Seeing this very youthful-looking Civic transported me back forty years, to the parking lot of KSCI-TV. One of our employees, Lori, had just bought a new Civic like this, and several of us went out to check it out when we saw her proudly pull in the parking lot. Sweet! Congratulations. Good choice. It’s going to serve you well.
And it turns out that this Civic isn’t the only one who has aged lightly since 1981.
I somehow found myself the General Manager of KSCI-TV in LA at the tender age of 28. But then almost everyone that worked there was under the age of 35 or so; a warren of youthful baby-boomers, all trying to make something of our lives. The station had been created to beam lectures and related programs by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the TM Program, but that wasn’t paying the bills and it was about to go under, so my job was to turn it around, and very quickly, at that! No easy task, but converting the station into a televised tower of Babel, with programming in 17 languages, things did take a turn, and quite quickly at that.
The first thing I did once the money started flowing in instead of out, was to raise salaries to something approaching market rates. Not quite LA big station rates; more like Omaha or such. The result was that the parking lot full of beaters started transforming itself, as new cars replaced the old ones. I vividly remember going out to check Lori’s new Civic like it was yesterday. I approve!
Lori started out as an administrative assistant, in sales and/or programming, but quickly took on an increasing portfolio of responsibilities. That’s her with what looks like a printout from Traffic form our brand new Combine Traffic system, running on a small dedicated IBM (non PC) computer. That was a major (and expensive) upgrade, from doing it manually!
Lori was one of my favorite co-workers, and not just for the most obvious reason. She was bright, energetic, detail-oriented, had a great sense of humor, and was always eager to pitch in no matter what the need. We were all learning how to run a proper tv operation, and Lori was a gem. I always wondered what became of her. So I Googled her just now, for the first time ever.
And wow, just like the Civic, she doesn’t look forty years older either. She’s represented by a modeling/talent agency, hence finding her so quickly and with such fine pictures. Lori was only a few years out of high school (class of ’79) when she came to work at KSCI, so that explains a wee bit of her current youthfulness. Remember when one could get a decent entry level job out of high school and turn it into a proper career?
Apparently Lori is re-inventing herself after 40 years of working in network tv and radio sales.
I kid you not when I tell you I had no idea where this post was going when I started it; it actually had a different opening paragraph, but then I suddenly remembered Lori’s new Civic, and I just followed its natural course.
Back to Lori’s Civic: she loved it, not surprisingly. It was the perfect car for a young single working woman at the time in LA. She lived out in Pasadena somewhere, so it was a long and brutal commute to the far west side of LA. This was the ideal car for her; well built, cute, reliable, and fun to drive. Quite a lot like Lori.
Now if I could only remember what she drove before she bought the Civic…my memory just can’t quite conjure it up. Almost certainly some tired, older American car from the early-mid ’70s, as it was almost inevitably so. Car by car, the parking lot became a sea of Japanese cars that replaced elderly Novas, Darts, Falcons and the like.
Lori’s Civic had a stick shift. Much more in keeping with her personality.
Enough for my trip down memory lane, at least for today. It was a perfect sunny fall day when we encountered this Civic, and I was very happy to be alive in Eugene just then, pandemic or not. I can’t imagine still living in LA.
Memories are great, but living in the moment is even greater. Especially when it’s in Curbsidelandia.
This and the Civic following really did a great job of decimating the lower domestic market in the early 80s. If Honda had a decent automatic then, nobody would’ve ever bought a Cavalier. Two generations later and the two speed became a four, and the Civic itself seemed more like an Acura than a penalty box. Honda’s cheerful fours and sunny interiors were everything that American compacts weren’t.
Interesting to see someone like Lori starting a new chapter.
Working the other side of that equation I’d say that during the VRA era Honda could’ve offered nothing but manual transmissions in America and still sold every car they could bring in.
That two speed was the Honda-Matic like they used on select motorcycles, such as the CB750 and a few smaller ones. It was a semi auto, one could select first for fast take offs/engine breaking or just leisurely put around in second. They had a stop gap three speed for a couple years before their first true auto 4 speed. I had an 81s Prelude brochure that implied the three speed’s lock up in Drive was a fourth range. And the three speed only had D and 2 on the selector. 2 would start in 2nd. I think the Accord/Prelude got the 4 speed auto in 83 then Civic in 84. The selectors had a 1, 2, D3, D4 and 2 still started in second like old Fords for slippery conditions.
