(first posted 12/15/2013) It’s hard to remember the web V.1, when interactive commenting wasn’t yet a common feature. I’ve learned more about cars from the comments to my (and others) articles in the past seven years than all the years before. Usually there’s at least some dissension, often quite a bit. But two cars really stand out from all the ones I wrote up at the old site, because the response was so uniformly unanimous (and polarized) about them. Those two cars both first appeared here in 1980: This generation of Honda Civic and the Chevrolet Citation. Need I say more?
gen1 Civic
The Civic’s spectacular rise to the top of the American sales charts in its class is one of the greatest stories in modern automotive history. We covered the first chapter here recently. It was the spiritual successor to the VW Beetle, and like a little cherry bomb lobbed into a Weight-Watcher’s convention. Tiny, tinny, rude and crude as it was, the first Civic already embodied the unique qualities, if in somewhat embryonic form, that would revolutionize the American small car market and establish Honda’s meteoric rise.
And the gen2 Civic was big step forward; now instead of wearing a Civic like a badge of honor, one could now actually step into it and think of it as a legitimate car. How civil and civic-minded. But the best was yet to come.
In 1983, Stephanie developed carpal tunnel syndrome, and she blamed it on the Peugeot 404 wagon I put together for her for $100. It was an awesome car, but it obviously lacked power steering. But in my new job, I had access to perks including a trade-out with a long-term rental outfit in LA. So the Pug sadly went away to good home, and Stephanie found herself behind the wheel of a blue Civic wagon exactly like this one, which still manages to look like new thirty years later. It didn’t have power steering either, but it must have felt like it to her.
Just goes to show you how times change: we had two small kids then; if it was today, it would undoubtedly have been a Pilot or Odyssey. But in 1983, this was the biggest and only wagon Honda made, all 1900 lbs of it, 40% of what an Odyssey weighs. So what do I remember about it? Since it was replaced with a brand new 1984 Civic Wagon (Wagovan/Shuttle) within a couple of months, my impressions are rather overshadowed by its much more memorable and fun to drive gen3 successor.
OK; I’ve transported myself back behind the wheel of the gen2 Civic wagon: it’s adequately big enough even for me, but then I’ve always done fairly well in small cars despite my height. The unassisted steering is surprisingly light and accurate, and the whole car has that distinctive old-time Honda feel: delicate yet robust. It’s the remarkable synthesis of these two opposing forces that were the brand’s hallmark.
The gen2 Civic was not an overtly sporty car, especially the longer sedan and wagon, yet it wasn’t un-sporty either. There’s that Honda juxtaposition again. Honda certainly knew what it took to make wild and screaming motorcycles and sports cars back then, but chose to export relatively mild-mannered cars, at least for the first some years.
The gen2 1500cc Civic CVCC engine generated 67 hp at a modest 5,000 rpm. But it was smoother than any inline four (of similar size) at the time, and had a decent torque curve to keep Americans from having to exercise their right arms too much, since the overwhelming majority back then were sticks. Honda was out to capture the mainstream buyer before it could be troubled to introduce new variations, as that kept production simplified.
The specs of Honda motors explains their torque curve and low redline: these were massively undersquare motors; their 2.91″ bores much smaller than their 3.41″ stroke (almost the same as a 5.7 L Chevy V8). Actually, all Honda fours except the S2000 engine were and still are significantly undersquare, which makes the later DOHC, 16 valve and VTEC engines all the more remarkable for their high revving ability. Some of these fours have strokes close to 4″. That’s getting impressively close to one of the all-time long-stroke champs, the 4.2 L Jag XK engine, which I remember off the top off my head to have a 4.2″ stroke.
The point of that digression departure was the Civic’s lack of overt sportiness. Yet it was always fun to drive, especially given the alternatives of the times. Finding a Civic driver of this era who didn’t have fun with it is about as easy as a 1980 Citiation owner who will rave about its reliability and quality. It’s unanimous.
Before I forget, Honda’s first overtly sporty Civic variant, the S model, arrived for the 1983 MY, the last year of this generation. I haven’t seen one in ages, but here’s one from the web (above). The best I can tell though, is that it didn’t actually have more power (except in some markets), but some external and internal displays of sportiness, a firmer suspension and bigger tires. But it was just the first mild preview of ever hotter coming attractions.
The other Civic hatch variant was this 1300 FE, which was Honda’s mileage queen with (old) EPA numbers of 41/55. That probably adjusts to about a 40 mpg average in today’s numbers, not bad for a carbureted motor without any electronic controls.
