Honda Civic #1 Selling US Vehicle

[mkrishnan]

If I get hit by one of these guys I would much rather be in a 2800 pound of modern day civics than a 2100 pound civic 15 years ago

I do see your general point, but you should, for your own safety, which is clearly very important to you, look at other metrics. Here's a counterpoint, for instance. Saabs have notoriously low fatality rates -- pretty well recognized as being the lowest in the industry, something about which every engineer at every OEM knows. We don't know exactly why -- mix of the car's engineering, the way people who drive Saabs drive, and also the places they live, no doubt. But bear in mind that this reputation continued to be honed through the late nineties at the height of the big truck SUV mania. Saabs don't weigh 2000 lbs, but they don't weigh 5000 lbs either. There's more to accident safety than just the size of the vehicle. There's more to accident physics than just the size of the vehicle.

 

[rhsgolfer33]

Yea the high gas prices are making people switch to more fuel efficient cars (although in some cases people are stupid and just keep the car they have and take the hit on the gas rather than buying an entirely new car, but I suppose there is some principal).

Why is that stupid? My car gets pretty crappy gas mileage, about 17 mpg with mostly city driving. If I were to switch to a Honda Civic and sell my truck, assuming I went with the EX-L model of the Honda (the lowest model I would consider buying) at about $20,000, and I sold my truck for blue book, $11,000, I would owe $9000. Assuming I got the 29 mpg one civic driver above got as compared to my 17 mpg, driving the 15,000 miles per year I drive, it would take about 517 gallons of gas per year, my truck would take 882 gallons per year. So multiply 517 gallons by $4.75 per gallon and you get about $2,456 per year, my truck comes out to $4,190. There is a difference of $1,734 per year, with that difference it would take about five years to make up the $9000 outlay for that car. Now, I know gas will go up in that time, and $4.75 is an increased number (I don't actually pay that) but buying a new Civic really wouldn't be worth it for me. Since I wasn't planning on getting a new car before this gas spike, and since my car is only four years old and has less that 60,000 miles on it, it would probably be stupid for me to go buy a new fuel efficient car. Maybe I'll consider a used one, but seeing as how the new Accord coupe just came out, and Civics with leather are fairly new, it probably won't be happening for at least two years.

Its really about being fiscally responsible, had I been looking for a new car now, yeah, it would probably be a fuel efficient one, but trading in the car you bought a year or two ago that gets bad gas mileage just because you think you'll save money by getting a newer fuel efficient car might not actually be the best idea. Then again, I'm in Accounting, so I actually think about these kinds of things unlike a lot of Americans :coughoutrageousdebtcough:

 

[mac daddy]

I didn't even know the F-150 was the best-selling car in America. That is so incredibly strange to me. A truck is the best selling car in America? Do that many people need trucks, or is it just an "image" thing? Was it featured in a lot of rap videos or something? That usually boosts car sales.

Sales figures for trucks tend to be driven (no pun intended) upward by fleet sales to businesses and rental companies.

 

[GSMiller]

The Civic is one ugly car if you ask me.

 

[apfhex]

I'm 6 1 and I fit in the car just fine except for the fact that the emergency break digs into my leg.

Honestly I had no idea the F150 was the top selling vehicle. Clearly popular, but if you would have asked me before seeing this thread, I would have guessed the Civic to have been #1 for a while. I would have loved to get one myself but after sitting in countless cars when shopping, I realized that at 6'5"ish I'm not comfortable in any compact (with the single exception of the Ford Focus, which I would /not/ consider buying), with my leg crammed up against the steering column and sometimes the steering wheel itself. Maybe in a few years the "compact" models will be big enough for me.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

i can't say that i find this at all surprising really. although the civic is a mid-sized car, so its not the absolute best on fuel economy, but hey its a step in the right direction. 29mpg? i get that in my 95 tercel.

this civic is NOT a mid size car. The civic is a compact car. An accord is a Mid size.

