When the 2016 Honda Civic Si was confirmed to be offered with a manual transmission, Honda fans found a shred of hope. When the 2017 Civic Type R was confirmed, and confirmed to be sold in the US, Honda fans shed a metaphorical tear of joy. But… why?
In the early 2010’s, Honda noticed a unique opportunity in the market. People who grew up in the 90’s and early 2000’s were just graduating college and ready to trade in their raggedy old first cars for something brand new. The key here is that many of these people grew up watching films like “The Fast and The Furious,” and playing games like “Need For Speed.” It was a ripe generation of car enthusiasts – with money, and few options.
What’s uniquely advantageous for Honda in this scenario is the lackluster products of American auto manufacturers in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. In this timeframe, the Camaro was discontinued, the Dodge Challenger and Charger were long forgotten, and the Mustang was more of a pig than a pony. People who grew up in the 90’s and 2000’s never dreamed of owning American sports cars; they lusted for the hot, flame shooting, uber customizable Asian sports cars that dominated the entertainment industry at the time.
From 2016 to today, Honda created a US version of the Civic Type R, continues to offer manual transmissions in all trim levels of the Civic, brought the Type S models back into the Acura lineup, and re-released the Acura Integra. It sounds like a bold, supple move, but it’s really more of an empty promise. These are all good things, but there is still much to be desired from Honda.
It’s fundamentally impossible to replicate the automotive purity and excellence of 90’s cars. New emissions requirements, safety laws, and generally advanced technology has made it impossible to connect with your vehicle as much as 30 years ago. However, that isn’t to say that cars can’t be made just as good, but perhaps in another type of way.
Consider the Ford Mustang. In 1994 a new generation of Mustang launched, dubbed the SN95. It didn’t quite look sporty, and it certainly didn’t look attractive either. Worse yet, the best engine you could put in the Mustang was a 5.0L V8, making every bit of 215 horsepower. It managed to complete the quarter mile in 15 seconds flat. Now for the 2023 model (also equipped with a 5.0L V8 engine, yet looking a million times better) the quarter mile can be completed in 12.1 seconds – which is a gigantic improvement.
However, compare this to the 2023 Acura Integra. In terms of trim levels, the A-Spec with a six-speed manual is a fair comparison to the Integra GS of the late 90’s. While undoubtedly the 2023 comes in a much nicer shell, it’s no quicker. In fact, the 2023 is only 0.4 seconds quicker in the quarter mile than its older brother (15.4 seconds vs. 15.8 seconds.)
So what gives? In the 90’s, Honda automobiles could compete with domestic sports cars despite having half the engine. Now, they get blown out of the water.
What Honda’s done here is give us the same gift in much nicer boxes. They’ve catered to the enthusiast by bringing back legendary models and giving them unique, “high performance” motors, but in truth, they’re no better performers than Hondas of old. What made the old Hondas so special was their ability to be improved and modified by the consumer. Yet with today’s Hondas, there’s so much superfluous technology and pro-emissions engineering that increasing the car’s performance in any meaningful way is unobtainable for most folk.
One could argue that Honda’s aware of the concept I’m discussing. If you’ve noticed that you can’t find a new Civic Si, Civic Type R, or manual transmission Integra for sale anywhere, it’s not because they’re flying off dealership lots – Honda’s been producing less of them. With low production, dealers are able to move them quickly and with huge markups. The performance models remain unobtainable for many folks, who stay longing for one while unable to realize their shortcomings.
Are these shortcomings entirely Honda’s fault? I’d argue no. In the last 30 years we’ve seen revolutionary change in the automotive industry, and in the laws which affect it. While performance for Honda has been stagnant, they’re fighting an uphill battle. There comes a point where you can only engineer so much efficiency – you can only squeeze so much performance out of a two liter engine. Furthermore, compared to the L series and K20C engines, the only substantially better performance engine (C Series) Honda currently manufactures is designed for professional racing, so it’s not practical for everyday use, carries less reliability, and is simply far too expensive to be sold in a mass produced vehicle.
Many fans are jumping for joy with the return of these timeless classics, and new models that boast big, exciting numbers, but if you look closely it’s hard to understand why. Even the new 11th generation Civic Type R, touted as “the most powerful civic ever,” is only marginally better overall than its predecessor. The only improvements to Honda’s new products are in appearance and comfort; the motor, weight, tunability, and overall performance have all been seriously downgraded or remained the same over the last 30 years.
What makes Honda so special is that their cars are essentially Lego kits. You can build anything you want out of them. Today, the sky is no longer the limit. In terms of cost, there truly is no limit, but with performance, there isn’t much to gain. Honda can keep pumping out all these new models and tout them as “sports cars,” but it’s only a matter of time before consumers catch on.
(Quarter mile times recorded by Car and Driver)