This generation Civic was really the breakthrough version in terms of mainstream acceptability, at least on the coasts anyway. In LA, these Civics were massively popular, practically the default car to buy if in the market for a compact economical car with stellar reliability to boot. These were the days when if you wanted one, you put $500 down and awaited a call from the dealer when your car came in. There were probably half a dozen in the parking lot outside my office window. The younger women went for the hatch, but what really sent Civic sale skyrocketing was the sedan, which arrived one year later in 1981.
Quite the smart move by Honda, especially since it arrived in the heart of the second energy crisis. I assure you that a whole lot of fat Cougars and T-Birds were being traded in on these cute baby sedans during that massive run-up in gas prices right when this generation arrived. And not all that much interior space was given up in the process of tripling or quadrupling mileage. The rear seat in the Civic was undoubtedly easier to get at and more commodious than the wretchedly cramped back seats of the personal luxury coupes.
I know if I mention the reliability and durability of these little Hondoos, I’m going to hear it from our rust-belt contingent: “they all succumbed to the tin worm twenty years ago”. So be it. But there’s plenty of these now thirty-year old Civics running around of the streets in daily front-line service here, and as is all too obvious, if kept on a low-sodium diet, they hold up very well indeed, as all these hale and hearty daily drivers show.
Ironically, that does not seem to apply to the thin velvety mouse fur upholstery Honda used in the sedans. The vinyl used in the wagons and most hatches seems to survive ok. But the rest of these Civics were doing their best to cultivate the rep for longevity that Hondas quickly developed.
But Honda was just getting their mojo warmed up with this generation; what followed in the subsequent two generations was perhaps the pinnacle of the Civic, in relation to the their competition and the standards of the times, if not forever. How does one improve on unanimity? Only Honda seemed to know that.
My cousin had a couple of these ’81 hatchbacks, and it made him a diehard Honda man to this day. Albeit, the second car was a wrecked parts car he bought for cheap when the first one lost its engine at low mileage. Luckily he is a mechanic so it wasn’t a huge expense to swap the engines. Other than the engine failure, it was reliable and lots of fun despite its lack of horsepower. However by the early ’90s rust had basically made this car into a rolling junker despite it still being mechanically fit. It was replaced by a 1987 Acura Integra. Even though I never would buy one of these cars, I still have fond memories of cruising in that little Honda. I haven’t seen one in my area in many years though…
Other than the engine failure, it was reliable!!!! Hmmmmm!
What I am saying is other than the engine failing, the car didn’t really have other issues. I don’t recall what caused the engine failure, I’d have to ask my cousin. Regardless of the engine failure, what made this car memorable was that it was fun to drive. Certainly way better than the compact offerings from Detroit at the time.
That’s usually what they would say. GREAT CAR, GREAT CAR, GREAT CAR, then “well, yeah, there was that cylinder head or transmission synchro work”, then back to GREAT CAR. I would hardly consider these a significant step up in durability from a Citation.
Apparently seeking more abuse, I considered replacing my ailing 35K mile old Accord with a new Civic S in ’83. When I went on a test drive in a 600 mile old demonstrator, I got the same crunch going into 2nd gear as from my car. Fail!
Somewhere between the early ’80s and 1990, Honda made massive strides in the durability engineering on their automobiles. This era Civic, while fun, wasn’t there yet as a grown up car.
That is kinda funny when you think about it.
“Yessir, the car we owned was really great despite the total engine failure, the fact that it later caught fire and then finally blew up a year later and killed all my passengers. But it’s ok, because none of the passengers in my car that fateful day were people I liked! 😀 And they got cremated for free! Such a deal!”
Could have been many reasons for engine failure. Maybe the oil level got too low, maybe the oil pan got punctured, water pump or hose could have failed and car was driven too long after overheating, etc. Obviously the engine from the wreck held up just fine. Why insult someone for making an honest post?
And in a somewhat similar vein, folks joke about exploding Pintos, yet I owned one from brand new to 45,000 miles….the gas tank never exploded and I’ve never seen one anywhere where the gas tank had exploded. That Pinto was a decently reliable car.
Funny how folks latch on to 1 item about a car, then repeat it ad nauseum about all cars of the brand.