I think the Daihatsu Charade had a two speed semi auto in the late 80s, but I could be wrong. Otherwise Honda had the last two speed auto…
My ‘82 Civic hatch, essentially the same as the ‘80-81 with a nose job and rectangular lights, was arguably the best car I’ve ever owned. Two years, 44K miles, zero issues. Despite the carburetor and the sea of vacuum hoses, it ran flawlessly from way below sea level in Death Valley to 9000’ passes in the mountains. All while returning 40+ mpg. It travelled miles of dirt roads in the Eastern Sierra and unplowed snow in Arizona, and daily commuting through dense east Bay traffic. Even gave me only SCCA autocross win. But I never bonded with it and don’t really miss it. Not too much.
My mom bought the 1982 DX version of this generation, used, in 1984. Burgundy on burgundy, automatic. She lovingly referred to it as her “Sweet Baby Honda”. Never the slightest problem and served her well for seven years. In late 1991, she purchased a new 1992 Civic 4 door sedan…the only reason for replacement? The need for 4 doors and a more powerful engine. The 1982 was kept in the family (passed down to her boyfriend’s teenage daughter).
BaT had an ‘81 with 127k that just sold for $8,200 last week. Crazy…
I really miss my 1980 Civic wagon 5 spd. Loved everything about it right up till the camshaft got some flattened lobes at 100,000 miles. Why I don’t know but that lead to my other great love interest the Mazda 626. Nonetheless, it was a car that fit form and function perfectly. As for todays Civics, blah, in more ways than one.
Had I stuck with a career in journalism instead of dropping out to become a flight attendant I might have wound up in a very similar situation at that very same time.
In regards to your question above, “Remember when one could get a decent entry level job out of high school and turn it into a proper career?” I made this reply to a comment on my first submission almost exactly seven years ago:
“Another interesting corollary to this story that has now essentially become history. I began my first full-time job at the age of 20 without a college degree (I actually dropped out to start) and within less than two years I had purchased a new car and moved into an apartment (while continuing to save at least ten percent of my income) all with a job that paid modestly. I’m afraid anyone that age today will not find such an inviting economy.”
While not germane to the subject of automobiles, I think that’s as good of an example as any as to how our economy has gotten to where we are now some forty-plus years later.
The previous generation of Civic had been a curiosity, although one that became popular. This generation was the Civic perfected. These were aimed at folks about a half-generation older than me. By the time we at the tail end of the baby boom started buying Civics they had become the car everyone was trading out of to get an Accord. I don’t think I ever heard anyone who owned one of these (when the cars were fairly new, anyway) complain about it. Except for the rust, anyway.
I had a couple of first gen Civics, one was a wagon. I really liked that wagon, since it had four doors, and with the hatchback could carry quite a bit of cargo. I got my first new Honda, a ’90 Civic SI and it remains one of the favorite cars I’v ever owned. I missed out on buying an Acura for myself, ( still looking for that Legend!) but I got my Son a ’97 CL as his first car, followed up by a 2004 TCX. As you wrote, those early Hondas were such a revelation compared to American compacts.Since then Hondas don’t seem to catch my interest, maybe I should look harder!
From the rust belt….. WOW! These were basically biodegradable up here!
My first car was nearly identical to this one: a 1981 Civic 1300 DX. Same blue, but no rear wiper, and mine had a 5 speed manual and pop up aftermarket sunroof, and a ridiculous stereo. I loved that car. It was tiny, fun, economical and fit my 19-24 year old life perfectly. Its name was Buster, and it lived on the end of a dead end street in front of my house. One late night in 1987, we heard a tremendous crash from outside, but, having a freeway and busy intersection behind the house, assumed that’s where the noise came from as we’d heard so many crashes over the years. Alas, the next morning I went outside to find Buster sitting in the bushes at the end of the street with its rear quarter caved in by some hit-and-runner. Ultimately Buster was totaled, and that was the end.
The miniature Accord styling was a good move, these were more attractive than the slightly fussy 1st generation and by all accounts more mature to drive. I don’t recall ever driving or even riding in one of these, since most of my Honda seat time was in 1st gen Accord and the occasional 1st gen Civic.
I love parallels like this. Very nice tribute to both the car and your colleague.
This generation of Honda Civic, in my mind, will always be tied to the movie Pulp Fiction, when Bruce Willis’s character tells his girlfriend, “I had to crash that Honda.”
My friend Chris had this 81 Civic DX 5-speed from 84 to 87. I have lots of seat time in it. It did blow two head gaskets, I was with him when the 2nd one went. He had had the dealership replace the first one, a $389 repair in 1985, but they neglected to tell him the head bolts needed retorqueing after a few miles, so they covered the 2nd replacement. It was an enjoyable car. Here it is.
My friend Chris owned this 5-speed 1500 DX, a 81 model also, from 1985-1987. Went thru two head gaskets, I was with him when the 2nd one blew, but otherwise a nice car. This was it