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    Civic test from 1973

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    7 views5 pages

    Civic Test 73

    Uploaded by

    BennyLouPlummer
    Civic test from 1973

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 5
    MARCH 1973 - SIXTY CENTS COAST-TO-COAST IN A DAY AND A HALF SOME SOLUTIONS TO THE DRUNK DRIVING PROBLEM. $2000 AGO THIS WAS A VW. ‘+ Honda has finally become a car builder. Contrary to what your neighbor may have told you, the 600 sedans and coupes ‘you see nipping around the ankles of Buicks and Biscaynes on the Los Angeles freeways are not cars. And neither was the old imitation-Sprite sports car that everybody (including your Honda dealer) has forgotten about by now. All of those devices were more like enclosed motorcycles—with four wheels as a concession to riders without balanoe—and they never really fooled anybody. But Honda is canceling out of the semi-car market now. As soon as the dealers roll their ‘current supply of 600s out the door the transition will be com- HONDA CIVIC Their previous offerings seemed like four-wheel motorcycles, but Honda is now definitely in the car business plete. Because, waiting to take its place, is the new Civic, at $1973 P.O.E. a serious contender in the under-$2000 real car market . . . and, ifthe automotive price spiral continues, per- haps the only contender before long. ‘As an introduction, let us tell you that there is absolutely nothing radical nor innovative about the Civic. And that should be reassuring beyond measure to all of you potential custom- ers who failed to appreciate the racket of the 600's unique air-cooled, upright 2-banger engine. Or who couldn't quite master the clever dash-mounted shifter. Nor is the Civic an- other one of those Japanese miero-cars that tremble fearfully as they cut through the bow wave of a Peterbilt. Instead, i's what Honda likes to think of as the perfect urban car (hence the name Civic, if you can follow that logic). But before you ‘ean finish stuffing the Civic into that pigeon hole, Honda ‘spokesmen are quick to point out that i's perfectly at home ‘on freeways and cross-country expressways as well. Another halt-size car for all seasons . . if we are to believe the man- tufacturer’s glossy descriations. Better that you should see the Civic as an urban car, we think, and that recommendation is based purely on its size. At 199.8 inches in overall length it fits in about halfway between the true micro-cars (Honda 600 and Minis) and what Ameri- cans tend to think of as standard lttle cars (Fiat 128, Datsun 1200 and Toyota Corolla). And along with these compact di- mensions is a corresponding light weight (1536 Ibs.). in crowded metropolitan areas the advantages of such @ minia- ture automobile are obvious. The Civic’s maneuverability and economy are exceeded only by a motorcycle. But those cred- its are transformed by laws of physics into debits on the open highway. Gusty breezes fee! like gale force winds and while the Civic may not tremble fearfully in the bow wake of a semi, it does cringe noticeably. None of that is bad engineering, I's just an inherent quality of small cars. . . and the reason they are best suited to urban service. Earlier it was mentioned that there is nothing radical about the Civio's mechanical layout. Iti, in fact, absolutely conven- tional in the Mini/Austin America/Simca 1204 mold of small cars. The Givic's in-line, 4-cylinder engine is transversely ‘mounted in front where it drives the front wheels. The suspen- sion is independent all around, in this case done with Mac- Pherson struts and coil springs. The transmission is a 4- ‘speed, all-synchro device with @ 2-speed Hondamatic option- al. Brakes are discs in front, drums in back, and power assist- ed. All of this machinery is attached as simply and efficiently as possible to passenger carrying compartment of four per- ‘sons capacity. The idea is to keep mechanical intrusions to a minimum and Honda engineers have been particularly suc- Cessful in this because, in addition to the absence of a drive- line tunnel which is inherent in this type of design, the whee! arches are also commendably small. The Civic is perhaps the only car of this size in which the driver doesn't have to angle his feet toward the center of the car to avoid the left front ‘wheel housing. And it also has a full-width rear seat. So, in general, the Civic scores excellent marks in space utilization ‘There are limitations however. The front seats are fine. They are comfortable with reclining back rests and a good range of fore-and-aft adjustment. Adults in the six-foot range will have ‘no complaints about leg, hip and