No kidding!! A buddy of mine used to rent cars to Kurt Cobain from Nervana. He would turn in Porches with hotdogs, soda cans (wink wink) and popcorn all over the place.
I believe this body is the best design of any hatch. I had one, got it free, gave it away with just under 300,000 on the dial. Forget those back seats, fold the back seats down, and you have a ton of cargo room. Visibility is a treat. Who needs a grill when a simple, stylish wedge will do. And, you can't kill them if you try. My beater powered from Ashland, OR to Salt Lake City via the twisty back roads, and blazed across Utah's Salt Flats at the 85mph speed limit, pedal to the metal. It did not protest a bit!
My Foxy gets their heads turning every time I take her out. Foxy is my 89 Firebird Formula with ttops. Jet black in excellent condition. Mel McDaniel's song "baby's got her blue jeans on" I just sing the song and say , Lord have mercy Foxy's got her ttops off. 🎶🎵🎵💘
Yeah. Even if they have an aftermarket stereo head unit that’s way better sounding that the original...it just cheapens it to me, even if the rest is bone stock.
Honda in the eighties and early nineties was obsessed with visibility, and it showed in all their designs. A big part of the reason they moved to double wishbone front suspension was that it allowed for a much lower hoodline than struts, and road tests constantly praised the way the hood just fell away in front of the driver's vision, so it looked like there was nothing but road in front of you. Narrow pillars and huge glass area completed the formula. To me this is almost a perfectly designed car, artfully utilitarian. I'd trade any of my cars for it in a second. And contrary to modern conventional wisdom, 108hp is plenty to have fun with in a small light car like this. For one thing, you can actually drive the thing.
Honda's obsession with a low scuttle for the sake of visibility was a minor fly in the ointment of their otherwise harmonious working relationship with the UK's Rover Group. When the two companies were jointly developing the European Honda Concerto and Rover R8 200/400 on a variation of this Civic's platform, Rover's engineers kept pushing for a higher scuttle and deeper flanks to make the cars appear less top-heavy.
There is something magic about lightweight civics from the 80s and 90s you feel one with the car and the road and you feel every pebble on the road through the steering wheel gas pedal and brakes. Its so light every corner or turn or curve is another chance to have fun. Eager cars that constantly reward you and literally make you happier.
@Daniel-mw7pu I've owned both. The fit is a good car, but it's much more tame feeling. They are unbelievably reliable and the name works great, because you can fit A LOT of stuff in them.
Cool trick is when the car is off, key is out, clock is "off", you can still check the time by pushing that flap that covers the time adjustments and holding it down. The clock will then light up, release it and it turns off. Another cool EF "trick"
Nah, I had an '86 civic station wagon and that is a much more doug looking car. Probably one of the nerdiest looking cars in the world, but honestly it was a really good car.
I miss my '92 Civic DX. Nicknamed "Wondercar" because it was a wonder it ever got up hills, but it was great. Manual transmission. Manual windows. Manual steering. Ran like a champ. Had it nearly 20 years before I was car #3 in a 4-car pileup.
@@iWerli You and me, both. Love the Integra (have had two) and sure wish that Acura would take the current Civic Hatch and make it about 2/3 the potency of the Type-R with just a bit of simply luxury for a modern day Integra. Funny thing and not surprising: every former Integra owner I know loved their time with the model.
Drove my buddys a few times and go cart was exactly how i described the car at the time. Pretty bullet prof to because he beat the sh!t out of it and it just kept going
This little Honda is an icon. It represents an era when Honda and Acura were at their peak, pumping out amazing, practical, reliable, somewhat fun to drive cars in every couple years.
Had a base model, best car I've ever owned. Half of it's life the yearly maintenance per annum was zero dollars. Sold it 17 years old with 240,000 kms for a thousand bucks. Also when you fold the rear seats down the cargo cover sits perfectly on the near flat floor. I miss it a lot.
Bought mine 10years ago for $500 with 160.000km. Now has 240k no problems at all. Just put gas in it an go. Really lovely to drive, great little fun car ! Don't think i'll ever sell it...