” Honda Civic and the Chevrolet Citation”
One is not like the other
This generation Civic was used by British Leyland to prove that they could actually build a reliable car, the Triumph Acclaim. Even in our damp and salty climate, a fair few of these survive, due mainly to their initial appeal to retirees, and only in the last few years to classic Japanese car fans. The Acclaim’s reliability was due mainly to it being a 95% Japanese design. I think the only UK made parts were the seats and carpets, which were much nicer than the Honda originals in keeping with the Acclaim’s higher place in the market. Thus, the electrics were from Hitachi not Lucas, factory equipment came over from the Honda factory, and the Honda engineers tut tutted about BL practice of shipping unpainted bodyshells from one factory in the north to the midlands on trucks just to meet government targets to keep factories working. If anything, the Acclaim was a very sad moment- it showed that BL could make good high quality cars. These were made by the same workers as the TR7, Allegro and Marina, not Japanese factory workers brought in, but with different suppliers and a different management structure along Japanese lines- not unlike comparing a NUMMI Chevrolet Nova to an ’86 Cavalier.
Sounds like early proof of what the Nissan factory in Sunderland has shown in the UK, just as Honda, Toyota, Hyundai etc. plants have shown in the US — that bad management and designs usually are the problem when an automaker produces low quality, uncompetitive cars, not a country’s workers having something inherently wrong with them.
Eh, yeah and no, when you have a UAW worker for example drinking on the job and getting high in the parking lot, its tough to blame management and the designers. Management and the designers never intentionally threw nuts and bolts down into the recesses of the cars to create rattles.
It does show that there is a management and morale issue at play. The workers and management need to be on the same page with regard to the future of the company. A happy employee does not sabotage the products he/she is assembling.
Un-fireable because of the union, great benefits, practically lifetime healthcare and employment, deep discounts on new cars, pension, how could they not be happy, its not an ideal job, but then what is? If work was fun, they would have to call it something else.
A lot of the production the Big 3 domestics used to make in southern Ontario has not gone to Mexico and the CAW is a big reason for it, although not the only one. Imagine a manager, who can move his production to Mexico, save 80% on labour and never have to worry about unrest. Welcome to Globalisation.
The real irony is the two most productive plants in Canada, the Toyota/Lexus plant in Cambridge/Woodstock and the Honda plant in Alliston Ontario are non-union. The CAW can’t get the guys to budge.
I tend to give the credit to the management. These companies are very well run and have an excellent corporate culture, one of customer first.
The Acclaim also had S.U. carburetors instead of the Japanese units on the Civic and Ballade.
Guam was full of these things. No snow there, of course, but the Pacific makes sure they don’t get a low sodium diet. Haven’t been there since 1981 but doubt if any of these are still running around. You have quite a collection here and a good story to link them.
Thanks
There is a sedan of this generation that belongs to one of my neighbors, in very good condition externally especially considering that it is always parked outside, and no doubt with astronomical mileage. It is regularly parked next to a late 80s Olds Cutlass Ciera sedan, probably the husband/wife one-owner-from-new cars of a very frugal and somewhat advanced in years couple. If the occasionally talked about CC Awards will include categories for randomly found car owners, that couple would deserve one.
I would take a photograph and submit it here, but I don’t know who the owners are and would rather not exercise my odd habit of photographing old cars in front of neighbors. This thinking is part of the reason why I am so fond of submitting articles about cars found overseas!
Upon seeing the first pic I thought immediately of this.
Me too! Jackie Brown as well, the white Civic even makes a cameo appearance in Kill Bill Vol. 2.
Oh no!! Poor Honda 🙁
I like the Fit in the background of the first picture, a reminder that over the years the Civic went from a small, entry level car to one big enough that Honda had to introduce a smaller car to serve as the entry-level car.
With the kind of rear seat accommodations shown in one of the photos, it might as well have been considered a two-passenger car. While a two-passenger car that runs would be better than an unreliable piece of crap (read: Chevrolet Citation) that doesn’t, it still doesn’t work for families or for couples who have friends.
That’s precisely why the wagon and sedan had a longer wheelbase.
Also in this pic the front seats are most probably moved all the way back. Just look at the depth of that bottom cushion – with the longer wb of the sedan/wagon these were probably very comfortable and accomodating back seats for the avg. adult.
My recollection of the gen1 is the front seats had a long stroke too. With the seats all the way back there was lots of room up front, but you could scoot them forward for rear passengers and still have a good driving position.
