200-mile EM1 Civic Si
 

https://jalopnik.com/what-the-perfec...ike-1825392697

I never owned one of these, and at that point in my life I was decidedly anti-ricer, which turned me off to any version of this car that had been body-modded to hell (which was a lot of them). But at its core, this was a pretty amazing car, and I kinda wish I'd spent some time behind the wheel of one.

My buddy bought one of these a few years after high school. It was.. Underwhelming, I thought. Good basic transportation but it didn't feel special, even at the time.

Kinda remember this car like John did .. I will say this brought back a memory of me of getting my 99 Acura CL 3.0 ... kept it for almost 2 years before getting my 2001 330ci which is the reason I’m actually a member of this board as well as many others here.

It all started with bimmerfest where a lot of us all met back in 2000 waiting for our E46’s

IMO, the Civic Si peaked with the EF. Ever since, they've just added size and weight which has taken away what made the Honda Si models so much fun.

The new Civic Type R does look pretty cool and I've read some great reviews about it.

It LOOKS ugly as sin. I've heard mixed things from people that have them or have driven them in anger. It's definitely a unique and special car.

It's not a car that has any real realationship to what made Honda Si models special, though.

The new one looks like the bowel movement out of a disgruntled Go-bot, or something. No thanks.

Not sure if this is a generational thing or not, but the EM1 is the high point in my books. I mean, yes, ITR and so on, but when it comes to Civics, I feel like subsequent Si versions kinda missed the boat. The one that came after this one was truly lame and easily eclipsed by the SVT Focus. (Remember that one? That was a fun little car, one of the cars I regret letting go.) After that, Honda lost its way with styling, and despite the addition of turbos and other nice things, they've yet to catch my attention like the '99-'00.

Did you have much chance to drive Sis prior to the sixth gens? 4th gens were way smaller, lighter, and tons more fun. 5th gen was somewhere in between, but clearly past peak and it's been a slide ever since.

I think the new one looks REALLY good ... amazing how we have similar taste in cars but can be so far apart on this one.


I don't really know what the different generations are with the Civics but I agree it is a generational thing ... I recall the one time I ever looked at and almost got a Civic was back in late 93 looking at 1994 models, I was going to get one for what was then my Fiancé (now my wife) ... we ended up with a Honda Accord EX Coupe, I loved that car !!

One Honda car I always liked was the Prelude ... too bad they stopped making them.

I like Civics and probably always will... I wish they made an EK hatchback in Si form. I like the looks of the newest version too.

I find the newest Civic to be one of the most repulsive looking cars ever made.

Supposedly they drive really well.

:+1

I never drove an Si, but a girlfriend had the del Sol with (I'm pretty sure) that same engine in it, and I disliked it intensely. I'm just not a fan of Honda's VTEC implementation, especially as it was rolled out in the late 90s.

EDIT:

To clyde's point, a different GF in HS had a CRX--not Si, just bare bones cooking spec, with an automatic. Even with an automatic and zero power, that car was hilarious fun to drive.

Honda as a whole peaked in the early 90s, IMHO. The 91 Accord that a friend had was just an amazingly well done car. Light, fun to drive, spacious; it had a 5 speed manual that was slick as hell to shift. It wasn't a sports car by any stretch, but it was just competent and satisfying.

The new ones haven't been as good, though I haven't driven the most recent iteration.

My only Honda experience was buying my first new car. I 91 black/black CRX Si.

I loved that car. Terrific fun for all of its 108hp. I was coming from an 83 Rabbit GTI so to me it was a power house. I moved to a new 94 Probe GT then to my 2yo used 94 MR2 Turbo after that and then the German thing kicked in.

I had a 92 Civic Si and liked it a lot. I bought it new thinking, wrongly, "newer must be better." It's biggest flaw was that it wasn't the previous gen.

I test drove a CRX and loved it. It was, however, a death trap. I bought the Accord EX hatchback instead.

I loved the hatchback--Japanese-made (had it 9 years).

I replaced it with a 90s Accord EX-L Coupe (American-made, I think, with lots of rattles and squeaks) and hated it. (Sorry AF).

My parents had an Accord wagon for years. Those were hard to find--even in the 90s. They were ultimately much happier with their Volvo 850 wagon.

I’m with AF on the looks of the current Si.

If it drives as well as they say it does, don’t really give a damn about its looks.

While we're on the subject of old hondas, my Mom had one of these in 1981 when we lived in Dubai.
http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_...0001_large.jpg

My ex-wife had a fourth gen Accord (1992 or there abouts) when we got married. It served her well, but was pretty uninspiring to drive. It's best feature was the manual transmission. We traded it in on the '01 325i that was my main focus of participation in the fest's light steering and Aux fan failure threads.

A GF in high school had an '81 Accord automatic. I actually really enjoyed that car. My dad had an '88 Acura Legend at the time and you could definitely feel similarities between the two cars. The switchgear and gauges were surprisingly similar in look, and in the case of the switchgear, feel.

The engine in that Accord was just crazy smooth. It probably had engine mounts made of Jell-O but it was just totally vibration free. It was free of power as well, but whatever. It also had the most hilarious vacuum hose routing diagram under the hood. Similar to the one below.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-...Smog-500px.jpg

That brings back memories. My ex-wife (GF at the time) owned an 85 Civic S somewhere around 1991, which I replaced the head gasket and clutch on. There was a maze of vacuum hoses in that engine bay that I very carefully labeled as I was removing the head. Fortunately, it all went back together correctly, and went on running perfectly.

This is a pic of my second car, a hand-me-down from my sister:

http://www.productioncars.com/send_f...hatch_1986.jpg

LOVED that car. It had a 5-speed and motor that was willing to effortlessly rev. If that car had just a bit more horsepower, it would be more of a blast to drive.

And I think this is where the new Si comes in.

Just pointing out all the love being shown for old appliance cars...