Civic Marketing Blunder ? ?

Just seems to me that the 160hp engine used in the SI needs to be available
in the standard Civic line - like the EX - and with an automatic.

Remember what happened when the first Accords came out with a V6 - you had
to pay sticker (at least) to get one - if you could find one.

Shannon

 

If you want that engine with an automatic, you can get the Acura RSX.
It's a marketing choice, rather than a blunder.

 

Maybe this is Honda's penance for the sin of pairing the Accord V6 with
an automatic when it first came out.

 

The K Series engine is available in the Coupe version in at least Thailand
and possibly other SE Pacific countries. You could have said, and I did
say, the same about the previous generation of engines with the 1.8L DOHC
in the Integra. Honda thinks they can get away with offering a 127bhp(?)
SOHC 1.7L in the Civic - seems to be working, for some anyway. Also with
their repuatation for fuel economy, I don't see Honda putting a 160bhp
engine in the normal Civic line for a long while... if ever.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

Honda's horses (especially on the Civic) tend to be more usable when compared
to other manufactures. Considering that the engine has good fuel efficiency and
can reach 200 km/hr, makes for a good engine choice. My only beef about the
sohc engine is that Vtec should be standard.

Pars

 

Eh? I found the horsepower in my former 6G civic very difficult to
extract- torque is pitiful until about 3K, and then flat to redline.
Which means no power at cruising rpms, and a HP peak at redline.

 

That's where the HP peak is in *all* cars - just below redline. Maybe
you're just cruising too slowly.:^) Compared with most other makes, Honda
motors spin up easily and don't sound like a swung cat when you go up
there; if you hate that Hondas are not for you.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

Under 3k rpm may not be peppy enough for aggressive accelerator. However, it should
be sufficient enough for cruising. In my 106 hp DX Hatch, I can pull up a hill in 2nd
while doing under 1500 rpm (and 2nd gear isn't tinny since it's good for 170 km/hr).
My wife's automatic 2000 ex Civic (which is an heavier 4 dr packing all the options)
also does not feel sluggish at lower rpms since her gear ratio is much sorter then my
standard DX tranny. Before we bought the 2000 Civic, we took the 1.6L Protege for a
test drive and that car's power felt pathetic when compared to the Civic.

Pars

 

Some cars have their HP peak AT redline, and some a fair bit below. The
point being that the more the HP peak is below redline, the more
"usable" horsepower you have, because you can also use the HP to the
right of the peak. That is the point of those chips that raise the
redline on Honda engines - so that they have more "usable" HP.

I don't really mind what an engine sounds like, unless it is an
indication that it is about to break.

 

True, but the HP you get when you suddenly floor the pedal is not very
good on a Civic compared to some other car with more low end torque.

I think you meant 3rd gear.

I bet a larger displacement engine would "feel" more powerful even if it
had the same HP