 | |
| Manufacturer | Honda |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Honda N360 Honda Z600 |
| Class | Subcompact car (1973–2000) Compact car (2001–present) |
| Related | Acura EL Acura CSX Honda Civic Hybrid Honda Civic GX Honda Civic Type R Honda Civic Si Honda Civic SiR Honda City |
The Honda Civic is a line of compact cars developed and manufactured by Honda. In North America, the Civic is the second-longest continuously-running nameplate from a Japanese manufacturer; only the Toyota Corolla, introduced in 1968, has been in production longer.[1]The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude, comprised Honda's vehicles sold in North America until the 1990s, when the model lineup was expanded. Having gone through several generational changes, the Civic has become larger and more upmarket, and it currently slots between the Fit and Accord.
It was introduced in July 1972 as a two-door coupe, followed by a three-door hatchback that September. With the transverse engine mounting of its 1169 cc engine and front-wheel drivelike the British Mini, the car provided good interior space despite overall small dimensions.[2]Early models of the Civic were typically outfitted with a basic AM radio, heater, foam-cushioned plastic trim, two-speed wipers and painted steel rims with a chromed wheel nut cap. As the years went by, it has become much more upscale with options such as air conditioning, power locks, and power windows, leather upholstery, satellite-linked navigation, and a six-speed manual transmission. Initially gaining a reputation for being fuel-efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly, later iterations have become well-known for performance and sportiness, especially the Civic Type-R and Civic Si.[3][4]
The Civic has been rebadged for international markets with such models as the Honda Ballade and Honda Domani/Acura EL. The Civic platform also served as the basis for the CR-X sport compact, the CR-X del Sol targa convertible, and the CR-V compact SUV.
As of 2008, the Civic has been the top-selling car in Canada for eleven straight years.[5][6]With high gas prices and a weak economy in June 2008, the Civic supplanted the Ford F-Series to become the top-selling vehicle in the United States for that month.[7][8]
[edit]First generation (1972–1979)
The first generation Honda Civic was introduced in 1972, but sold as a 1973 model. Equipped with a 1,169 cc (71.3 cu in) four-cylinder engine, the first generation Civic was designed to compete with American compact vehicles and offered features such as front power disc brakes and reclining vinylbucket seats and AM radio. The Civic was available as a coupe, both a three and a five doorhatchback, as well as a five door station wagon. Due to the 1973 oil crisis, demand for fuel efficient vehicles was high. The Civic's build quality matched its fuel economy, allowing it to succeed in the market.[citation needed].
[edit]Fourth generation (1988–1991) - EC/ED/EE/EF
For 1988 the Civic was redesigned again, with increased dimensions and a lower hood line. A wide range of models and trim levels were offered for various markets around the world. All US models featured fuel injection, but carbureted models were still available elsewhere. The fourth generation saw the introduction of a fully independent rear suspension across the entire model range.
[edit]Fifth generation (1992–1995) - EG,EH, EJ1/EJ2
Introduced in 1992 the redesigned Civic featured the usual increased dimensions as well as more aerodynamic styling. The wagon variant was now only available in the Japanese market where the previous generation wagon was carried over until 1995. The old HF model was brought back and renamed VX which was Honda's most fuel efficient model sold at the time. In North America the Si featured a SOHC VTEC valve train where as the VX featured VTEC-E and the Japanese Si featured aDOHC non-VTEC valve train D16A9. Continuing in the sporty tradition of the original Civic SiR, Honda sold several similarly equipped variants of the fifth generation car, still referred to as the Civic SiR, in Japan, Asia and Europe. The range of models encapsulated by the SiR nameplate grew to include the hatchback, sedan and CR-X Del Sol, all of which used a slightly evolved form of the Honda's 1.6 liter B16A DOHC VTEC engine, now yielding 160 horsepower (120 kW).