@@9.5.9.5 best is subjective man, it’s quality for what it is, it’s not trying to be something it’s not, and it’s fucking bulletproof. Obviously there are better performing, more luxurious cars. However, nothing touches the value of having something like this.
@@9.5.9.5 Kinda sad that you think the only "best car" someone can have is some expensive piece of shit that breaks all the time, because oooh "luxury"
@@nekto34 I really like Porsches, but video's on them just bore me because so many people are doing expensive cars in general. I much prefer lower end or normal car videos.
Exactly. This is a 30 year old model and he's comparing it to more contemporary cars. Obviously this Civic can't compete with them in terms of safety features and power. Neverthless, the Civic Si really was a very well built car. Look at how easily accessible the spark plugs are. No frills but no headaches either.
@@ADAPTATION7 I like new cars only. This is an old technology car. No electric hybrid technology. No apple and android. No electric parking brake. No vehicle stability assist and traction control. No autonomous braking
Stil timelessly good styling of the back end. Clean, straight lines. Nice proportions between taillights and surrounding metal, large rear glass hatch. From the rear this is one of the tidiest designs ever made. Same goes for the sedan version. The red middle section ties up the lightclusters so neatly into a continuous bar element.
Agreed. Early 90s Japanese cars in general are perfect examples of everything you've said. My first car was a 1993 Camry and it's another car you can still see on the road that still looks great for all of the same reasons. This Civic Si is awesome and, as a sucker for 2 door hatchbacks (current Mk7 GTI 2 door owner myself), I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't want one of these if given the chance.
My very first car was an '89 Civic Si. Looked exactly like this, but with a little different color scheme inside. I loved everything about it and it is definitely what sparked my love of cars. Like most of these cars and most teenagers though, I added MASSIVE 16" rims, lowered it (tastefully), and went with stiffer roll bars and sway bars, an intake and exhaust too. I loved everything about this car. Thanks Doug for reviewing it!
The reason the seatbelts were on the doors is that legally, those were "automatic seatbelts". The 'emergency release' decal on the brake is because you were SUPPOSED to leave them fastened all the time and open the door and get out with the belt stretched way over. It was a mechanically simpler version of the 'seatbelt that whirrs along the door'.
This is why I cringe when millennials review cars of this era. Not to mention, he couldn't really be bothered to properly research the model/engine/transmission offerings for that era Civic before doing the video.
Yes! "Passive Restraint" were becoming the law of the land - like air bags - but these seatbelts were a less expensive way to do it until air bags became required.
Came here as well to point this out. Glad someone did first. Man - we have to be of an age to remember that. I hated those - always like sitting into a spider web or something...
Doug shouldnt review older cars as he never really cares to do any real research always comparing things to new cars.. Like HA HA it has 90hp or look a tach was an option holy shit... Like yeah all of the cars were that way back in the 80s early 90s
@Von_Nightmare_ Luciferian Thnx. It is an old slavic / indoeuropean symbol of prosperity and eternity combined with oak leaves. Nothig nazi about it. Perun forbid !
This was a family Civic for us back in the day - so this video was great to watch and reminisce, thanks Doug! Some notes: the backseat cubby could only fit on one side since the driver's side had the fuel filler line, the dual exhaust in the video seemed original (can't speak to the muffler in this tested model, but on acceleration, this one sounded very similar to our original), and it also came with the wheel covers as another standard feature over the less expensive Civics.
Douglas, you mock the PGM-FI sticker in the engine bay, but you have clearly forgotten that in 1991, Honda’s proprietary electronically programmed direct fuel injection system was still quite a new innovation, especially for the economy class. The system relied on a piezoelectric sensor which took a measurement of air quantity, and calculated proper fuel injection with the assistance of performance maps. It had a fully integrated self-diagnostic system as well. This was new and innovative at the time, and was most certainly worth highlighting with its own unique branding and decal.
Next he will make fun of them for putting a VTEC logo on their 90's engines "pfft Honda don't you know that variable valve timing is a common technology?"
