Yahoo Autos Honda Civic over half a century: Here are all 11 generations
On Wednesday, Honda debuted the Civic that will see the nameplate through its 50th anniversary. With that in mind, we decided to take a look back at the beloved bread-and-butter offering that made Honda a household name worldwide.
First generation: 1973-79
The first-generation Civic, above, not only kicked off what is basically a five-decade run of Honda's compact nameplate, but it also spawned the Accord, which began life as a long-wheelbase variant of the little hatchback. It was also the testbed for Honda's renowned CVCC engine, which was no doubt a significant contributor to Honda's reputation for building fuel misers.
Second generation: 1980-83
Apart from its role in a thoroughly mediocre 2006 romantic comedy starring people you've probably forgotten about (not you, Dax!), the second-gen Civic also made the CVCC engine standard and got a little bit bigger (that theme continues throughout).
Third generation: 1984-87
Isn't it refreshing (sorry) to see how much automakers used to cram into such brief iterations of even mainstream automobiles? The third-gen Civic was offered in a ton of variants, though not all were available in every world market. We have this car to thank for the name "Wagovan" and for the introduction of both the CRX and Si.
Fourth generation: 1988-91
With the fourth-gen Civic, Honda turned its eyes to refinement and sophistication. This got us the double-wishbone front suspension along with an independent rear setup. The former stubbornly survived for several more generations, only to be replaced by struts; the latter is still with us, as is another fourth-gen first: VTEC. This generation also birthed the SiR, and we all know how that's going.
Fifth generation: 1992-95
Ah, yes. 1990s aero styling. Take your favorite 1980s design, whittle it out of soap, and let the water run over it for a few hours. Boom, 1990-ready! The introduction of the fifth-gen Civic marked the end of the Shuttle Wagon variant sold overseas. While this generation may not have offered a ton of outwardly obvious advancements, it remains an enthusiast favorite, even though the vaunted Si model was offered here for only a couple of years. The 1995 HX (the nameplate reserved for the Civic's fuel-efficient variants) was also the first to be equipped with a CVT.