[edit]Sixth generation (1996–2000) - EK9,EK4,EJ8,EK,EJ6,EJ9,EM1 (Si),MA8,MA9,MB1,MB2,MB3,MB4,MB6,MB7,MB9,MC1,MC2,MC3,MC9
The sixth generation featured updated styling although less radical than previous redesigns. Suspension and engine options were similar to the previous generation but several new variants were introduced, including two distinct wagon models: the "Orthia" based on the standard Civic which was sold in the Japanese market and the Domani based wagon which was offered in the European market. It also saw the introduction of the Acura 1.6EL, an upscale version of the Civic introduced in the Canadian market. None of these models were offered in the US. Building on the success of the Japanese market-only Civic SiRII a Type-R model was offered for the first time, available in Asia and Europe only. The Honda Civic Type R featured major reductions in weight as well as improved engine output and a number of other changes and additions designed to improve performance. The North American market saw the introduction of an upgraded Civic Si (SiR in Canada) with a more powerful Dual Overhead Cam 1.6L VTEC engine. In 1998, in the United States, Honda introduced their first Natural Gas Powered Civic, the GX. In 1996-2000 they made the EX, DX, LX, HX, CX, Si all base models were made with 1.6L engines. The EX-CX are all SOHC (D16) and the popular Si is a DOHC (B16A2).....HONDA UK saw the launch of MA MB MC 5 Door Civic / Civic Aerodeck.These featured improved handling with dual wishbone suspension at the front and independent rear suspension,ABS,PAS etc.These instantly became a big hit as a family car with a big boot and spacious interior and also as a motorway cruiser with ultra strong B18C4 engine on its flagship model MB6 and MC2.
[edit]Seventh generation (2001–2005) - EM2, ES1, EP3, EU1
The seventh generation was released in 2001. While the redesign retained the previous generation's exterior dimensions, interior space was improved in part by using a flat rear floor thus bumping up Civic to a compact car size segment. The front suspension was changed from that of a double wishbone to aMacPherson strut, in order to lower costs, as well as allow more engine bay room for the newly introduced Honda K-series engine. Power was also increased on some trim levels.
In North America, coupe and sedan bodystyles were available, except for the Si (SiR in Canada) which was offered only as a three-door hatchback.[9] The rest of the world received three and five-door hatchbacks. The Type-R (Available in Europe and Asia only) was redesigned as well this time using a more powerful i-VTEC motor and using the three-door hatchback body style. This generation saw Honda introduce their first Civic Hybrid, powered by a 1.5 liter engine.[10]
[edit]Eighth generation (2006-present) - FN2, FD2, FG2, FA5
For the 2006 generation Honda split the model into two different platforms, one primarily for the home market and North America and the other designed for the European market using a simpler rear suspension from the Honda Fit and more aggressive styling. Although the North American and the home market model differ externally, they are mechanically identical. The European model is available as a three and five-door hatchback while the Japanese/North American model is available as either sedan or coupe. Both Si and Type-R trim levels continue although the Japanese and European Type-R while sharing the same size engine are mechanically different. In the US an improved version of the Si tuned by Honda tuner Mugen is offered featuring cosmetic alterations and changes to the suspension and exhaust system. The Acura version of the Civic not only received the design change, but also saw a new nameplate, changing from the Acura EL to the Acura CSX.
In Europe this Civic has a 3 or 5 door hatch featuring a 1.4 VTEC, 1.8 VTEC (5.5–9 km/lite in city, 11.2–13.7 km/lite on highway), or 2.0l (Type-R) engines (5.5–8.1 km/lite in city, 8–10 km/lite on highway), as well as a powerful and economical 2.2 N22A CTDI diesel (140BHP) which does 0–60 km/h in 8.6 seconds and fuel economy is 8.3 MPG 10–12 km/lite in city and 11–14 km/lite on the highway. There is also a saloon version for the Hybrid, which has a 1.4 IMA engine giving 61MPG with 0–60 in 12.41 seconds. The Hybrid is the only Civic in the UK that is a saloon.
[edit]2009 facelift
For 2009, the Civic received a minor face lift, including a slight redesign to the front and rear. The exterior changes include a new honeycomb-designed grill in the front, as well as revised rims, with many more spokes than the original five-spoke rims, and a bar of chrome trim above the license plate area. The design for the area of the grill where the fog lights are placed was also slightly revised to include differing designs for Civic models with fog lights and those without. The interior changes included bluetooth compatibility and an optional leather wrapped steering wheel in the LX model.[11][12] The car retains many of its design cues and technical specifications from the pre-2009 model, including its 1.8 liter inline-4 engine and two-tier dashboard with a digital speedometer.
