I had a 1975 Honda Civic CVCC. The engine was a development from a 1927 design for an aircraft engine. It ran so clean that it didn't have to have any smog devices on it to pass smog inspection here in California. I got 42mpg in town and 52mpg on the highway running up and down the Central Valley for business. Interestingly enough, it wa…
I had a 1975 Honda Civic CVCC. The engine was a development from a 1927 design for an aircraft engine. It ran so clean that it didn't have to have any smog devices on it to pass smog inspection here in California. I got 42mpg in town and 52mpg on the highway running up and down the Central Valley for business. Interestingly enough, it was so well designed ergnomically that four six-footers could sit in it for a 3-4 hour drive (we did it several times) without feeling they were in a sardine can, but it was definitely a small car. I liked it the best of any car I've ever had. When US mechanics proved they didn't know how to service it, I bought the service manual - about the size of the LA phone book, with every job to be done on it shown with photos of what to look for and what to do, a list of tools needed, etc. I became a mechanic (and liked the work) and did my own tune-ups (when you could do that with a car) and even did a new valve head gasket replacement - just following the instructions and looking at the photos. Unfortunately it was once parked near a freeway offramp and an idiot came off too fast, lost control and went straight into it. I was sad boy, believe me.
Gotta confess. I rode round trip on the backseat hump from Richmond, Va to Atlantic City, circa 1979, with 4 basketball players, same car. It was pretty damn comfortable. Getting the driver out of the casino at 4 am was not. Ah, memories!
I have a 2003 Honda Civic EX. I don't drive a lot (especially since Covid struck), so it's got just over 37,000 miles on it. Yes, I didn't leave out a digit. I get only about 25-27 mpg, but it's a ULEV vehicle. What I love most about it is its BIG WINDOWS, with great visibility, which little 4'-10" me likes a lot. It is garaged. Its {damn AutoIncorrect for ALWAYS changing "its" to "it's" after I've proofread my posts before hitting Save!)—Its color is Radiant Ruby Pearl, a pretty maroon/burgundy. It needs to get to the hand-wash carwash once pollen season is over. But it looks showroom new, so much so that several years ago, when a teenager sideswiped me, the insurance guy on the phone told me that cars towed to the lot it had been brought to invariably were totaled. I begged and pleaded, but he seemed unyielding, until he called a day later to say, "There's no way I'm gonna total that car." As you can imagine, what little driving I do (never at night or in the rain if I can avoid it), I do very, very carefully because of all the effing idiots on the road.
If that gas mileage is all city, it's probably what you'd expect. If not, you need a good mechanic. That's terrible mileage for a Civic of that vintage. At 20 years old, a lot of stuff could be functioning poorly, and if you're only driving it short distances, even more stuff could be functioning poorly.
And if you are driving it short distances, you need to start driving around 15 miles at a stretch at least once a week. I'm happy to take questions here, or at my email, supernova1@aol.com. I suspect you could drive that car another 20 years, and maybe even 40, but I also suspect it needs better care.
The mileage is all city. I've been a Covid hermit but have had the oil and filters changed as needed. I was going to bring the car into my excellent mechanic for checking everything out last week, but I broke a bone in my right foot and my doctor says I shouldn't drive, so until it heals, the car and I mostly stay put. Thanks a lot for your input. I've made a note of your address.
I looked up the '75 Civic. In DC, I owned a duplex, and in the late '80s had tenants with one of those. Alas, I can't remember when I last saw one of them, but probably not since before I moved to Massachusetts in '99. I'm keeping my eyes peeled.
I do have an '08 Civic (stick) which I love. It's got 151k on it, still runs like when I bought it with 35k, gets close to 40mpg on the road, and barring mishaps, I plan to keep it as long as I drive, and I'm doing everything I can to keep driving as long as I live.
Unfotunately, the 75-79 Civic was not "built to last," and the last one I saw was rusting away in the back yard of the neighborhood car nut here before his sons cleared things out after his "departure."
I'm surprised any of them weren't built to last. I had a '77 Corolla from '85-'93. (Bought it from one of the Iraq weapons inspectors!) I sold it at 161k. It hadn't been trouble free, but I suspect I could have gotten it well over 200 had I wanted to keep driving it. I replaced it with my only brand new car, a '93 Saturn SL2, which was good looking, handled very nicely, but had a lousy engine, and then another lousy engine, and was nickel and diming me after ~130k.
