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, boasting air conditioning, power locks, and power windows. Luxurious options such as leather upholstery, satellite-linked navigation, and a six-speed manual transmission can also be upgraded to. Initially gaining a reputation for being fuel-efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly, later iterations have become well-known for both their performance and sportiness, especially the Civic Si. Offered in both coupe and sedan body styles, the Si is powered by an extremely powerful 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that churns out 197 horse power. It comes exclusively with a close-ratio six-speed manual transmission. The Si is an exception to the standard line of Civics’ and it is very popular to car enthusiasts because of its ideal ability to include both fuel-efficiency and sportiness.

Performance Modifications
In many areas, the Civic is a popular vehicle used in modifications and customizations. Although Civics were not designed to be performance cars nor to be raced with, they have been used for racing ever since their beginning. The reason for this is that Civics prior to the fifth and sixth generation had an abnormally high power-to-weight ratio and a higher hp-to-liter output compared to many of their direct competitor’s cars. These higher ratios and outputs allowed for naturally better acceleration, braking and handling given similar parts. As if not enough, complex four-wheel independent suspension stimulated by Honda’s racing research allowed an unsurpassed amount of handling in the fourth generation, which persisted on until the 2001 model. Also, because of parts convenient interchangeability, Civics which were originally equipped with lower-power engines could later be exchanged with newer Honda engines, one of many possible other upgrades. The City Turbo engine is a good fit to the Civic engine bay in many models, and supplies a momentous amplification in the power-to-weight ratio in contrast to non-performance engines, thus boosting performance. Because of the Civics’ great convenience in so many aspects, it has won so many awards in many different countries for many different reasons including Car of the Year awards in over 5 different countries including Japan and Europe, as well as half of the Greenest Car of the Year awards available.