Everyone knows that the 88 CRX has a few unique "quirks". It was the first year of the new body style and then in 1989 they started making them at another plant. One of these quirks is the unique bolt hole pattern of the seat rails into the floorboard.

Another is apparently the upper attach points of the liftgate struts. The 88 has the 10mm ball/socket assembly at both ends. I believe all subsequent CRX's have a bolt at the upper point.

I ordered replacements a few years back from an aftermarket company for my 88 CRX. They came with the correct fittings (i.e. ***** on both ends)
I recently ordered some more from a Honda OEM site. These came with the bolt ***'y as opposed to the socket ***'y at the upper point. I immediately returned them. The sales guy told me that Honda had changed something with the part numbers but didn't know anything specific.

I just now went to NAPA and looked at what they had. Their struts also have the wrong upper attach point.

Also, the attachment bolt on the 89 and up models is a 10mm thread. The ball fitting has an 8mm thread. There is no substituting one for the other.

I'm not sure what is going on here. Nothing was altered on my car and the fact that, a few years ago, this was not an issue really baffles me.

Any ideas?