The Honda Civic, one of the most used cars in the United States, has been in production since 1972 – second oldest only to the Toyota Corolla. In Canada, the Civic has been the top selling car for 10 years in a row! Few complaints have been made about the Civic, most regarding transmission problems. Victims warn about the Civic’s transmission spontaneously dying without any prior warning. Honda has not acknowledged any flaw in the design so it is assumed by most of the community that these transmission problems are the fault of the driver and not the company.

Economy to Luxury
Officially the Honda Civic has gone through eight generations; early models of the Civic were classically equipped with a simple AM radio, an elementary heater, foam-cushioned plastic trim, two-speed wind-shield wipers and painted steel rims with a chromed wheel nut cap. The most contemporary generation of Civics have become considerably more luxurious (more…)

The Toyota Celica was a popular series of coupes made by the Japanese automaker, Toyota. Celica itself is derived from the Latin word coelica meaning “heavenly” or “celestial”.

The Toyota Celica Liftback was introduced to the Japanese market in April 1973 but it was not until 1976 that it started hitting the streets in the American market. The American Liftback in particular, was powered by a 2.2 liter 20R engine and was very similar to the Mustang shape as they both had distinct flat nose designs.

For the 1976-1977 model year, the Liftback was made available with an 18R-GU Twincam engine with a Yamaha head and running gear. The Liftback also debuted in the World Rally Championship in 1972 and along with it’s driver, Ove Anderson, finished in ninth place.

As technology progressed and Celica made its way to the 1990’s, Toyota made the decision to completely revamp the Celica line. (more…)

The Wrangler is produced in Toledo, Ohio by American automaker Chrysler, under the Jeep marquee. This off-road vehicle is a successor the extremely popular World War II Jeep vehicles known as “Willys”. The Wrangler itself was available for purchase in 1987 and has received several overhauls and updates in 1997 and 2007 respectively.

The Wrangler was originally developed in Canada until 1992 and its name there was until 1995, YJ. From 1997 to 2006, they where recognized as TJ. This was due to the fact that Chrysler had a pickup for sale on the Canadian market by the same name.

The Jeep YJ began its existence in Ontario, Canada and featured a galvanized body, wider wheelbase, and a lot more comfort than the model it replaced, the Jeep CJ. (more…)

The Honda Element is manufactured by Honda and is classified as a compact crossover SUV. It is currently being built in East Liberty, Ohio and was released in the United States in 2003 and is based on the popular 4X4 by Honda, the CR-V. The difference between the two is mainly the smaller and more compact design.

The Element is powered by Honda’s 2.4l k23A4 i-VTEC four-cylinder engine and produces 156 hp. This very engine can also be found inside the hood of the Accord and the before mentioned CR-V.

The car itself is available in either front-wheel drive or Honda’s patented “Real Time” four-wheel drive system that is a hydraulically actuated system operating only when the front wheel of the vehicle slips during hazardous conditions.

Before its production, the Element was introduced as a concept vehicle, known as Model X to the automotive industry. (more…)

The Saturn Ion is the focus of todays NorCal Spotlight.

The Saturn ION was originally manufactured by American automaker, General Motors operating under the “Saturn” name. The ION replaced the Saturn S-Series in 2003.

The first ever ION had a 140 hp DOHC Ecotec I4 engine and featured a unique instrument panel display. Instead of having them behind the steering wheel, the control panel was actually right in the center of the dashboard. The ION was available in two trims, sedan and coupe. The coupe was the first four-door coupe ever produced in the automobile world and was dubbed the “quad coupe” since it featured two added small doors in the rear. The car was available with a 5-speed manual transmission or an optional 5-speed automatic transmission.

The unique automatic transmission lacked an overdrive gear that allowed for five forward gears to be bundled in the small transmission. This compactly designed transmission allowed for closer gear ratios, better acceleration, and increased fuel efficiency. As an added bonus, the transmission was dubbed “fill-for-life” by GM, which simply meant (more…)

Todays NorCal Spotlight is on the Dodge Dakota. We always seem to have a several in stock, so we’re sure to have the one you are looking for!