My ’83 Civic 1300 4-speed 3-door with optional right-side mirror (purchased new by a sibling for about $4K, given to me 4 years later with 90K miles) was the car that taught me that agility could be more fun than brute American V8 power. The 1300 had 12-inch wheels – all the other variants had 13s – and it handled like a roller skate. I drove it from 1987 to ’97 and donated it because an 1800-pound car is no place for an infant seat. It was spartan (no armrests, painted metal door tops) but a great car nonetheless.
In the mid ’80s these things were literally everywhere, and everyone I knew who had one loved it and swore they’d drive Hondas forever. I was living in Vancouver BC at the time and even then traffic, parking and gas prices made this the ideal car for a lot of people. They were a common sight for 15 years and I still saw a couple on the road last summer when I visited. My brother bought a 2 year old used 4 speed hatch to replace his 1970 Cougar, and it gave him several years of cheap and reliable service.
What finally killed it was an off brand department store oil filter, which did not use the correct seal ring design. The seal failed at high RPM which emptied the oil from the engine. This problem was fairly common and hastened the end of more than one of these cars. Even today the Hondas in our family get only Honda oil filters.
These cars weren’t perfect but they were fun to drive, honest machines and a big contributing factor to the success Honda would enjoy later. Love the wagon!
Looking out my front window at this very moment, I can see four Civics parked on the street, from about 1992-2013. The Civic has been the most popular car in Canada for years and there is a reason for it. It is so popular here that Honda set up a factory here to build it, which is now one of the largest in the country-and non-union, I may add. In fact, the two largest car companies in Canada are both non-union. Neither has ever had a lay-off, either.
The Civic is an excellent car for Vancouver. It is cheap to buy and run, it’s reliable, it has lots of kit for the money (the new ones, anyway), plenty of room for most families. The have a really good driving dynamic if you get into the mountains and adequate power without going to the poor house. Finally, if you do decide to sell your Civic here, you’ll have it gone in a day for a really good price. They have the best retained value in the class. This makes for really low lease payments. My niece recently got a 2013 EX for $260 a month all it, very cheap for Canada. My buddy just sold his 2008 Civic off lease for $1500 more than the residual.
You can’t beat that kind of value, so the Civic is ubiquitous here.
I had a 1300 84 5 door gen2 Civic good little bomb actually, fortunately without the nightmare emissions crap that adorned the US versions coz the carby was the only thing that gave trouble, though once the crud was blown out of it the car ran fine good on gas and generally quite reliable, It only took one more generation of Civic until Honda lost the plot and started building fat cars, Thats when they lost me as a customer.
The JDM cars were not substantially less adorned with emissions control equipment. The 1978 Japanese smog laws were pretty close to the U.S. federal standards; I haven’t compared them to the ADRs for Australia.
Mine was NZ assembled in Nelson not ex JDM or Australian, NZ cars never got the ADR emission equipment, they are substantially different. I know the plumbers nightmare was in the owners manual but not on the car, nor is it on any others still on the road here. Even Australian cars like Holdens and Fords which I was very familiar with re emission controls from when I lived in Australia have none of that stuff fitted for NZ assembly.
I miss small wagons like that Civic.
I love that body style, remember when the Japanese auto manufactures all made cool station wagons …. the “80’s” era Camry wagon was particularly nice.
Always liked those “80’s” era ….Japanese station wagons… the Camry wagon from that era was particularly nice.
I’ll always remember this vintage of Civic from its appearance in Pulp Fiction as Bruce Willis’ girlfriends ill fated white Civic hatchback “I had to crash that Honda baby…” and as Pam Griers’ ride down and out stewardess on the wrong side of the law in Jackie Brown.
HA! That’s exactly what I thought when I spotted this thread…thanks for beating me to the punch!
box.
Is it me or does the white Civic in the photos have old Omni/Horizon wheel covers?
“Tiny, tinny, rude and crude”? Not my gen1 CVCC 5-speed. It was small but had plenty of room up front, a little tinny yes, certainly not rude and crude. When my new ’77 replaced my ’72 Pinto I thought I had bought a BMW. So smooth, so tight, so well made, so responsive! I still miss that car. Sold it much too soon when I moved West, sure wish I had kept it.
I was disappointed with the gen2 styling, it lost gen1’s eager sportiness. I’m glad you showed the red Civic S, it still has that quality, especially in red like my gen1 was. I’d forgotten about the S, it got overshadowed by the fantastic ’83 CRX.