Here in the UK Fuel Injection basically meant Sporty back then My 1988 Nissan Sunny Coupe had a Carburettor. Only the top of the range ZX model got fuel injection. The same with every other manufacturer; Honda, VW, Ford, Vauxhall, Peugeot, Strange that my current car a VW Golf Estate / Wagon has Fuel Injection, a Turbo, and Paddle Shifters, yet isn't considered to be Hot. Admittedly Power to Weight is probably worse than this Honda.
I mock them for using alphabet soup acronyms and sticking it on the engine as if anyone who buys this car will care. Not for the technology itself. Which I think is clear in the video :)
"It makes you think it's some new special technology they put in this engine to make it way better but then you look and see that it stands for "programmed fuel injection". It's not really special at all they've just given it a weird acronym to make it seem special" Comes across to me as "haha stupid Honda, fuel injection isn't a fancy technology worth advertising" when it absolutely was but life goes on I suppose
I HATE people that HATE other people. I get a lot of HATE comments on my amazing videos and I HATE it. Please don't spread HATE. Do I have to HATE you too, dear ian
I had one of those. I loved it so much. Destroyed it in a 68MPH frontal collision. Then someone else also rammed us in the back at 68MPH. It got CRUMPLED. My heart got crumpled too, but it saved me and my girlfriend's life so I'll be forever grateful. Thank you Honda. Off to buy an EJ9 Civic today to replace the Prelude I bought to replace the EF. I hope it'll be even remotely as fun as this car was.
That's incredible. I'm glad you and your GF are okay. Getting crashed into is my biggest fear driving my 90s tin-can. I'm thankful for my modern daily driver.
@@dil6969 Just wear your seatbelt. A friend of mine had an 88' Accord and was thrown out of the car. Single car accident, his fault, but no belt. For the most part their good. I threw a 94' off the side of the road @ 70mph. Walked away.
There's more out there than people realize. I see them for sale all the time for cheap and have owned several. 85 prelude 2.0 Si, 87 accord Lx-i hatch, 88 CRX Si all clean and stock and purchased within the last 5 years. There's a first gen integra coupe with a 5 speed that's teasing me right now but I need to resist.
I just sold my 89 CR-X Si and this video made me miss it so much. Mine had 67k miles and was definitely one of the only bone-stock CR-Xs I had ever seen
Thank you Doug! This was awesome, I am now able to show my son this is what Daddy had when I was younger. I wish I kept my White 89 Si, it had 350,000 km's when I sold it. Kicking myself now, it was original except the radio :)
The seatbelts were on the door to comply with US regulation which required "passive restraints". This meant Airbags in more expensive cars, but for the Civic/Sentra/etc it meant attaching the seatbelt to the door so occupants could get in and out while leaving the seatbelt buckled. This is why the warning label with instructions on how to unlatch the belts--it was all about government compliance.
But doesn't "passive restraint" mean at least one part of the belt has to be connected to the other side of the seat? This design is not passive at all because you can just leave it unbuckled and hanging from the door. The early 90s motorized belts are always connected to the other side of the seat, which was why they made them motorized, so they will move out of the way when you open the door to let you get in or out easier.
@@tren133 you can, in fact, leave it buckled and get in and out. The belts are super long. I'm not arguing that this was effective--or that people did this. Most people buckled and unbuckled to get in and out--this scheme was only to comply with the law as Honda could argue that their instruction was to leave it buckled unless there was an emergency--which is why the labels instructing occupants how to unbuckle in case of emergency. The law was ahead of the price point for SRS airbags. I remember paying $500 for an optional airbag on a Sentra. Here is the quote from the owner's manual (p. 15) @ justgivemethedamnmanual.com/honda/1991-honda-civic-hatchback-sedan-owners-manual/; "[Hatchback] Wearing the Front Seat Belts The automatic ("passive") lap/shoulder belt systems with emergency locking retractors are designed to lock only during a sudden stop or impact. Otherwise, they allow you some freedom of movement in the seat. NOTE: The motion sensing lock mechanisms for the front belts are located in each door. Therefore, if a door is opened too quickly, the belt may lock and the door cannot be opened further. If this happens, close the door and open it again more slowly. Enter the car and close the door completely. If a door is not completely closed, the warning lights in the ceiling and in the instrument panel will come on and the beeper will sound when the ignition switch is turned on (see page 17). The driver's seat should be moved to a comfortable distance from the steering wheel. Sit straight up and well back in the seat. The seat belt should fit snugly against your body. The shoulder portion of the belt should go over your shoulder and across your body to evenly distribute the belt's restraining force. Check that the lap portion of the belt is positioned low on your hipbone and below your abdomen. This way, if the car is involved in an accident, you will be less likely to slide under the seat belts. If the belt is too near your neck and throat, move toward the center of the seat. Never drive the car with the doors ajar. The front doors must be closed completely for the front seat belts to function properly.
