The 1973 Honda Civic appeared just as America was pushing its traditional land yachts up to pumps drained of gasoline by the Arab oil embargo. Instead of a massively long boat, the front-drive, 1.2-liter four-cylinder 50-horsepower Civic was a happy little runabout that sipped fuel, was fun to drive and seemed to be built well enough to last forever.
No, it wasn't for everyone — all that first two-door had was a dinky trunk hardly bigger than a full-size car's ashtray — but it was good enough for a lot of people. And the Honda Civic has been a part of America's automotive landscape ever since.
A more practical hatchback Honda Civic quickly followed the two-door onto the market during 1973, and in 1975 a Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion (CVCC) engine was added to the mix that upped displacement to 1.5 liters, increased output to 53 hp and managed to meet all anti-pollution regulations without using a catalytic converter. Also available during 1975 was a new five-door station wagon. The Honda Civic was getting better with every passing month.
The slightly larger, more refined second Honda Civic was introduced as a 1980 model. And for the first time in North America the Civic was offered as a four-door sedan with a conventional trunk. While the market was full of vehicles similar in specification to the Civic, the Honda Civic was the benchmark.
Over time the Honda Civic has been offered as a tall wagon, a two-seater called the CRX, a two-door with a trunk and, for a time in the '80s, some models offered all-wheel drive. There have been Civics powered by natural gas and hybrid Civics. And versions of the Honda Civic sold in America have been built, at times, in Japan, Britain, Canada and the United States.
In North America the Honda Civic has settled into two body styles (two- and four-door) with drivetrains ranging from stingy hybrid to the high-revving Si. And over the years it's grown bigger, leaving the subcompact class to be classified as a compact. But like that first Honda Civic, the current ones make an awful lot of sense to an awful lot of buyers.
