History of the Honda Civic

The Honda Civic came on the scene in the fuel thirsty days of the early 1970’s. The Civic was sold in North America in 1972, though it was called the 1973 Civic. The engine was a whopping 1.2 liters and the car was so notorious for rusting out in the first three years that safety recalls were issued.

For the first decade, the Civic was sold as a two door coupe or a three door hatchback. The 1980’s ushered in the four-door Civic Sedan. In 1984, the first version of the Civic SI was sold in Japan and the United States. In the United States, the SI was in the form of the two seat CR-X. From 1980 to 1983, Honda offered the unique semi-automatic engine in the Civics, which was the predecessor of the current automatic engine.

The Honda Civic was considered a subcompact car from 1973 until 2000. With the 2001 model, the seventh generation Civic, came the upgrade to the compact car designation. The car is in currently in its eighth generation, an era that lasted from 2006 to the current 2011 model. Sometime in late spring 2011, the ninth generation Civic will be introduced as the 2012 model.

The Honda Civic Coupe and Civic Sedan have combined for 1.6 million sold units in Canada alone since 1973. 2010 marked the 13th consecutive year that the Civic was the top selling vehicle in Canada. All Civics, with exception of the Hybrid version, are built right in Canada at the Honda Plant in Alliston, Ontario.

The ninth generation Civic will feature a sleeker, sportier design. The car will come in the traditional coupe, sedan, SI and hybrid models as well as a natural gas powered variation. Rumors abound that the standard 2012 Civic will feature a power-plant similar to the 2011 SI version and the 2012 SI will be boosted in size to a 2.4 liter engine.