I've never bought a car. or actually, I bought ONE car, which was a very old Honda; so old that when I pulled into a gas station, I'd say "check the gas and fill the oil." my other cars were all hand-me-downs. I had a Toyota Cressida from 1981, which I loved. then a Volvo with that fucking 240 Turbo engine which was so terrible, it was discontinued after a few years. the last one was my father's Civic, which was a wonderful, wonderful car. virtually trouble-free. my friend Danny leased Civics for many years (fully loaded, so not especially cheap, but he's got the money) and never had any trouble. one year, he decided he was flush enough to go a more luxurious route and bought a Lexus...and his experience was disastrous. he'd bring it in for whatever checkup was scheduled and they ALWAYS found at least a thousand bucks that just HAD to be spent.
my building's super (and close friend) has the Great American Flaw of liking big, expensive cars (and he's got a big family, so once upon a time, there was a reason for the big, never for the "expensive"). and of course, he's owned by his Land Rover, which he says is designed to be a big, wonderful toy ( to which I usually reply that any toy with that kind of price tag is a toy that's not worth buying). at least I talked him out of a Tesla (the motherfuckers crunched his numbers, said he could do a financing thing, "accepted" his application for the $100 fee and then told him that no, they couldn't but that he was welcome to apply again for another non-refundable hundred bucks). I told him that since he's not the sort of guy who can wipe his ass with hundred dollar bills, he should not consider a Tesla, and I think he was convinced.
when I'm outside, I find that the number of big, heavy four-wheel-drive vehicles just seems to be increasing. it's very depressing. it just seems like most people just don't get it. the two or three times I've tried to drive one of those things, all I could think about was how much I didn't want to be driving it.
but then I'm also the guy who, in the late '60s, would drive my parents' little red Datsun all over town loaded with six average-sized guys (myself included) tripping on acid, so perhaps my judgment about matters pertaining to driving is a tad questionable.
I do, however, still maintain that when I was driving under that particular influence, I was the best driver alive. just like those pitchers who pitched perfect games on acid...
I think I just got carried away. but at least I didn't have to think about Naomi Wolf....
I had a 1975 Honda Civic CVCC. The engine was a development from a 1927 design for an aircraft engine. It ran so clean that it didn't have to have any smog devices on it to pass smog inspection here in California. I got 42mpg in town and 52mpg on the highway running up and down the Central Valley for business. Interestingly enough, it was so well designed ergnomically that four six-footers could sit in it for a 3-4 hour drive (we did it several times) without feeling they were in a sardine can, but it was definitely a small car. I liked it the best of any car I've ever had. When US mechanics proved they didn't know how to service it, I bought the service manual - about the size of the LA phone book, with every job to be done on it shown with photos of what to look for and what to do, a list of tools needed, etc. I became a mechanic (and liked the work) and did my own tune-ups (when you could do that with a car) and even did a new valve head gasket replacement - just following the instructions and looking at the photos. Unfortunately it was once parked near a freeway offramp and an idiot came off too fast, lost control and went straight into it. I was sad boy, believe me.
Gotta confess. I rode round trip on the backseat hump from Richmond, Va to Atlantic City, circa 1979, with 4 basketball players, same car. It was pretty damn comfortable. Getting the driver out of the casino at 4 am was not. Ah, memories!
You sound like a fun person! I'm sorry you don't live closer. But thanks for sharing the memory!
I have a 2003 Honda Civic EX. I don't drive a lot (especially since Covid struck), so it's got just over 37,000 miles on it. Yes, I didn't leave out a digit. I get only about 25-27 mpg, but it's a ULEV vehicle. What I love most about it is its BIG WINDOWS, with great visibility, which little 4'-10" me likes a lot. It is garaged. Its {damn AutoIncorrect for ALWAYS changing "its" to "it's" after I've proofread my posts before hitting Save!)—Its color is Radiant Ruby Pearl, a pretty maroon/burgundy. It needs to get to the hand-wash carwash once pollen season is over. But it looks showroom new, so much so that several years ago, when a teenager sideswiped me, the insurance guy on the phone told me that cars towed to the lot it had been brought to invariably were totaled. I begged and pleaded, but he seemed unyielding, until he called a day later to say, "There's no way I'm gonna total that car." As you can imagine, what little driving I do (never at night or in the rain if I can avoid it), I do very, very carefully because of all the effing idiots on the road.
