Honda’s CVCC Revisits For Comparison
Honda’s Civic origin paired against Ford’s original compact car, the Pinto.
Admittedly, I was born in the 90’s and had my peak youth years in the early 2000’s. The Honda Civic was a common car on almost every corner of my neighborhood. Grandmother’s owned them as Sunday drivers to church. Young people had them as hand-me-down first cars. Seeing them so frequently never led to the question: why does this car exist?
Compact cars with fuel efficient engines were not always the norm. Going back into the history books, we will see that cars were large and fuel economy was not a concern. It was not until the 1970’s that the North American market had a change in the industry. It would push auto markers to answer a new market for smaller, fuel efficient cars – something Japanese auto makers had been pushing for a while. Germany had the VW Bug. Ford brought the Pinto.
The Ford Pinto came around earlier than this CVCC, but still holds true as an indication of the times. Ford was pressed to design a compact car that sipped on fuel while carrying groceries home. The Pinto was originally a hit, until design flaws came into play. They were known to burst into flames upon rear end collision. Lives were lost, Ford’s reputation struggled, and the Pinto eventually disappeared.
Many people have the opinion that Japanese cars were built poorly and I have always disagreed. They were referred to as a “tin can” because of their lightweight, simplistic designs. A focus on cost effectiveness and function from the Japanese was compared to the typical North American mindset of perceived quality. Knobs instead of wiper stalks for example.
The Civic is a lightweight and compact car that has stood the test of time. Many of the previous examples to this day are still on the road. Enjoyed by original owners or their lucky offspring continuing the theme of hand-me-down cars. Was the Ford Pinto a better car? I’m not sure I can argue that. It paved a path for others to walk, but could not continue trail blazing. The Civic did, though.
You must be logged in to post a comment.