head room. But the same ‘cannot be said for the back. By compromising front leg room ‘somewhat the same adults will be able to accommodate their knees in back but there is no solution to that lack of rear head room, About 5'10° is the height limit for rear seat passengers. Which strikes us as a poor trade off. Little shoe box sedans do not rely on beauty for their appeal and even if they did, ballooning the Civic's root up an extra inch or so wouldn't have destroyed what the critics would call classic proportions. But it would have made the car more useful and that, it would sseom, is what this kind of machine is all about Instead, Honda has concentrated on thorough engineering to broaden the Civic's operating range. And they have been suocessful. More than anything else, Honda is known for its engines. The one in the Civic is a charmer. And it makes enough horsepower so that no one can ever classify the car as underpowered. Its acceleration is not only better than that of VWs and other small displacement competitors like the Toyota Corolla 1200 but it also exceeds that of the standard engine Pinto as well And with a top speed of 88 mph, the § Civic is no sitting duck on the freeway either. 3 Al of this power comes from a slightly long stroke, 1200ce & single overhead camshaft Four. Unlike the air-cooled 600, this one is water-cooled, which does wonders for noise level Itidles quietly, no louder than a conventional Detroit interme- diate sedan, and even the 82 dBA it generates under wide- open throttle acceleration is moderate for this kind of car. @ Cruising is peaceful if you are content to move along at about {60 mph, but the volume increases markedly between 65 and 70 mph to a level of 80.5 dBA at the higher speed. This pro- Vides a kind of psychological barrier to speeding because, ‘even though the Civic is powerful enough to easily cruise at relatively high speeds, we noticed a tendency to stay right at {65 mph. This tends to emphasize—and unfairly so, we might ‘add—the urban nature of the Civic. In truth, its no noisier at high speeds than its competitors, but because itis so much uieter at low speeds it seems better suited to city traffic. Apart from a low noise level, the Honda's engine is remark- able for the way it starts when warm. It lights instantly. Which is rare and therefore conspicuous in this day of reluctant ‘emission-controlled engines. But it has suffered from de- ‘smogging in other ways. Giant holes in its throttle response for ‘one. At certain speeds, when you depress the accelerator, the car actually slows down and you have to go almost clear to the floor before it picks up again. That always happens just when you need a squirt of power to squeeze into a more advantageous spot in trafic While Honda engineers have been careful to provide cer tain basic qualities that are. usually lacking in small cars— power and silence to name two—there are other areas that did not receive proper attention. One of them is clutch action, It chatters vigorously when you start out. And no amount of feathering the pedal will drive around it. The front steering geometry is not a polished design either. ‘The Civic has enough power (the 600 didn't) so that you can feel the front wheels struggling to straighten themselves as, you accelerate through a tight tum. This will do no harm to either you or the car . . . but it does make more work for the driver, work that doesn't have to be there if the designers had drawn their lines differently. ‘The final objection is ride quality. t's plenty hard, more so than any of the competition. And it pitches too. Those rocking horse motions have all but been forgotten by drivers of mod- fern cars, particularly on freeways, but the Honda will revive your memory. Granted, the smaller the car, the harder it is to ‘make it ride well but Honda should have tried harder. ‘The Civic is far more successful if you look at it from the point of view of driver convenience. The interior layout is high- Iy efficient. The doors are big enough to provide easy access land once inside you're spared the bus-like driving position that was always a part of the Mini and the Austin America. Honda engineers have managed to prop the steering wheel up at a civilized angle and position all of the controls where they can be found without a second look. At first the choice of (Text continued on page 108; Specifications overleat) peas: MARCH 1973 ACCELERATION standing 4 mile, seconds BRAKING 70:0 mph panic sop, feet eal er Nous sur bien voucsmcensurcnace | | ee fee ee eo a eee 11819285 FUEL ECONOMY RANGE mp PRICE AS TESTED ¢bllars 1000 T | | wopsgoczoa | [uouaasnscom | | | seat ~

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