I remember test driving a 1981 Civic, I couldn’t believe how heavy the manual steering was for a small car, I suppose you would get used to it, but we got an Accord sedan instead.
Love that burgundy striped Toyota van. Don’t think I’ve ever seen that one around town.
My Civic experience is limited to my old roommates 2000 hatch. We drove it to Utah and all around the southwest a few years back. Great running car, very economical, and lots of storage room for its size. Fantastic car.
Ive never been a fan of these cars, actually. My only real experiences with Civics have been limited but not the greatest:
A college buddy’s g/f now wife had a ’96 coupe with slushbox. Total slug, although reliable and roomy. Still….S-L-O-W.
An ex g/f needed a car back in 2001 so I freed up a little cash and made the mistake of keeping it in a joint account. I specifically told her ‘Do NOT buy a car without me, and/or your dad signing off on it!’. We checked out a good many, and I made the mistake of not jumping on a really clean 5spd ’87 Dodge Daytona. She came home one day with a beige ’85 Civic sedan. Didn’t bother to even tell me, or have anyone look at it, just plunked down $1500, didn’t even negotiate the price. It was clean for its age, I figured hell its a slushbox sedan so it cant possible be thrashed. Took one test drive and I knew we were boned. Felt like the whole front suspension was going to shake right out of this cheap, tinny, and agonizing slow little turd. She had it all of 3 months before a key sheared off of the camshaft. Being an interference engine, that of course meant it wiped out every valve and damaged a couple pistons too. Wouldve cost near the price of the car to fix it, so I basically kissed $1500 goodbye. What a shit box.
I haven’t seen one of the 2nd generation Civics in years. I thought they all rusted away by now. Around here, NE Illinois, it’s difficult to find a Civic from earlier than about 2000 as they’ve almost all rusted away. I have no idea what Honda used for rustproofing, but it failed miserably in the Midwest winter’s salted roads.
Interesting how in one part of the country these can be in such good shape and be considered reliable while in another they’re practically all gone and considered a rust bucket.
So I am definitely biased here, as an 82 sedan was my first car, but I would nominate this generation of the civic for best small car. It was and still is the best car that I ever owned. Rust eventually did her in, but not before it racked up a quarter of a million miles on it. I have not seen one in years around these parts.
I was wondering when you were going to post on this thread 🙂
When ever I see pics of this generation of Civic, I think about that famous picture of the green Civic wagon that was partially crushed by the collapsing roadway in the horrible 1994 Northridge Earthquake.
By the way in the first pic with the white Civic, in the background is a Honda Fit? Would that be the spiritual successor to the 2nd gen Civic or is it bigger?
It’s amazing how in the background of almost every one of the pictures is at least one other Honda….
I was wondering if anyone would notice.
Love the Honda range ad that Paul reproduced in this excellent piece. Does anybody still do those Ogilvy-esque, copy-heavy ads any more, or is everything now limited to a very enhanced image, a shout-line, and interminable mandatory small-print? I miss READING ads!
Interesting how there are a few negative memories of these cars amongst all the positive nostalgia. My friend bought a new ’80 or ’81 1500 5-speed for his long commute and we also used it for many long and quite high-speed camping trips in the Sierras, often with 3 or 4 adults … and this was a hatchback. Based on this experience, I bought a new 1982 1500DX hatch (with the rectangular headlight facelift) and it saw much the same use. 45K miles in two years, zero problems, and 40+ mpg the whole time with a young, leadfoot ex-Showroom Stock racer behind the wheel, and I sold it to buy a 4wd truck for damn near what I paid for it. My friend put over 200K troublefree miles on his Civic, and went through several more Si’s and a 2nd-gen Integra, all troublefree well north of 150K miles. And regarding handling and performance …. like many car buffs I was waiting for the first VW GTi to be introduced in the US. As soon as they appeared at my local dealer, I drove one – and didn’t think it was a sufficient step up from my Civic to be worth the extra $$ and mpg hit. Sounds odd, I know, but the smooth engine and light feel of the Civic was really quite good for the day. Just last week I rode in a colleague’s Acura ILX (Civic clone) loaner and I was shocked at what the Civic has become. There are still a handful of these gen2 Civics in my town and unlike a decade ago, when they were all junkers, the reamining ones are obviously well loved.
I think the Civic Sport was based on the home-market Civic CX, which was launched with the rest of the “Super Civic” line in 1979. The CX had a rear anti-roll bar, slightly wider tires, and the 1,488cc EM engine with 85 PS JIS instead of 80. (I believe these were gross ratings.)