My only problem with the civic is it is 2 small for me. I am 6'4" and I need a larger car. I currently drive a sentra and it is 2 small for me. I want a mid size and plan on replacing my sentra with a mid size car in the next few years.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Thats a good point, those small cars sure did get bigger. But I actually like it that way. After all, fuel efficiency is still #2 on my list, #1 is safety and I really wouldn't feel comfortable driving in a 2000 pound car when other people are driving in 4500 pound vehicles

you do know that major car accidents are single car accidents. Throw out all the finder benders and it comes down to quite a few single car accidents.

 

[nizz]

you do know that major car accidents are single car accidents. Throw out all the finder benders and it comes down to quite a few single car accidents.

Yeah, well a bad driver in a big car is gonna still be a bad driver in a small car.

And I'm pretty sure those single car accident statistics differs everywhere. My area is high accident-prone. I see 2-3 car collisions every single day, but you can tell from my insurance bills alone. It was $400 for 6 months when I was away at school. Now that I've moved back, it is $1300 for the same policy every 6 months.

There is a very high chance I'm gonna drive defensively and still get into a major accident because of all the idiots. I don't even want to think about all the people without insurance

edit: by '2-3 car collisions' I mean one accident involving 2-3 cars

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Maybe time to de-tune even the gas sippers for better MPG than performance. I remember when the Avalon got 32mpg Hwy.... the Cooper should do better than it does - but here in the US it is about the power

 

[SteveG4Cube]

I had a 2007 Civic as a rental and hated it. But, I hated it for reasons that don't matter to most people, a lack of low-end torque, and it was an automatic. Plus, it was missing Sirius and steering wheel controls for the radio, 2 things I love about my car. But since most people don't care about those things, I can certainly see why it's such a good seller. I drove it around all weekend and only had to put $6 in gas in it (This was a couple months ago, so it was at around $3.70/gallon) to fill it back up.

And if you make sure the trunk is empty and put the seats down, small cars have a ton of interior room. I have a 2008 VW GTI (2 door, well, 3 if you count the hatch) and I've had a giant chest of drawers, a bookcase, and a 40" widescreen LCD TV back there (not at the same time) and they all fit with room to spare.

I've got an '06 Civic, I average 34-35mpg on my daily commute which is about 80% highway and 20% stop-and-go. I've gotten a best of 38mpg on a straight highway trip. I love every single thing about the car, build quality, fit and finish, seats, ride/handling, reliability... but I agree it's a bit on the slow side.

I just sold my "fun" car recently because my wife and I had our first child, and now I'm thinking of getting a GTI so that I can have some fun and still have a practical daily driver that gets decent mileage. How many miles are on your GTI? Any issues with it? Do you have the FSI or TSI engine?

 

[SteveG4Cube]

Edit-double post

 

[Cheffy Dave]

The Civic is one ugly car if you ask me.

I'll have what he's smokin

 

[iJohnHenry]

I'll have what he's mokin

Leave him be. It's subjective, even though he IS wrong.

The Si is one nasty little machine.

Don't like the premium requirement though.

 

[yg17]

I just sold my "fun" car recently because my wife and I had our first child, and now I'm thinking of getting a GTI so that I can have some fun and still have a practical daily driver that gets decent mileage. How many miles are on your GTI? Any issues with it? Do you have the FSI or TSI engine?

I've got about 4,100 miles so far. So far, the only issue that popped up was the Sirius Radio tuner crapped out, which was replaced by the dealer under warranty, so not really a big deal. I typically get between 28 and 30 MPG highway, although last week, I did 30 miles highway in light traffic, averaging about 65 MPH and I got 35 MPG. This is all according to the trip computer, I don't know how accurate it is and have yet to do the calculations myself. And I believe it's the FSI engine, but I'm not too knowledgeable on VW engines so you may want to Google it just to be sure

 

[SteveG4Cube]

And I believe it's the FSI engine, but I'm not too knowledgeable on VW engines so you may want to Google it just to be sure

The reason I ask is the newer TSI engine, which addresses alot of the issues that the FSI engine's known for, is a mid-year change. I'm on the fence between buying a used/leftover FSI engine to save the money or going for the newer TSI engine in the hopes of not having to deal with the known problems with the older engine. I drive like 25k/year, so I need something reliable (hence the Civic )

 

[mkrishnan]

VWExperienceSnip

The diesel Jetta/Golf/etc variants are supposed to come back to the States this fall. I'm quite curious to see what the new generation Jetta looks like with the diesel engine.

