The Honda Civic

[BC38]

I owned several of the FIRST Honda imports to the US market - the car that preceded the Civic CVCC.

The Honda N600 and Z600.
These things were TINY. Like smaller than the original Austin Mini Coopers.

They were a "souped-up" version of the Honda N360 - which was only offered in the Japanese market.

The N600/Z600 had a 600CC twin-cylinder air-cooled engine with an integrated 4-speed transmission (like a motorcycle) and a dash-mounted shifter. They had had 10" wheels and a top speed of about 70mph - though sustained speeds at anything over 60mph was pretty taxing on that little air-cooled engine .

They were introduced to the US market in 1970 and running examples are pretty rare today.

Quite a fun little car - if you are into quirky unusual vehicles.

Honda N360 - Wikipedia

 

[venomballistics]

Honda Civic ......
For as many of them I've seen cheating death, dragging their vital organs behind them while charging forward in defiance of the laws of physics, I recommend them.

 

[Muley Gil]

I worked for a Pontiac-Honda dealership in 1974. The manual transmission Civics were pretty sporty; the HondaMatic versions, not so much.

 

[Bullet Bob]

I've considered the Type R uber-Civic, but sadly a wonky left knee and right elbow has taken me out of the manual game.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Hondas have been our daily drivers for well over three decades. All purchased from the same dealership. Excellent vehicles with excellent CS.

We remain sold.

 

[bgrafsr]

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

Wife has a 2010 Ford Exploder. It needed some work as we want to keep it, so we took it to the Ford dealer we like and had the work done. $4,000.00 later it runs and feels like new. No regrets about having the work done.

 

[glenwolde]

This is the classic automotive model of building an economy car then upgrading the features gradually over the years to get more money out of your loyal owners as their income goes up.

They make great cars though. Just recently bought an old one and I'm liking it.

 

[arjay]

Wife has a 2010 Ford Exploder. It needed some work as we want to keep it, so we took it to the Ford dealer we like and had the work done. $4,000.00 later it runs and feels like new. No regrets about having the work done.

I spent about that much on the front suspension,linkage and tires at a bit over 100,000 miles.. The handling is much improved!

 

[Bald1]

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.

If 0-60 in 4.9 is legit. That faster than any 60s-70s American Muscle car. I guess you are paying for technology and performance. Everything evolves. Jeep used to build rugged utilitarian/work vehicles. Now they build a $100k Grand Wagoneer.

 

[CalifEd]

a dollar isn't the same today...

Heck, a dollar isn't the same as yesterday.

I have driven Hondas for the past 25 years, great cars if you keep up on the maintenance but can't take a rear end hit worth a darn.

All of my trade ups have been due to the insurance company payoff because they are totaling the vehicle.

 

[oink]

A poster on another forum had the alternator go out on their 2015 Honda CR-V:
$1385.33 MSRP: $1999.04 You Save: $613.71 (31%) That's for the part alone. It does not include installation!

31100-5X6-J01 - Genuine Honda Alternator Assembly (Csp47) (Denso)

 

[LVSteve]

Heck, a dollar isn't the same as yesterday.

I have driven Hondas for the past 25 years, great cars if you keep up on the maintenance but can't take a rear end hit worth a darn.

All of my trade ups have been due to the insurance company payoff because they are totaling the vehicle.

If your neck and back are still good, it took being rear-ended perfectly.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

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.

This.
My Tacoma is almost as big as a 2005 Ford F150 and Toyota Tundra. The new ones look like semi's

 

[GypsmJim]

Back in the '70's any Honda I ever saw was a complete rust bucket. They couldn't take a northern winter with salt on the road.

My buddy has a couple recent Hondas, and then switched to Toyota because he claimed they were much better.

 

[luvsmiths]

A poster on another forum had the alternator go out on their 2015 Honda CR-V:
$1385.33 MSRP: $1999.04 You Save: $613.71 (31%) That's for the part alone. It does not include installation!

31100-5X6-J01 - Genuine Honda Alternator Assembly (Csp47) (Denso)

First mistake is buying "genuine Honda" from a dealer.2015 HONDA CR-V 2.4L L4 Alternator / Generator | RockAuto