[edit]International marketing and platform derivatives
While the Civic is sold in largely the same form worldwide, differences in the name of the models exist between markets. In Japan, the hatchback Civic is just called "Civic" while the sedan model was called the (Japanese: Civic Ferio) during the fifth and sixth generation. The sixth-generation sedan was also sold as the Integra SJ. In Europe and the United States, "Civic" generically refers to any model, though in Europe the coupe is branded the "Civic Coupe". A four-door station wagon model called the Civic Shuttle (also Civic Pro in Japan) was available from 1984 until 1991 (this brand name would later be revived for the mid-1990s Honda Shuttle people carrier, known in some markets as the Honda Stream). In South Africa, the sedan (the only model sold there until the 1996 launch of the sixth generation sedan and hatch) was known as the Ballade.
Other models have been built off the Civic platform, including CR-X, Quint, Concerto, Domani, CR-X Del Sol, Integra, and CR-V.
Also, at various times, the Civic or Civic-derived models have been sold by marques other than Honda — for example, Rover sold the 200, 400 and 45, each of which were Civic-based at some point (first 200s were the second generation Ballade; from 1990 the 200 and 400 were based on the Concerto; the 400 was the 1995 Domani), as was their predecessor, the Triumph Acclaim, based on the first Honda Ballade. The Honda Domani, an upscale model based on the Civic, was sold as the Isuzu Gemini in Japan (1992–2000), and confusingly the 5-door Domani was sold as the Honda Civic (along with the "real" hatchback and sedan Civics) in Europe from 1995 to 2000. In Thailand, the sixth generation Civic was available as the four-door Isuzu Vertex. The sixth-generation station wagon was sold as the Honda Orthia, with the Partner as the downmarket commercial variant. The seventh generation minivan model is called the Honda Stream. In Canada, the sixth and seventh generation Civics were mildly redesigned to create the Acura EL until the advent of the eight generation Civic, which was used to create the Acura CSX, which was designed in Canada. Honda Japan adopted the CSX styling for the Civic in its home country.
The three-door hatchback body style has been somewhat unpopular in the United States, but has achieved wide acceptance in Canada, as well as popularity in Japan and European markets, helping cement Honda's reputation as a maker of sporty compact models. Starting in 2002, the Civic three-door hatchback has been built exclusively at Honda's manufacturing plant in Swindon, England - previously the five-door "Civic"/Domani and the Civic Aerodeck (based on the Japanese Orthia) were built in this plant for sale in Europe along with the Japanese Civics. Accordingly, all instances of the current model (left or right hand drive, anywhere in the world) are British-made cars designed with Japanese engineering, except for the US-built two-door coupe and the sedan version built in Brazil for the Latin American market.
In North America, the Civic hatchback was dropped for 2006. The 2006 model year standard Civics for North America are manufactured in Alliston, Ontario, Canada (sedans, coupes and Si Coupes) and East Liberty, Ohio(sedans), while the Hybrid version is manufactured in Japan.
In Asia, the oldest Honda assembly/manufacturing facility is near Lahore, Pakistan and the Civic has been produced in large numbers since 1994. The 2006 Civic was launched in the local market with a firm view of exporting this model to other countries by 2007. In India, the Civic sedan was launched in July 2006 for the first time.
In Brazil, although being considered for local manufacturing since the early 1980s (it was illegal to import cars in Brazil from 1973 until 1990), the Civic wasn't available until 1992, via official importing. In 1997, production of the sixth generation Civic sedan started in the Sumaré (a city near Campinas, in the state of São Paulo) factory. The only differences between the Japanese model and the Brazilian model were a slightly higher ground clearance, due to the country's road conditions and adaptations to make the engine suitable to Brazilian commercial gasoline, which contains about 25% ethanol (E25). The seventh generation production started in 2001, displacing theChevrolet Vectra from the top sales record for the mid-size sedan segment, however it lost that position to the Toyota Corolla the following year. In 2006, the eighth generation was released and regained the sales leadership. Identical to the north american version, it lacks options such a moonroof, and standard security equipment like VSA and side and curtain airbags were removed due to lack of car safety laws in the Mercosur. Furthermore, the Brazilian subsidiary began producing flex-fuel versions for the Civic and the Fit models, capable of running on any blend of gasoline (E20 to E25 blend in Brazil) and ethanol up to E100.[13]
[edit]Safety
The current eighth-generation Civic sedan's crash test performance has been rated highly by both the US Government's NHTSA[14] and theInsurance Institute for Highway Safety. The IIHS awarded the Civic sedan with a rating of "Good" on both frontal and side impact crash tests[15]and lists the Civic as the second-best 2007 small car in overall crashworthiness.[16] The Civic coupe is rated "Acceptable" in the side impact test.[17]
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Crash Test Ratings[14]
Frontal Impact: 
Side Impact Front Seat: 
Side Impact Rear Seat:
Rollover:
In Australia, 1984–2005 Civics were assessed in the Used Car Safety Ratings 2006 on their level of occupant protection regardless of size or era.[18]
- (1984–1987) - "significantly worse than average"
- (1988–1991) - "average"
- (1992–1995) - "average"
- (1996–2000) - "better than average"
- (2001–2005) - "average"
Honda Motor Co said on Friday July 31[year missing] that it is recalling 440,000 vehicles sold in the US, including some of its best-selling Accord and Civic models for a potentially lethal airbag defect.