 

[fourthtunz]

i can't say that i find this at all surprising really. although the civic is a mid-sized car, so its not the absolute best on fuel economy, but hey its a step in the right direction. 29mpg? i get that in my 95 tercel.

I was going to say, I'm looking at getting a '95 honda civic. The 92-95 civics got 49-55 mpg depending on which one you get.
I'm going to hate giving up my 2003 accord but averaging 26 mpg isn't good enough these days.
Honda in the late 90's, like everyone else made their cars heavier and with bigger motors, too bad.
We americans have got some real **** coming down though and people still don't get it.
When we've lost our jobs next year what is a new car or and old one that gets 17 mpg going to do for us?

 

[QCassidy352]

I'm looking to buy a car and a civic is my top choice. I wanted a civic hybrid before they were cool, but now the premiums seem too much to pay.

I've looked in to getting a used civic, but the damn things hold their value so well that getting a 4 year old car with 30K miles only saves about $4000 off the same model new!

 

[SteveG4Cube]

I've looked in to getting a used civic, but the damn things hold their value so well that getting a 4 year old car with 30K miles only saves about $4000 off the same model new!

And that's a GOOD thing. When you're ready to sell it, it'll still have that same great resale so your cost of ownership will be alot less than any other car.

 

[quagmire]

I'll have what he's smokin

Yeah, the sedan is a bit funky looking, but the coupe is nice and sleek. And it is better looking then the new Corolla.

 

[yg17]

The reason I ask is the newer TSI engine, which addresses alot of the issues that the FSI engine's known for, is a mid-year change. I'm on the fence between buying a used/leftover FSI engine to save the money or going for the newer TSI engine in the hopes of not having to deal with the known problems with the older engine. I drive like 25k/year, so I need something reliable (hence the Civic )

Ahhh, OK. The entire MkV model line has been known to be reliable, so you'd probably be OK with the FSI engine

The diesel Jetta/Golf/etc variants are supposed to come back to the States this fall. I'm quite curious to see what the new generation Jetta looks like with the diesel engine.

All I know, is they better have some damn good fuel economy to offset the cost of 5 bucks a gallon for diesel, or else they'll be joining the Touaregs in the "too expensive to own" section way in the back of the dealer's lot.

 

[macflurry]

exactly[/I] why -- mix of the car's engineering, the way people who drive Saabs drive, and also the places they live, no doubt.

How do Saab owners drive as opposed to other car owners? I'm perplexed by that statement.

 

[obeygiant]

How do Saab owners drive as opposed to other car owners? I'm perplexed by that statement.

They cry and cry while they drive.

 

[iJohnHenry]

How do Saab owners drive as opposed to other car owners?

On the look-out for anyone pointing, and laughing??

Let us know when one of us gets the correct answer.

 

[mkrishnan]

All I know, is they better have some damn good fuel economy to offset the cost of 5 bucks a gallon for diesel, or else they'll be joining the Touaregs in the "too expensive to own" section way in the back of the dealer's lot.

Well, the last generation was approximately twice the fuel efficiency of gasoline, if I'm not mistaken. So if you pay $4/gallon for gas and you get 28 miles per gallon, and you pay $5/gal for diesel and get 55 MPG, I'm not sure how you figure the diesel is more expensive?

How do Saab owners drive as opposed to other car owners? I'm perplexed by that statement.

I don't mean it as any kind of insult. What I mean is that whenever you select some fairly cohesive brand element within the automotive industry, you select to some extent a subset of driving styles. Mustang GT drivers on average drive differently than Ford Taurus drivers, even though the same brand makes both cars. S2000 and Accord drivers drive differently also. With respect to Saab, their cars in general are tilted towards the driver/performance end of the segment, but in the US, both Saab and Volvo have safety reputations and tend to draw safety conscious drivers. When you draw safety conscious drivers to your safe car, you can create an artificial effect -- a self-fulfilling prophecy. There's nothing wrong with that, I'm just fairly sure it plays into the real-world safety statistics of that or any other car.