About two years ago, I came across a fairly well kept early second generation Civic near our theater rehearsal studio in San Salvador. If anything, these Hondas, along with vehicles like the Taurus, just say 1980s for me. If the seventies was the time when many of us first heard of Civics and Accords, the eighties was the decade we knew they had arrived to stay for good. And since in the remaining part of the year I came across a few more Civics of the ’80s, why not a short, incomplete look through that Honda decade with these survivors?
We’ll start with this one, which could be a late ’79 to ’80 model. And if you’re reading this in the States and think this car may have been yours, you might be right. All the Hondas in this post are US sourced, as we were enduring an economic embargo from ’80 to ’85 in the midst of the Salvadorian Civil War, and after that, it took Honda a few years to make an official return to this nation.
The styling of these ’80-’83 models was just a clean evolution of the themes created in the seminal first generation. Nothing ground breaking in these 2nd gen. models, but clean, efficient, and attractive in a late ’70s kind of way. And with their efficient FWD layout, pretty spacious for their tiny dimensions.
The hood vents, an early Civic styling trait. Apparently, a later addition in the first generation’s design process, when early test cars overheated under testing conditions in Tokyo’s summer.
Far less presentable, and in what looks like what will be its last parking space, another second generation, this one in sedan form. A body style that first appeared on the Civic in ’80.
The square headlights date this to ’81-’83.
Little did we know this logo would remain with us to our days…
… as well as the Honda font.
Along the Accord and soon to appear ’82 Prelude, Honda was expanding, thus the Civic notchback. It was still the early ’80s though, and as I can see on this survivor, passenger side mirrors were still optional.
The true styling break was with the ’84 models, with their very clean aerodynamic Origami modernity. However, that’s perhaps a bit hard to see with this rather battered daily driver, but well, this one ain’t even in the city. Rather, the rural surroundings of Suchitoto. Oh, the dirt roads you must have seen, little fella!
The profile in this one, however, does give a better view of that 1980s angular modernity despite all the bruises.
That plasticky rear light area is also very 1980s. Not from the era? The 3M reflective tape, Salvadorians’ go-to solution to non working taillights.
Not only did Honda keep growing in the ’80s, but so did the Civic family. Here’s an offspring; on the left, the Marlboro man’s preferred CRX. An ’83-’87 model, next to another very me-decade car, a Toyota Tercel.
I’ll close this ’80s Civic tour with the most recent find, a Civic Wagon, known as the Shuttle in most places.
The Wagon was one among a few explorations in packaging that Japanese and European makers played with during the ’80s. With its taller profile, space efficient interior and small footprint, these Civics found their fans. Some of these also came with 4WD, though that doesn’t seem to be the case for this one.
With production of the 3rd gen. Civics coming to an end in ’87, this Wagon is pretty well preserved. That’s basically four decades of use on a vehicle that I doubt has ever been anywhere near a restoration shop.
And talking about non-restored, when’s the last time you saw an early Integra in “original” condition? Yes, a Honda sourced bonus today, with what looks to be a barely surviving ’85-’89 Acura Integra. And don’t those eyes look mighty tired on this one?
I guess the 4-door sedan body has kept this one from being fixed up in a Fast And The Furious form, and in its current condition, I doubt that anyone will take that challenge. So, original, not pristine, and thus, a beater Integra. Not something I see every day, but undoubtedly a very curbside classic kind of car.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1980-1983 Honda Civic (gen2) – The Best Small Car By Unanymous Consent
Curbside Classic: 1984 Honda Civic DX (and 1987 Si) Hatchback – Peak Civic?
Curbside Classic: 1984 Honda Civic Wagon – A Fun Box Of Practicality
Curbside Classic: 1987 Honda Civic 4WD Wagon (Shuttle) – The Automotive Swiss Army Knife
I wish I could say that first red Civic could be mine, but mine was a 1982 with the rectangular headlights. One of the best cars I’ve ever owned. But I got seduced by a 4wd pickup truck and before 1983 ended, my brief foray into Honda (car) ownership had ended. The 3rd and especially 4th generations were probably better cars, and very appealing in Si or 4WD wagon form, but in some ways the 2nd generation was peak Civic. Honda has done an amazing job keeping the brand for 50 years but to me they haven’t really been Civics for decades.
Such great cars, all of them. Of the generations featured here I think my first ride in one was an early 80s wagon that belonged to my parent’s friends, it was small but seemed so roomy.
Then in high school a weekend trip down the coast to San Diego with a friend in an ’82 or so (tan with the square headlights) 2-door hatchback and in immaculate 4year old condition, smooth and capable down I-5, again impressive.
Another friend in high school got a brand new blue ’86 Wagon for himself (not the typical high schooler’s ride of choice, but it was definitely HIS choice, replacing a Datsun wagon and he made full use of the wagon profile), lots of beach trips in that one.
And a girl I knew in college had an early Integra 3-door which I drove from the Central Coast to Lake Tahoe and back over a skiing holiday around 1991, that car very much impressed even with its automatic transmission, again so smooth and plenty powerful with handling that was sublime.
I then had two Civics of my own later on that were little jewels (A new 2008 EX and a used 2008 Hybrid), but for one reason or another I didn’t keep long term. I think nowadays I would keep them for far longer though as I’ve found myself changing a bit as regards those parameters.
Given the choice of any Civic to own at this point I think I’d prefer a 1991 Civic Si or a 1982 regular hatchback but you can’t go wrong with any from any generation, simply great little cars that were built for a purpose, sold for a fair price, and far exceeded any reasonable expectation.
As the owner of two street parked hooptie 80s cars, I admire the dedication (or desperation?) it takes to keep cars like these on the road. It also takes a certain ability to ignore minor problems. I am particularly impressed by the non tuned Integra.
All of these are great finds, and I rarely encounter any of them. As for the last time I saw an early Integra in original condition, I saw this 1988 Integra a few years ago. I may have seen one or two since then, but this was the last one I was able to photograph:
Nice to see these survivors .
I wanted a 1st. generation CRX Si but never was able to land one .
I was gifted one of those “Wag-O-Vans”, it really was a nice little trucklet and my Sweet said I should keep it and use as my shop truck but I sold it on dirt cheap instead .
-Nate
Had the first generation. A 1974. Light blue. A revelation. Everything was designed with perfection. Never before had I experienced an intuitive, thoughful driver’s experience. An array of pleasant clever surprises. I graduated from Valiants, Dusters, Falcons, and Pintos, so having a car engineered around the driver was a totally new experience.
But it had the CVCC engine. Didn’t last. Replaced it with a Ford Fairmont. Discovered that Ford saw the future, and met the challenges the Japanese set.
I had a gen 2 5 door 1300 5 speed, good car for what it was, mostly reliable good on gas easy to fix when it did stop and simple, NZ market new so none of the vacuum hose spaghetti fitted to US models that was in the handbook but mine never had any of it, not required. Very rarely see any old Civics now. dunno where they went but nobody seems to have saved any.