The European version took a slightly different tack. The engine in the Triumph Acclaim was similar to the EM engine, but without the catalytic converter and EGR and with two S.U.s instead of the single Keihin, giving 70 hp DIN. The European Civic Sport did the same thing, but with two Japanese Keihin carburetors instead of the S.U.s; output was the same.
A bit surprised by all the Gen2 Civic love…..when obviously it was the Gen3 range (’84 to ’87) that really hit it out of the park…!! Much more of a great leap forward, in style, content, better interiors, model range (CRX … tall wagon…), power, economy, handling… It was this generation, and the very range-similar Gen4 (’88 to ’91) that are, for me, the pinnacle of the Honda Civic. It’s been gradually, but relentlessly downhill ever since. The Civic, while still successful, is not what it once was – it has lost its original essence. By the way, that Citation on the trailer, if that’s a recent pic, might be one of the last ’80 X11 Club Coupes in existence. Always pretty rare – even more so now. That one might be worth saving, despite what became of the rest of them…!!
Agreed. Which is why in the last paragraph I said this: what followed in the subsequent two generations was perhaps the pinnacle of the Civic, in relation to the their competition and the standards of the times, if not forever.
This is the Honda that started my Honda itch. I remember my former boss in 1981 driving up to work in his long-awaited Civic sedan and everyone swooning.
Fast forward 32 years and I still haven’t bought a Honda, though through no fault of theirs except not having the right car at the right time for me. Although they came really close this last go around with the CR-V.
Maybe next time….
Really late getting here (with the run up to Christmas etc I’m about 5 pages behind). One of my sisters’ first car was an ’82 Civic wagon. Burgundy exterior, cream cloth interior, 1500cc, 5 speed manual. Bought from the original owner in 1992. Dad had previously been a mechanic at the local Austin-Rover-Honda dealer and had known and serviced the wagon since new.
My sister was an enthusiastic driver at the time, and the Civic was crashed twice. The first time the engine ended up tipped back into the firewall, but it still ran sweetly (although made a fair bit of noise vibrating on the firewall!). A small date with a panel beater solved that wee problem and the Civic ran smoothly, economically and reliably for another couple of hundred thousand kilometres.
The late 90s saw it spin on a corner into a roadside ditch. The car was twisted lengthwise – so much so that the front right driveshaft was ripped out and was a good 3 inches forward from where it was meant to be… And yet the engine still ran as sweetly as the day it was new… My sister loved it so much it was replaced with a gen 3 Civic ‘S’ 3-door that she still has (albeit it’s been completely unroadworthy for many years due to enthusiastically rampant rust).
Anyway, the gen 1-4 Civics were fun wee car that represented all that used to be right about Honda. I reckon the Mazda3 is the Civic of today – similar slightly ‘different’ feel about it. Great article Paul!
After my girlfriend drove my 2011 Honda Civic while we were on a vacation last spring, she became a hard-core fan of the car. Her most recent car purchase was a 2003 Civic with 89000 on the odometer and she is absolutely THRILLED with it. Not only does it get awesome mileage, but it could also be described as “tiny but mighty” in performance and durability.
Well done article! I liked this generation of Civic, especially the 5-door hatchback version, which was also sold as the “Honda Quint” in Japan. I think it’s a shame that Honda doesn’t sell their Civic 5-door in North America anymore. Here is a photo of the 1983 version (source: Wikipedia).
Thats the one I had but in red.
So the blue Civic with Oregon License plate MQT 206….I totally just bought that car on Craigslist a few days ago.
I am not sure how I missed this first time around. There are two cars that I felt really on the ground floor on – the Olds Cutlass and the Honda Civic. The Cutlass because my family owned at least one of every generation of Cutlass through the first four.
I got acquainted with the Civic because we got several of the Gen1 cars as loaners. My mother bought a 74 Luxury LeMans. When it needed service work, the salesman was an older gentleman who lived near us and he would pick up our car and leave a bright yellow Civic hatch to use for the day.
We drove several of those early Hondas (including 2 weeks with a Hondamatic wagon around 1976 after I wrecked the LeMans). That dealer (Don Ayres in Fort Wayne) sells Hondas to this day, long after Pontiac has disappeared.