Honda said that the airbag inflators in some of its top-selling sedans can rupture because of too much air pressure causing metal fragments to shoot through the airbag and strike vehicle occupants.
One fatality and a number of injuries have been linked to the defect, Honda spokesman Sage Marie said.
The recall covers certain 2001 and 2002 Accords, 2001 Civics and some 2002 and 2003 model Acura TL sedans. The driver's side airbag is the defective component on the affected vehicles.
Honda said owners of those models can check to see if their vehicle is covered by the recall by checking the automaker's website at www.owners.honda.com/recalls.
The Japanese automaker said it was encouraging owners to wait until they received a recall notice to go to a dealership and have the inflator for the steering-wheel airbag replaced.
Honda had originally announced that it would recall some 2001 Accord and Civic sedans for the defect last November[year missing].
[edit]Modifications and the enthusiast community
Despite being an economy car, the Civic is popular as a platform for modification and customization by an enthusiast community. As well, starting with the fourth generation and continuing until the 2000 model year, Civics had front and rear double wishbone suspension, something common in midsize and larger cars but rarely found in compacts. This advanced four-wheel independent suspension was inspired by Honda's racing research and allowed class-leading handling. Also, because of parts interchangeability, many Civics which were originally equipped with lower-power engines can later be equipped with a newer Honda engine (a process called engine swap), or many other upgrades[19].
Most recent seventh and eighth generations, now rated as compacts rather than subcompacts, are still competitive as tuner projects. However, they have succumbed to added weight, and higher centers of gravity which has significantly reduced their appeal amongst passionate drivers. Particularly controversial among the tuner community was the replacement of the front double-wishbone suspension with MacPherson struts, as a double wishbone is easier to tune. Styling of the seventh generation was more mainstream but the eight generation returned to a more aggressive look.[20]
[edit]Awards
From 1972 to 1974, the Civic was awarded "Car of the Year Japan." In 1973, the Civic ranked third in Europe’s "Car of the Year" awards, the highest ranking for a Japanese vehicle at that time. It also took the top prize among imported vehicles in the U.S. Road Test magazine’s "1974 Car of the Year."[21] The Civic was Motor Trend's Import Car of the Year for 1980[22] as well as its 2006 Car of the Year. In 1996, Automobile Magazine honored the Civic as its Automobile of the Year. The Civic has been on Car and Driver magazine's yearly Ten Best list six times, in 1985, 1988–91, and 1996. The Civic GX, a natural gas version of the vehicle was named Greenest Car of 2005 by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. Honda claimed 5 of the top 10 Greenest car slots, 3 of which were models of the Civic.[23] The Civic Si was named "Best New Sport Car" and the sedan was named "Best New Economy Car" in the 2006 Canadian Car of the Year awards. The Civic also won the North American Car of the Year and the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) Car of the Year awards for 2006. In November 2006, the Civic received the prestigious "Car of The Year" award from Brazilian magazine Auto Esporte. The four-door Civic VXi sedan won the South African Car of the Year award for 2007. NASA conducted studies on the usability of Honda Built motors to be used in the newer "rover" space vehicles being redeployed to Mars.