@Doug DeMuro at 8:32 you talk about the clock but didn’t mention it’s most quirky feature! Even with the ignition completely turned off and the key removed you could still turn on the clock to view the time by pressing in that little door that covers the buttons to adjust the time. That “cover” also acts as a button itself!!! How quirky is that?!?!
It's crazy how roomy these little 80s hatchbacks are. I had some early GTIs and it was the same story. People wondered how I fit (6'5"), not realizing that my car had more space than their bigger sedan/SUV.
Hey Doug. This car brought me some good memories. I owned a 1991 1.3lr Toyota Starlet. And til this day, it was the funniest car I’ve ever driven. Fast for its size and quite sharp on turns. Perfect to drive on hilly roads. The previous generation was also really fun to drive. Unfortunately I crashed it in one of my long nights out drifting with the boys and I still miss driving it.
Several GM cars of this era had the same seatbelt design. It was done to meet passive restraint regulations at the time. Manufactures either had to have passive seatbelts or airbags. Passive belts were a cheaper alternative because many cars during this era were not originally designed to have airbags. In theory you could keep the seatbelt fastened and still open the door and enter or exit. Hence the passive feature.
@Crooked Skate Supply Co By this year, all cars in the U.S. had to have passive restraints for the front passengers in some form: airbags, motorized seatbelts, or door-mounted belts like these. Even the Ferrari Testarossa had motorized belts for some years. www.red-headed.com/images/testarossa_seatbelts.jpg Airbags got cheap enough, quick enough, that passive belts were only a thing for a couple years.
Brian Ashe I’m guessing the intended purpose of this passive restraint mandate was to prevent the front occupants from being ejected from the vehicle in the event of a crash?
@Crooked Skate Supply Co Those were the ones that had the motorized shoulder belt that would whir back into place and garrote you after you closed the door. Every federalized car of that era had at least one of these three features: door-mounted outer belt points, motorized shoulder belt, or driver-side airbag.
"In fact, it's so mint that I had to enjoy a tasty mint ice cream whilst sitting in it, listening to some fine classical music from this hardened little radio and gazing up and out of the sunroof." (An imaginary quote born seemingly from spontaneous inspiration but, in a further sense, from an appreciation for a particular recent past obviously.)
The original owner must have been middle-aged when he bought it new. Probably a wnd car to get him to work & back. Not often do you find an almost 30yr old car with only 187K on it!
@7:22 A tear dropped from the corner of my eye, as Doug made me internalize car interiors will never be as "direct" and zero-bullshit as cars from this era were. This was a car, not less than it needed to be, but not more than it is supposed to be. No intelligent assistants, no shrieking buzzers because you forgot to zip up your fly, no 3 airbags for every bone in the human body, no consoles refrigerators, massage chairs.... It was simply and geniously a car. God I love the 80s/90s era of automobiles.
This car was stolen 5 hours after filming this video Edit: this was a joke. It didn’t get stolen. I’m just saying that these have a **tendency** to get stolen
I’m surprised you don’t actually know the seatbelt history of door mounted belts. They are meant to be buckled all the time. That’s why there is the emergency release label. You should have tried leaving the belt buckled and opening the door and sitting into the seat and close the door and then reverse, open the door with the belt buckled and get out without unbuckling. As that is how the belt was designed to be used. They did this instead of adding an airbag or just using the motorized shoulder harness. GM used door mounted belts a lot.