It occurs to me that my mother would have been a natural Honda buyer when she decided to downsize in 1980. The problem was that this would be her only car and she wanted something small “but plush”. The Civic was a lot of things, but “plush” was not one of them. Had there been a larger car in the family there could have been an 80 Civic as a second car instead of the Plymouth Horizon that she bought.
One of the earliest local Honda dealers in our area (Santa Clara County, CA) also began primarily as a Pontiac dealer, Larry Hopkins in Sunnyvale, and continues to this day as one of the major Honda dealers in the region after dropping Pontiac.
I felt Honda’s excellent ‘We Make it Simple’ ad campaign at the time, with Burgess Meredith voice overs, was an integral part of their flourishing success. Even if you didn’t know anyone who experienced a Honda yet, their ads promoting quality, well engineered, and well optioned small cars, was enough to pique your interest.
I purchased a 1973 Civic hatch in October of that year. This was about 6 months after Honda introduced the Civic in New Jersey. I was a senior in high school and teachers and students all told me the same thing. “Honda builds great motorcycles but they will never be a car builder”.
Blue wagon brings back memories good and bad. I had my 68 Cougar from 1969 and retired it in 1973 as my after school job gave me several different company cars between 1973-77. Then I drove the Cougar first year of grad school, and then my mother’s Audi 100LS for another year.
Gas being expensive I went out to buy my first new from the beginning new car while the Cougar was retired again. The new car was a 1980 Honda Civic wagon with 5 spd, in brown. It was a very nice car in my opinion and it was babied all the way up to January 1986.
At 103,000 miles it wiped a couple of cam lobes and started to run poorly. I was quite upset given the Honda reputation. Sold it off and bought a 1986 Mazda 626 and have owned several more of them over the years. I have never bought another Honda. Would I buy a Gen 2 if I ran across a nice one now? Yes, because I am also a more accomplished mechanic now besides owning a copy of my first new car.
My dad bought a brand new 1977 5-speed in bright red and shortly thereafter, I learned to drive in it. Seemed pretty sporty for time and place.
Dad (6’2″), Mom (5’2″), brother (5’10”) and I (then 5’9″) piled in for a road trip from New Mexico to Michigan to visit grandparents. A little squishy, room-wise, but we made it. MPG somewhere in the 30’s was a deal for the time.
The paint and vinyl didn’t care for the southwest sunshine. It was a flat red in only a year or so, and the driver’s seat had foam sticking out soon thereafter; however, it was the 70’s and Honda wasn’t the only company with sub-par materials. After the third head gasket in 30K miles, the last of which was accompanied by a bottom end rebuild, we punted it in 1980 before it broke again and might not be covered by warranty.
The reliability issue was the biggest reason for selling it, but the folks started wondering about its relative safety after seeing the remains of another Gen 1 Civic that had been in a head-on with a drunk, resulting in a double fatality. Enter the 1980 Volvo 244 DL which stayed in the family for 20+ years.
If memory serves, the head gasket thing was sorted out by Gen 2 and, as many have pointed out, Honda’s reputation (and sales) skyrocketed from there.
When the Fit made its debut, I was amazed by its efficient use of space, but, like many, somewhat amused that it was now the little Honda since the Civic was by then notably larger than the original Accord.
I owned an ’82 Civic and an ’84 Civic S.
The ’84 felt like a more substantial, real car, a long term keeper car.
The ’82 felt more like a lightweight adult toy.
I had a 1980 Civic hatchback that iI drove for four years. It was traded in on a 1984 Civic Wagon. My son and his friends all called it the spacemobile. I or the wife drove it until 2003, when our son blew the engine for the second time by running it out of oil. I then bought a 1987 CRX and drove it for three years before trading it in on an Acura Legend in 1990. We kept the Legend for 16 years and 228,000 miles. We had 11 years of no car payment with that car. I sold it to one of my employees and bought a 2006 Odyssey. We needed a vehicle that was easy for an elderly person to get in and out of. My father had moved in with us and it was easier to use than the Legend. The Odyssey was also used as a shop vehicle. I could deliver a 60 inch projection television with the Odyssey. It also got much better mileage than the other service truck. I got rid of the Odyssey when I closed our business late in 2011. It had over 200,000 miles from all of the service calls. In all of the Honda vehicles that we owned there was never a lemon or anything approaching a lemon. All ran well and all lasted well. Even the 1984 Civic wagon was not at fault as our son could not be convinced to check the oil occasionally. After retirement we have not had another Honda and probably will not as our current vehicle, a 2003 Ford Escape only has 60,000 miles and we only drive about 3000 miles per year. It should last longer than we will at this point. I do remember all of the Hondas with fondness. I did have one other Honda. A 1994 VFR750F that I also got rid of when we moved to Mexico. That one had 122,000 miles when I sold it to my cousin. Almost six years later, it is still running well and keeping him happy.
