pikachu on: the Honda Civic (Tzuyu)
For my first review or thought piece on certain cars, I’d like to begin with the Honda Civic. MY Honda Civic.
I have a red 2006 Honda Civic EX Coupe in red that I named Tzuyu (yes, I am a huge TWICE fan). It is powered by a 1.8 liter single overhead cam R18A 4 cylinder engine mated to a five speed automatic transmission. It makes 140 horsepower to the wheels and weighs 2,700 pounds. It’s standard fare for Civics, but pretty light.
You sit in this car and notice the speedometer, gas tank and engine temperature gauges right in your line of sight like a fighter pilot, or in first-person view in GTA or Need for Speed. Heads-up displays is a feature that is assimilating to most mass-market passenger cars, but was reserved to high-end luxury and sports cars back in 2006. To think that something like this was on the Civic for the last 11 years is mind boggling in itself. It is my favourite feature in the car for this reason alone — it makes it really easy to drive.
This car embodies the two types of Honda drivers very well. You have the normal person that uses this as an everyday car because it gets good gas mileage, seats five people comfortably, has a huge trunk and a booming stereo — everything you want in a less than $20,000 asking price. However the polar end of the spectrum is people like me (not specifically) — someone who wanted a WRX, Camaro, Mustang or even an Si, but your mummy and daddy are like “no, those cars with the red stickers now; they attract too much cops. You can’t handle that kind of car. THOSE CARS ARE FOR THOSE DAMN ORIENTAL STREET RACER KIDS” Thanks dad, you really keep me out of trouble.
Truth is; the actual Oriental street racer kids that you’ll end up going to community college with drives a M4, or a McLaren. Your dad got you a Civic, but the both of you are taking your prerequisites to get to pharmacy school. The only difference besides him only being on a learner’s permit is the fact that you get more of your car.
Yeah, your Civic is being driven way harder than Zhang’s M4. (Sorry Zhang.)
There’s this term that goes around Honda circles that goes along the lines of “It’s more fun to go fast in a slow car than slow in a fast car.” It makes no difference whether you’re doing 110 in a Civic or an M5 — you have no control, especially on public roads. Let’s put it this way: If you took an L and failed your AP Micro test, it doesn’t matter if you pulled an all nighter or studied 15 minutes before the test, or just didn’t study at all; you still failed your AP Micro test. Your boundaries for any car are limited to your driving skills and nothing else.
Anyone who has driven a Honda at the limit knows all about exploiting the power from a VTEC engine.
Let me explain.
VTEC is a technology invented by Honda engineer Ikuo Kajitani that stands for Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control. The basic concept is summed up in that acronym; an electronically controlled variable valve timing system. The popular internet meme “VTEC just kicked in yo!” refers to the cutoff, or engagement of the camshaft lobes at high RPM. In my example, at 5,000 RPM, oil pressure in the valvetrain engages all the camshaft lobes to open up the valves from “economy mode” to “Usain Bolt on cocaine mode”, where the engine is allowed to run at high output, where all the valves function at full capacity. This is why it feels idle at slow speeds and low RPMs and fast when you put the foot down at high RPMs.
This is what I like about these VTEC engines — if you want to cruise, it knows, it’ll stay there at 2,000 RPM. If you want to overtake the Buick going 40 in the fast lane, it’ll give you the power to do so. If you are roll racing on I-80, drop it into 3rd and floor it; you can keep up with a V6 anything.
This is what makes the Civic very special. It’s a family car, a practical car with a two-faced engine. A car easy to park, easy to drive. A car you and your friends can bump the newest shit and hotbox while at Wendy’s, eating a 10-piece with your friends accidentally dripping barbecue sauce on the cloth seats. Most of the time this car will be used on the way to school, then work and back home, or Friday and Saturday nights to the mall and the city, or the car meets at the Wawa in Lodi or Garfield or at the Starbucks in Edgewater. The miles that rack up, the miles responsible for all the money you spend on gas are the ones that really make you know your car. You’re a teenager, and so is your car. It’s the full embodiment of me saying that a car is a part of your body; an extension of your whole personality.
People name their cars for a reason, take care of it and act if a part of them is gone when they crash.
Why? — The Honda Civic and any other cars that teenagers and millennials drive is their lifeline. It’s the difference between staying home hungry and getting fed at your friend’s house. Its the difference between work and play, where everything in life revolves and depends on you showing up to things you want to do versus you have to do.
If this car were an album, it’d be Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, as both things that come in red represent all the moods of light, evil and the outspoken in one package. This car will be powerful when you need it and silent if it has to. Like how all the songs in the album contribute to different moods and emotions, the Civic is a medium for anger, lust and happiness; all at different points before or at its redline.
It’s a representation of fading adolescence into adulthood, where one clings onto youthful innocence whilst grasping the new realities and challenges of being an adult. You have this power, where if you leave it untapped, it can be more damaging to the people around you.
As the most popular choice for first car for millions of kids around the world; the Honda Civic is the kid realizing his power. The difficult part comes when he is left with a nimble car with a peppy engine. It’s like leaving a thief in a room full of silver, or Glenn Quagmire in a room full of attractive women. It’s all part of being young.
“Money rolls, cars and clothes, that’s how all my partners roll..” — T.I. “24’s” (2003) (yes, the clean version from Need For Speed: Underground)
When people hear the words Honda Civic; they are reminded of the early 2000’s, where most of us were embedded into the tuner culture with Need for Speed: Underground and the early The Fast and The Furious movies.
What’s real? What’s fake? — Nothing, It’s only a form of self expression.
Call them Ricers, call them Boy Racers, call them Oriental pieces of shit or whatever name you can give to something that is part of people’s identity. The Civic is at that level above Mustangs, above Camaros, above Corvettes, even above Porsches and Lamborghinis by way of identifying yourself with what kind of car you drive. It probably has to do with its screen time on videogames and movies, or its affordability factor, or the smorgasbord level of modifications one can do. It’s a car in which street cred can be built on or off of.
To me, Civics old and new are a representation of the struggle of youthful recklessness and the responsibilities brought on by adulthood. It’s not the ultimate transition car; it’s the car we know too well.
This article was orginally posted on my Kinja blog on March 17, 2017; it has been edited for grammar and for use on Medium.
EDIT (3/23/2017, 6:00PM): futher edited for grammar and removal of explicit content and clarifications brought up by the r/cars community, s/o to you guys.
EDIT (11/24/2019): further edited for grammar.
