So recently, on another automotive forum, a thread came up about modding civics:
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Here is one of the responses:

 

I think the response hits the nail on the head.

 

The answers are very obvious!!!!!!!!!!!

- FUN to DRIVE!
- 4 wheel independant double wishbone suspension
- bigger engines from other cars for the most part bolt right in, and electronics is easily adapted too
- they look good
- cheap on gas
- reliable!!!
- interchange of parts, including different models around the world

 

id asking him whats he driving and what are his payments.

 

Ah yes, the old "it's cheap so it must be good" argument

 

Nope just saying- if he does have payments and i have a car thats in the 90's paid off... whats hes spending a month on his payments i can use to make my motor perform better then his... so by the time hes done with his payments now hes gonna spend money to soup up his ride...

 

you're still supporting his point ^

just because it's cheaper and you have found positives to having an older paid off car doesn't make it better for everyone. better for many is having a new car that they don't have to worry about as much, that has more and newer features/amenities. also, not everyone is trying to "soup up [there] ride" '

and yes i'm just playing devils advocate here :p

 

People just don't understand....

 

 

 

To me, one of the main points of the honda is that there is a build quality that you don't get in alot of other cars... Kinda like the difference between a regular watch and a swiss watch... A certain type of smoothness to the steering... The great turning ratio, and overall quality... What other manufacturer makes the 200,000 mile mark seem so easy??? That added to the other reasons mentioned above... The interchangabilty of parts including the acura parts is what put honda where it is today... If it weren't for the swap craze, then honda wouldn't have done as well as it has.. The honda swap guide says that honda swaps make up for more than all other import swaps combined!

 

I cant explain why i love them i just do. I have for a long time and i always will. Its like a girl you fall head over heals for theres something about her that you cant live with out and you love to be around. There is no substitute for being inside her, and you shoulnt have to explain to any one else why you love her

 

IDK, I liked civics since way back in 94 when i saw my 1st EG on BBS mesh's.. looked hot!

another reason is now that the F&F movie crap has clamed down, parts are alot cheaper then before. I got rid of my Caddy DTS to start modding my civic.

 

its just kinda like japanese crack. it may very well be payback.

 

Pretty much exactly this.

Working on Civics is like playing with Legos.

 

lmao, easy there buddy.. in a weird way, we all gotta agree tho

 

exactly. and some might say that about certain domestic vehicles, but the difference is a civic is not only super intuitive to work on but it's brilliantly engineered to last in pretty much every category and easily yield any type of performance you need - economy, sure. handling, if you want. straight line, yep, just build the engine and boost it.

my old hatch i got in '98 and sold it 12/07. nothing on that car failed that wasn't my fault, with the exception of 4 blower motors. for some reason my car would eat them for lunch and spit them out later.

but, i had the OE brake shoes for like 150k or something obsurd.

now...new civics...not nearly the same. honda started falling down right after 2005 ; )

 

+1 with the lego's

aircooled VW's are the same way. I still have a love for them.. just hard to find any thats not rusted out in florida..

 

fixed, hehe.

 

lol, true!

 

Lol my original OE brake shoes have 227K on them and still look okay. If they ever wear out, they're getting replaced with discs.

I think the only things that have ever broken on mine (that weren't my fault) were 2 O2 sensors, a rusty stock exhaust, and a power lock module.

 

I agree with all the above statements, but what got to me was his reply, "no one gives a **** about the legacy of building a civic."
That got me thinking, is there anyone out there, besides me, that built this car for what it represented? To me, it's an icon. It represents the "boom" era when import tuning was on the rise. There is just alot of background history in the older model civics. Everyone creates an image of their own civic, there is never the same one twice. It's been built, tried, and perfected on so many platforms, but still as popular as it once was. The civic is the canvas, and their proud owners is the Picasso.

 

anyone got this pic for a ek hatch

 

i like the civics because they are cheap parts are everywhere and to get big numbers out of a little motor is way more impressive than bolting a few mods on a v8 and making the same numbers

 

Price and availability mainly.

I mean, look at your average Honda Civic.

First, you've got lots of stock ones. Then you have lots of nearly stock ones or "lightly modified" ones; the cars that mostly have cosmetic modifications, intakes, stuff like that.

Up from there are ones with engine swaps and forced induction. Those even still just make up a rather small percentage of "modified" (or soon-to-be-modified) Civics out there.

I think a lot of time the only reason you're seeing so many Civics out there with some other factory alloy wheels, black painted headlights, eBay taillights and cut springs is just because that was the car offered to a first time driver.

If he/she could have afforded something more powerful or newer then they probably would have ended up with that instead.

Since a lot of first-time Honda owners are young I would also imagine safety, cost of ownership and (similarly) gas mileage. Mom and dad want to make sure junior has a nice, reliable car to drive.

If a lot of kids are getting Civics and modifying them then some other kids are going to want a cool car like that (whether we actually think it's cool is an invalid opinion). So then there's more young drivers looking to own a Civic or other Honda.

This is why so many Honda Civic owners who modify their cars are young. A lot of times you'll see their second car come along and it's not a Civic or even a Honda. Whatever they end up with still is eventually just as modified as the Civic was.

Some of those previous owners get a passion for the first Honda though, so when it's time for a new car, they turn to Honda again. Either it stays stock or it gets modified.

I just don't think most Honda (or Civic) owners are passionate about Hondas. I can't imagine most buyers (even ones that will modify their car) thinking of the electronics or engine compatibility when they're buying a car. They're just excited to have a car they can make "unique".

The type of car they ended up with was only secondary.