Saw this several weeks ago.
http://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4256/35267366760_7135d26a25_b.jpg
The 1980 Civic 1500 was my first car that I got, while still in college. So many fond memories. After driving Escorts and Omni’s that my dad owned, the Civic’s light crisp shifter, eager engine, ergonomically perfect interior and general fun-to-drive air was a revelation. I loved that car and to date it is still the best car I’ve ever owned. Too bad the Ohio winters took their toll over the years and I had to get rid of it when the floorpan rusted through (my Fred Flintstone car).
My buddy’s father bought him a new Civic for 1980, it was a 5 speed with a lot of options. My other buddys father liked the car so much he bought a stripper 4 speed 1981. Even as 17 year olds we appreciated the fit and finish.
Thank you for having this great article here! Still lovin’ my ’83 at 476,000 miles and still 47 mpg hwy!
I recall, as a young teenager at the time, I preferred the crisper styling of the Mazda GLC, and the Rabbit. Even the Dodge Colt’s looks, appealed more to me then. The clarity of the family resemblance to the Accord, was well done.
From some angles, the nose/hood on the three door seems disproportionately long, looking from today’s POV.
As we will see in an upcoming COAL I had mixed success with one of these though they were such a cut above the other cars of the era. And obviously still on the road in Washington State last week as I was following one for quite a while on the highway.
These are the worst Honda Civic’s, Just a rehashed Gen 1.
These have all but disappeared in New Zealand, mainly due to rust.
The stupid rubber inserts that run along the roof are rust traps.
The PEAK Civic would be DOHC Gen 2 3 door hatch with the Gen 5 DOHC VTEC SIR a close second.
I did drive a Gen 5 JDM SIR auto sedan a lot years ago when I worked for garage/car lot which I really liked despite being a sedan and auto, I would have brought from my boss if had been a manual.
Calling this the best small car is like saying a Yugo or Austin Allegro is the best european small car.
I meant to say the Gen 3 was the peak Civic, the DOHC 1.6 would have been extremely rare in the Gen 3, perhaps 86 or 87 only.
The 12V 1.5 being the most common.
Around 1986 Honda seemed to upgrade the engines from SOHC to DOHC on heavily facelifted old JDM platforms and then carry over the engines to the next generation a few years later.
Gen 1 CRX’s and Gen 2 Preludes were other Hondas I recall seeing at the turn of the century that were upgraded to DOHC during there last years.
The Gen 3 had that pure 80’s RADWOOD style while the Gen 2 looked like a proposed mid 70’s facelift of the original Civic.
And a two speed semi automatic. Years after GM had retired the Powerglide.
2 1/2 speed – it was an early example of a lock-up torque converter.
Designed not to waste too much fuel, like a normal slushbox.
Honda also use the same principal in their CVTs – gives a smoother start and a lower ratio. You can slightly feel the lock and then it begins variating.
I’ve come to appreciate the early-generations in retrospect. Japanese regulations made the first-generation seem bafflingly tiny in comparison to European cars. When a FIAT 127 looks big…the second gen did seem more sensible and rapidly acquired a good reputation.
The references to the Triumph Acclaim are moot; that our BL ‘werkers’ could throw them together and the results come out well said as much about the design qualities of Honda as it did about the ineptitude of BL’s mange-ment and ‘designers’ at the time.
As good as a car the 1983 Civic was (and still is); I believe that the revamped 1984 Civic was an even better car.
I remember when those 1984 Civics showed up in my area. They made everything look obsolete, even cars that cost five times as much. The 2nd generation Civics were super-competent, and they were the right cars for the austere times, but the 3rd generation Civics made a mockery of their competition. You could still buy a Chevrolet Chevette or a VW Rabbit in 1984. Ford still hadn’t meaningfully facelifted the feeble Dearborn Escort. Leftover Renault Le Cars were still available next to nightmare Renault Alliances. Meanwhile, Honda was replacing a car that had already rendered them all consolation prizes with one that revealed its predecessor to be an unambitious ’70s econobox. They also came up with four body styles that each inspired buyers of disparate needs and desires to reach for their checkbooks.
Totally agree with Paulson.