[edit]Racing
[edit]Touring car racing
Although Civics are not designed to be performance cars nor hold any legitimate racing victories, they have been used for racing ever since their introduction. In 1973, a Civic was entered, alongside cars of much larger engine sizes, in the Australian Bathurst 1000 endurance race.
In recent years the Civic has been used in a wide variety of racing series, particularly in Japan. It is also used in touring car races in Europe and the United States. In the UK, the Civic is used in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) with Synchro Motorsport, and in endurance series such as Barwell Motorsport and Cartek Motorsport. In 2002, Honda entered the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) with a works effort to win the title in the new Civic Type R.
In 2002 JAS Motorsport entered the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) with a Super 2000 spec Civic and was used until restart season of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) in 2005.
For 2007 BTCC season, Team Halfords ran Honda Civics for Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden with limited success and continued to use the Civic into the 2008 season.
In 2007 Honda's R&D Engineering Team completed 645 laps in an 8th generation Civic Si coupe (FG2) to place first in the E1 class of the famous '25 Hours of Thunderhill' marathon race. The drivers on Honda's team included were Kim Wolfkill, Lee Niffenegger, Marie Sage, John Sherk, Rich Hays, Matt Staal and Car and Driver journalist Tony Swan.
[edit]Drag and street racing
With the huge availability of modification parts to make the Civic quicker and its popularity in street racing, the Civic has become a popular choice for sports compact drag racing, where in the United States, it has helped to launch the career of numerous drag racers such as Ron Sharman, Kenny Tran, Jacob Abercrombie and Lisa Kubo.
[edit]Grassroot racing
In autocross, the low, wide, sub-2,000 pound 1988-1991 Civic Si hatchback (notably the 1989 model year) has been dominant in SCCA's Solo II ST (Street Touring, previously Street Touring Sedan) class for a number of years. For example, 1988-1991 Civics captured all of the top 20 positions at the 2009 national finals. [24]
[edit]References and footnotes
- ^ "Toyota Corolla History". Toyota Motor Corp.
- ^ "Generations". Edmunds. Retrieved 2006-11-05.
- ^ "2006 Honda Civic Expert Review". Cars.com.
- ^ "2006 Honda Civic Review". JB car pages. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
- ^ "Honda is named as Canada's best 'Mainstream Brand' fpr residual value". Honda Canada.
- ^ "Civic sets annual sales record". Honda Canada.
- ^ "Why Honda is growing as Detroit falls behind". SFGate.
- ^ "Fuel-efficiency pays off for Honda". Washington Times.
- ^ "2003 Honda Civic Review". JB car pages. Retrieved 2356-03-06.
- ^ "2003 Honda Civic Hybrid Review". JB car pages. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
- ^ "Facelifted 2009 Honda Civic Sedan gets scantastic reveal". Autoblog.
- ^ "2009 Honda Civic Review". JB car pages. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
- ^ "Honda Civic atinge 300 mil unidades produzidas" (in Portuguese). Honda Brazil. September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
- ^ a b "Honda Civic Crash Test Ratings". NHTSA. Retrieved 2008-08-02.
- ^ "IIHS-HLDI: Honda Civic". IIHS. Retrieved 2007-06-09.
- ^ "IIHS-HLDI: Small cars - Current". IIHS. Retrieved 2007-06-09.
- ^ "IIHS-HLDI: Honda Civic 2-door". Iihs.org. 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2009-08-23.
- ^ "Used Car Safety Ratings". Vic Roads. Retrieved 2006-11-05.
- ^ "Honda Civic Customization". CustomCivics.com.
- ^ "2006 Honda Civic Expert Reviews". Cars.com.
- ^ "First Generation (1972". Honda Worldwide. Retrieved 2006-11-05.
- ^ "Second Generation (1972)". Honda Worldwide. Retrieved 2006-11-05.
- ^ "A Red-Letter Year for Green Vehicles: Gasoline-Powered SUV Earns Spot on "Greenest Vehicles of 2005" List". Greenercars. Retrieved 2006-11-05.
- ^ http://scca.com/popup/raceresult.aspx?event=13555&file=854
[edit]External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Honda Civic |
- Official Honda Civic sites for the U.S., U.K., Pakistan, IndiaGermany, and Australia
- Honda Civic Repair Guides @ Fixmycivic.net
- Honda Civic at the Open Directory Project
- Honda Civic 2011
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