The Accord from this era had the retractable seatbelt. I loved it, even if it was pretty much unneccessary since you still had to buckle the lap belt. But it was easier to buckle 'half' of a seatbelt. My friends Ford Tempo had retractable belts too. I never saw these broken, which was interesting because it seemed like something that would break.
Yes, the seat belts were meant to stay buckled to meet the passive restraint requirement mandated by the gov’t . Of course, no one kept the belts buckled all the time and subsequently, the spring loaded recoil system would fail. Had to get my drivers side belt spring replaced on the mini me version, the CRX.
@@noeyedeer4227 Old Hondas are going up in value, yes many see these as an old econo box but there are quite a few people willing to shell out real money for rust free low mileage examples.
My very first car I owned, a 89 Black Honda Civic Si (w/air cond), I got as a present for university. I loved it and still my favorite car I've owned atleast 20 others since, it's the perfect fun/value vehicle I remembered the mods I put in as a young would be tuner, a HKS exhaust, HKS mushroom air filter, and of course a pull out cd/tuner deck with bazooka subwoofers, those were the days!
To be fair, to get the "speed" out of these, you had to be in the top of the rev range, at all times. That's when these Honda engines made their power. Anything low-down was tuned to be efficient and "torquey". Whereas the HP was near the top. It was part of the fun too, as it sounded like you were going a million miles an hour. Basically foot to the floor at all times, and the thing is, these cars can handle that just fine. They were meant to. The Japanese themselves hooned these things in the early 90's on their highways.
A respectable 0 to 60 in 91 .That's about what a 1991 SHO 5 speed would do. And the mustang gt of the same year. ( 2 of my friends in highschool in the 90s were brothers. One had a sho..one a mustangs GT same year. )They raced all the time .The sho was faster.
I had four mid-late 80s Hondas. My favorite was a white 1989 Si hatchback. Air conditioning was the only option. I had a killer Yamaha sound deck with Polk Audio speakers and a Sony disc changer in the cargo area. It was an awesome car....the low dashboard and huge glass area made the car feel so incredibly spacious.
The reason those seatbelts are like that is because they were supposed to be "automatic". At the time, automakers had to have those motorized seatbelts that ran along the top of the window, or a solution like this. So you leave the seatbelt buckled in, and when you open the door, you just slide into the belts. When you close the door, you will already be buckled in. Hence the "emergency release", as the seatbelts were not intended to be unbuckled. Also, I am surprised you missed the little button that allows you to display the clock with the ignition off. I believe you have pointed this out on another car, perhaps the acura legend.
This is true, and I’d add that it was the official alternative to mandatory airbags, before those became the norm. It was intended to get people to buckle up. Some manufacturers used motorized seatbelts to achieve the same result, Mandatory airbags became the norm soon after and those weird seatbelt arrangements went away.
I had a 1992 Toyota Tercel when I got my drivers license. Very similar in that it had no horsepower but it was fun to drive anyway because it weighed about as much as a piece of paper. This review was a fun nostalgia trip because all of the trim and the "no frills" design were so similar. Manual windows, manual locks, manual transmission, etc. The thing I remember most about it though were the black vinyl seats that would burn your ass off in the summer. Good times :)
Thank you Doug for this review - which has brought back many wonderful memories. My first car was a 1990 Civic (European Spec - with the seatbelts mounted on the b-pillar, build in Japan), 1.5l 90hp, 13" wheels (175/70 R13), and it was a wonderful car. Due to the low seating position, the center of gravity was so low that the cornering abilities were extremely good, even without a rock-hard suspension and extra-wide tires. With the 90PS engine, I got the speedometer to the limit (210 km / h ~ 131 mph) on the Autobahn. In Europe, the model was also offered with the 1.6l i-VT (VTEC) engine, which developed 150 hp, but needed very high revs (~7.000 rpm) for full power and was not much livelier than the normal 1.6l at low revs.
Actually, the reason that the seatbelt is on the door is, you’re supposed to leave it buckled in down at the emergency brake and it would let you get in and not have to worry about buckling the seatbelt when you get it. It’s an early version of passive restraints like the motorized ones in the mid 90s
In fact, Honda did this to avoid having to do either those motorized seat belts or those newfangled and very expensive air bags. Per new US safety regs, those were your choices.