If that gas mileage is all city, it's probably what you'd expect. If not, you need a good mechanic. That's terrible mileage for a Civic of that vintage. At 20 years old, a lot of stuff could be functioning poorly, and if you're only driving it short distances, even more stuff could be functioning poorly.
And if you are driving it short distances, you need to start driving around 15 miles at a stretch at least once a week. I'm happy to take questions here, or at my email, supernova1@aol.com. I suspect you could drive that car another 20 years, and maybe even 40, but I also suspect it needs better care.
The mileage is all city. I've been a Covid hermit but have had the oil and filters changed as needed. I was going to bring the car into my excellent mechanic for checking everything out last week, but I broke a bone in my right foot and my doctor says I shouldn't drive, so until it heals, the car and I mostly stay put. Thanks a lot for your input. I've made a note of your address.
The car will definitely outlast me, David.
I'm sorry about your foot. I hope it heals expeditiously! And I'm glad to hear the mileage is all city.
I looked up the '75 Civic. In DC, I owned a duplex, and in the late '80s had tenants with one of those. Alas, I can't remember when I last saw one of them, but probably not since before I moved to Massachusetts in '99. I'm keeping my eyes peeled.
I do have an '08 Civic (stick) which I love. It's got 151k on it, still runs like when I bought it with 35k, gets close to 40mpg on the road, and barring mishaps, I plan to keep it as long as I drive, and I'm doing everything I can to keep driving as long as I live.
Unfotunately, the 75-79 Civic was not "built to last," and the last one I saw was rusting away in the back yard of the neighborhood car nut here before his sons cleared things out after his "departure."
I'm surprised any of them weren't built to last. I had a '77 Corolla from '85-'93. (Bought it from one of the Iraq weapons inspectors!) I sold it at 161k. It hadn't been trouble free, but I suspect I could have gotten it well over 200 had I wanted to keep driving it. I replaced it with my only brand new car, a '93 Saturn SL2, which was good looking, handled very nicely, but had a lousy engine, and then another lousy engine, and was nickel and diming me after ~130k.
I've never bought a car. or actually, I bought ONE car, which was a very old Honda; so old that when I pulled into a gas station, I'd say "check the gas and fill the oil." my other cars were all hand-me-downs. I had a Toyota Cressida from 1981, which I loved. then a Volvo with that fucking 240 Turbo engine which was so terrible, it was discontinued after a few years. the last one was my father's Civic, which was a wonderful, wonderful car. virtually trouble-free. my friend Danny leased Civics for many years (fully loaded, so not especially cheap, but he's got the money) and never had any trouble. one year, he decided he was flush enough to go a more luxurious route and bought a Lexus...and his experience was disastrous. he'd bring it in for whatever checkup was scheduled and they ALWAYS found at least a thousand bucks that just HAD to be spent.
my building's super (and close friend) has the Great American Flaw of liking big, expensive cars (and he's got a big family, so once upon a time, there was a reason for the big, never for the "expensive"). and of course, he's owned by his Land Rover, which he says is designed to be a big, wonderful toy ( to which I usually reply that any toy with that kind of price tag is a toy that's not worth buying). at least I talked him out of a Tesla (the motherfuckers crunched his numbers, said he could do a financing thing, "accepted" his application for the $100 fee and then told him that no, they couldn't but that he was welcome to apply again for another non-refundable hundred bucks). I told him that since he's not the sort of guy who can wipe his ass with hundred dollar bills, he should not consider a Tesla, and I think he was convinced.
when I'm outside, I find that the number of big, heavy four-wheel-drive vehicles just seems to be increasing. it's very depressing. it just seems like most people just don't get it. the two or three times I've tried to drive one of those things, all I could think about was how much I didn't want to be driving it.
but then I'm also the guy who, in the late '60s, would drive my parents' little red Datsun all over town loaded with six average-sized guys (myself included) tripping on acid, so perhaps my judgment about matters pertaining to driving is a tad questionable.
I do, however, still maintain that when I was driving under that particular influence, I was the best driver alive. just like those pitchers who pitched perfect games on acid...
I think I just got carried away. but at least I didn't have to think about Naomi Wolf....
I do remember hearing about Hondas running this clean, and this frugally.