The Honda Civic

[Narragansett]

Back in 72, this auto appeared on the American market. About 1200cc's of engine, and I believe around 1500.00 dollars.

Today there is a model of this car for 47,000+/- that has 313 hp and needs premium fuel.

I suppose I would like to drive one with its' 6speed manual tranny, but c'mon man, a near 50K Honda civic?

 

[walnutred]

A friend had a 72 Civic. IIRC it had a max cargo capacity of 500 lbs. If four of squeezed in at once it was overloaded. The starter went out and a replacement was going to be over $100. He pushed started the car for the rest of the time he owned it.

 

[ZGrand]

I had a '75 Civic CVCC and later an '86 Civic SI. Both were great fun to drive.

A $47K Civic does sound crazy, but the average price of a new car is close to $50K!!

 

[arjay]

Car prices are wild. I just dumped more money into the old exploder so I can drive it til I die lol

 

[pantannojack]

I had a 84 Honda hatchback years ago. The manuf EPA window sticked testified 43 MBG. Mine with carburetor, and 4 speed gave me 43 MPG. I don't think they can make cars that good anymore.

 

[Breakaway500]

Ive driven the new Civic R,on track. It is a beast. But..worth $47k? Not if I'm paying the bill.

Back in the day..those 1.2L Civic CVCC engines were lucky to make it to 50k miles before scattering. They weren't really intended for the lead foot of an American use to going 80mph.If you drove them respectably you might make it to 100k. I was selling used parts for Linders Auto recycling early 80s and the amount of calls for those engines was amazing.

 

[Farmer17]

At least you don't have to pay a big premium for cars like we did during Covid. My daughters 2012 Toyota Rav was about to implode and the mechanics said to trade it off immediately, so we started looking and she liked the Hyundai Tuscon and the local dealer said that every car was sticker price plus an additional $8,000! We hit all the dealers within 50 miles and they said pretty much the same thing. I haggled all day as much as I could and we finally bought one for 2 grand over sticker and she was thrilled. When I bought my Ram pickup in 2018 I got it for $11,000 BELOW sticker price.

 

[robvious]

Base msrp of a 1972 Ford Mustang was right at $3,000... today they make one that is well over $100,000... so Honda is just keeping pace... 1972 was a long time ago... a dollar isn't the same today...

 

[Baxter6551]

My father had a canary yellow 75 I think Civic. We were so impressed it had a 5 speed. It might have been an upgrade model I remember it had a wood steering wheel and a wood shift knob. That model you could only get Orange or Yellow. He totaled it DWI. PTSD from WWII.

 

[Walkin Horse]

I saw some kid the other day, driving a Civic with antique plates. I know that's 1999 but it looked funny.

 

[Sevens]

Comparing a 1972 Civic to a 2024 Civic… wouldn't this be kind of like comparing 1953 Corvette to a 2004 (top end, loaded, baddest available) Corvette and faking surprise at how the horsepower and sticker price seems *gasp* so much higher?

 

[Maddog 521]

My wife drives a Turbo 2019 civic. She loves it

 

[LVSteve]

The current Civic is the perfect example of vehicle bloat. It is now way bigger and heavier than my late father's '82 Accord. You can thank the constant American demands for year on year stretch and safety regs.

As for the premium fuel angle, that's always the case the medium/high performance engine with a turbo these days, it's nothing to get excited about.

I drive turbo vehicles exclusively, largely because everywhere out West involves serious elevation at some point. Normally aspirated cars lose 3% of their power every 1000' above sea level. Bag that noise when you are traveling to places or along long stretches of highway above 6000'. A decent turbo set up fixes that issue, as I found recently traveling to Texas on I-40. Cruise on at, errm, "some" mph, and the SUV just sat there running the same pace up the grades to 7000' plus without any downshifts or speed drop-offs. Modern forced induction just plain works.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Back in the day, I remember seeing Rosey Grier smash one flat with his bear hands on an episode of CHIPs.

Ivan

 

[Onomea]

Car & Driver says 0-60 in 4.9. Pretty speedy.

My sister had one she bought used — had it for years — back in the day. She liked it a lot. Cheap and ran forever was its virtue.

 

[dmn57]

Had a '07 Civic for a few years. It was a fun little car with a stick, although it cost $17k, not $47k. Used to joke that my $18k artificial knee cost more than the car I was driving.

 

[WR Moore]

Back in the day, I remember seeing Rosey Grier smash one flat with his bear hands on an episode of CHIPs.

Ivan

Probably made in the same factory that makes all the doors for cop shows. OK, mostly they're breaking into ah....low priced housing, but not always. Or, come to think of it the same factory that maked the saloon chairs that break on people's heads in westerns.

 

[grover99]

A good friend has a Civic. Not sure of the year but it just turned 400,000 miles. I drove it a few times and it is a total rattle trap but keeps on running.

 

[zeke]

The first years of the civic were a lot of fun. Doughnuts in reverse, excellent winter traction with snow tires on the front, reclining bucket seats for date night, gas misers, good acceleration and fun to drive.

 

[arjay]

A good friend has a Civic. Not sure of the year but it just turned 400,000 miles. I drove it a few times and it is a total rattle trap but keeps on running.

My sister finally unloaded her 96 f250 4x4 with 300+ k on it. That thing was unnerving to drive anymore!