I had a 1996 Oldsmobile Ciera with the door-mounted belt. I attempted to get in the car with the belt already buckled but it was extremely awkward. It was much easier to just buckle the belt once you're in the car.
Cars of that era needed a passive restraint. The idea was to keep it buckled and slide in under it when the door opens. As mentioned, GM cars had this too. Other cars like Ford had the electric seatbelts instead (my 89T-bird had it) It was a stop gap until airbags could be fitted to the cars in later model years.
Yep... came to the comments for this... My '94 Mercury Cougar had this style of seatbelt. (Mounted to the door, non-electric like this Civic... Though it also had airbags, of course.)
Fun fact about the seatbelts: They were intended to be PASSIVE RESTRAINTS! The idea was that you would leave the seatbelt buckled and just open the door and get out. Obviously this was ridiculous. It was way easier to just unbuckle the thing. But it could be done and it was more elegant than the motorized-track contraptions found on other cars of the era. That's why there are the "Emergency Release" stickers. Per the owners manual: "Emergency Belt Release: The front belts should remain permanently latched. However, an emergency release button is provided as shown." (And there is a picture of the seat belt buckle.)
@@JamesPhieffer I think Doug does a pretty good job of balancing quantity vs. quality. If he did that kind of research on every video we'd only get like one a month. It's just fun watching him react to these cars, so I won't nitpick. (But if we are gonna nitpick. This would be an ED, not an EF. (An ED7 I believe.))
I had a '91 Nissan Sentra with the same kind of seatbelts. You were supposed to keep them permanently latched and they would stretch way out when you opened the door. I never used them that way though.
OMG VIDEOS !!!! VINE COMPS, TOP 10s AND MORE why are they disgusting? It almost seems like you don’t know what the OP is talking about. My apologies if you do.
The AWD Civic is about as cool as an AWD 323. Even with a Turbo and AWD they are slow and incapable of making reliable power. Those early AWD systems broke around 200ft lbs. This is why every Civic you ever saw at a drag strip was FWD, often with welded diffs, 30mm axles and unstreetable clutches. A friend of mine in Canada had a Mazda Protege AWD, basically the same car, and it was slow as a dog but mostly reliable. The AWD system was open diff front and back so it didn't really offer much over a limited slip FWD setup would...
The greatest Honda Civic Si was the next one, the 1993-1996, which came in hatchback or coupe. It added a much nicer interior, great seats, 6 speakers, ABS and an airbag
A few cars from back then had that arrangement with the seat belt. The idea was that you just kept it buckled all the time and when you slid into the car and closed the door, you were buckled in. I do not think many people used it that way, though. My aunt had a Chevy Beretta back then that had the same thing.
I totally agree with this. I watched an old motor week of an 80s accord coupe and it had the seatbelts on the doors too that you were meant to leave buckled all the time too. They were actually using them in the always buckled mode too. It explains the warning label by the parking brake too.
Pat 280ZX Yeah, I sat in the backseat of my friends new Honda Accord and my head was touching the roof. I didn’t have that issue in the back seat of my friends 2006 Camry.
@@kevinnorris6558 The sloped "coupe" roof has cut down rear headroom in most sedans. Just like many have long trunks but too shallow for a large cooler = really annoying
You go to Beverly Hills 90120 High School or something? I graduated in 89 and all I used to see in school parking lots were rusted and primered out Camero and Mustangs, and of course the paneled station wagon and your typical economy cars. One person had a sweet 200 SX.
my first car was a 91 civic hatch standard model. Came with AC which i had converted to r134 and converted the stock engine to fuel injection. Really loved it and ended up swapping the engine for a JDM GSR B18C, lowered on coilovers and had integra GSR fat five wheels. Added little bits to it like the si steering wheel, del sol seats, 4 door civic sedan gauge cluster and different stereo.......good times!
21:09- lies. That is EXACTLY what I want. Crank windows, manual locks, manual seats, manual mirrors, manual transmission... I want AC and cruise control. Hell, I can add aftermarket cruise. I don't even want carpet.