The Dodge Dakota: A powerful Ally

The Dodge Dakota is a mid-size pickup truck manufactured by Chrysler LLC. The car itself was introduced in 1987 with the Dodge Ram 50. The Dakota is considered by many as the in between truck, sized larger than the more compact Ford Ranger and Chevrolet S 10 yet smaller than the full-sized Ford F-150 and the Chevy Silverado. The Dakota was a finalist for North American Truck of the Year in 2000 for its features and the standard rack and pinion steering, a first ever in trucks. Not to mention that the Dakota is the only midsize pickup that comes with an option to add a V8 engine.

In its early years, Chrysler envisioned the Dakota as the best of both worlds. (more…)

Today’s Nor Cal Spotlight helps us get ready for summer camping.

The Chalet Travel trailers are a convenient yet stylish way to take your family out on a weekend camping trip. This trailer is ideal for those looking to maintain some of the comforts attained at home while traveling light and reducing their consumption of gas. The Chalet Travel trailer is a breeze to haul as it is extremely light weight and the best part is, it folds neatly whenever you are not using it. When you are ready to use it, all you need to do is complete a 30 second setup and you are all set with a trailer that offers you a Wet Bath with a Shower, 11.5K BTU Air Conditioner with an included heat pump, outside shower, outside grill, and many other amenities that will be sure to make your outdoor trip a hit with your wife and kids.

Chalet XL 1935
The Chalet XL 1935 Travel Trailer in particular features one of the best combinations of innovation and style available on the market. (more…)

Today’s Nor Cal Spotlight focuses on the legendary VW Beetle. I’ve yet to see a classic beetle reach our inventory but we do get a few of the new Beetles. Seems like they never stay too long though, so if you’ve been thinking of getting one, here’s your chance.

The Volkswagen Beetle was a craze that hit America hard during the 1960s; some might even consider them a slight obsession instead of just a method of transportation. To prove this slight obsession, we simply have to look at the number of Beetles produced in the past 65 years… more than 21 million. This number is more than any other automobile in our history. Let’s not forget that there has not been a Beetle legally imported to the United States since 1979.

The New Beetle successfully ended this drought and allowed Americans to once again get a hold of that adorable bug car. It is based on the same platform as the Volkswagen Golf model (more…)

Another classic truck is the inspiration of todays Nor Cal Spotlight, the 1967 Chevy 1/2 ton Pickup.

The C/K is the name given for Chevrolet’s full-size pickup truck line from 1960 until 1998. The first ever Chevrolet pick-up appeared on the scene in 1924, but the actual in-house designs did not appear until 1930.
In 1967, a new era was marked for pick-up trucks. In particular, Chevrolet’s C/K line of trucks began seeing major improvements over previous versions and General Motors started advertising the trucks as general transportation vehicles instead of simply work vehicles. This campaign for mass-appeal called for some changes to the truck’s overall comfort and handling. The first of these changes included a coil spring trailing arm rear suspension that greatly improved the ride over the traditional leaf springs that where used back then. Other minor cosmetic changes and comfort tweaks made the pick-up truck more accessible to be an every day vehicle instead of one used simply for work.
The truck’s drive train came with (more…)

Today’s Nor Cal Spotlight takes a look at an Antique car in the NorCalCars inventory. A 1926 Ford Model T!

The Ford Model T, other wise known as the Tin Lizzie and the Flivver, was an automobile produced by the Ford Motor Company from 1908 through 1927. The Model T was produced using the revolutionary assembly line model and the factory paid its workers based on the cost of the car, allowing it to be the first car to be truly affordable to the masses. The first of the Model T’s where built at the Piquette Plant in Detroit, Michigan in 1908.

The thing that made the Model T so unique was that it was produced using an assembly line and not by hand. In 1909, the average cost of the car was $850.00. By 1915, the price for a Model T was $440.00. The sharp decrease in pricing through the years came from perfecting the assembly line. By 1915, the average time to produce a Model T was about one hour and 33 minutes.

The car used a front mounted four-cylinder (2.9L) en bloc motor that produced 20.2 horsepower. (more…)