hofer said he is expecting a good turnout for the showing, which will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at Kelly Honda’s 540 Lynnway showroom.In addition to a peak at the remodeled ninth-generation Civic, attendees will be treated to food, music, prizes and a $300 first-payment voucher to be put toward a purchase of any new or pre-owned car at Kelly Honda by the end of May.But the focus will be on the Civic.”There’s a lot of interest in the car,” Hofer said. “We’re expecting sales to be tremendous.”Starting at $19,405, the Civic’s high fuel efficiency makes it a particularly attractive option given the recent spike in gas prices, Hofer said.The event also marks something of a celebration for Kelly Honda, as March was the strongest month in the history of the company. Kelly Honda sold 228 automobiles last month, Hofer said, easily topping its previous high of 210, set back in the Cash-for-Clunkers promotion of 2010.One reason for that, Hofer said, is that customers from outside the Greater Lynn area are beginning to make the drive to Lynn in greater numbers to take advantage of bargains.”For a long time it was hard to get the message out that we are a competitor,” Hofer said, noting that there are 18 Honda dealers within a 10 miles of Boston. “We used to be 12th or 15th, now we’re sixth in the district in number of sales in the market. People are starting to take the drive to Lynn. It’s worth their time to take the drive.”Kelly Honda now gets customers from as far away as New Hampshire and the South Shore, according to Hofer.”The Kelly Auto Group has a good reputation from customers; you can’t find a lot of bad reviews,” Hofer said.According to Honda’s own customer satisfaction surveys, he added, Kelly Honda finished No. 2 in the district, and finished in the top 300 out of 1,044 dealers nationwide.”We used to be off the beaten path for people – they didn’t want to come all the way to Lynn,” he said. “They’re realizing now they should come to Lynn to take advantage of the savings and the customer service.”