Mark Brand I don't even want that. I drive defensively, and new crash stuff is the reason even 'lightweight' 'sports' cars are bloated pigs that regular people can't work on very easily.
Absolutely! Not only because this was my first car, it is just much more interesting to see what cars used to be back in the days. I would like to see more reviews like this instead of the next 20 similar boring SUVs.
This was my first car, had it in white and kept it in immaculate condition. Same scenario, bought from the first owner who was getting older at 170K miles. I sold it for more than I bought for in 2011 to get an RSX Type-S. I'll always miss it due to sentimental value. I am now in a 10th Gen. Si and am thrilled to have come full circle.
An exuberantly idiotic kind of admiration apparently corrupted by questionable pornography has what to do with the relatively humorous quotation at the top? It was a rhetorical question, so nevermind.
The sunroof in my brothers 97 civic EX opens pretty damn fast I was surprised 😂 both of the power windows came off track lol he can only use AC or sunroof for air circulation
Owned a perfect condition red base sedan model with 90k mi (!) that was a hand me down from my grandparents. I loved that car so much. The design inside and out is timeless, visibility unparalleled, cabin was so pleasing and no-nonsense. Very gutted when it met an undignified end getting ripped off in a parking lot. I miss you, little red car.
I had a 91 Civic DX sedan around 2001 and it took me weeks of scouring local yards to find a clock with the little door still attached. The hinge plastic is very fragile so even back then most of them were missing the door. Props to the owners of this classic!
It would be pretty cool if you did a camping roadtrip series with various vehicles that might be suited for it. Sometimes hatchbacks, or off roaders, or campers.
THIS... is the last nice Civic from this era in existence. I'm thrilled I got to review it!
Review a 2020 Nissan Altima
Civic bingo was nice aswell
im glad you were able to document it for all of us to enjoy
RY Vids why would he want to review a trash can.
Please review the first gen Mazda Mazda 5! Very quirky car. I'm sure you will love it! 😁👍 Btw great videos!
Finally, a car that can compete with doug’s outfit.
Cheap, bland, and iconic
Trust the Proccess
th-cam.com/video/UdEla2-x-ec/w-d-xo.html
@jxsxph dude why
Exactly but it’s really one of the reliables pned
I can't believe how clean that interior is. No cigarette butts or McDonalds french fries in between the seats !!
Lol
No kidding!! A buddy of mine used to rent cars to Kurt Cobain from Nervana. He would turn in Porches with hotdogs, soda cans (wink wink) and popcorn all over the place.
I thought those came standard
Chris 315 nurwayna*
What do French people have to do with fries between the seats ? There’s fried French people between the seats in American cars ?
I'd honestly be ok with cars looking like this today. Functional, clean, affordable, plenty of modding capability. It's just perfect
And fun
until you get in a crash
Nah it’s a shit box
@@luhryan8185 for the 90s it was good and fun
Thats exactly what I see when I see a hatchback, but I think we are a small minority.
He's reviewing million dollar cars and I'm more interested in this.
Because we can actually relate to this.
Probably because these are cars we can actually afford.
Bruh I might have a chance to get the one in the neighbors yard. Thts the only reason I'm watching this
No doubt, just watched the F40 vs. Carrera video and this is cooler to me.
Yep I want this
It’s so weird that this “utilitarian” and “basic” design looks way better to me than most modern designs
You're delusional
Yep!
Simple and clean. A far cry from today's civic.
I believe this body is the best design of any hatch. I had one, got it free, gave it away with just under 300,000 on the dial. Forget those back seats, fold the back seats down, and you have a ton of cargo room. Visibility is a treat. Who needs a grill when a simple, stylish wedge will do. And, you can't kill them if you try. My beater powered from Ashland, OR to Salt Lake City via the twisty back roads, and blazed across Utah's Salt Flats at the 85mph speed limit, pedal to the metal. It did not protest a bit!
I don't think the rear looks very utilitarian, really. It's definitely stylized.
There’s something about older cars that are in pristine condition and stock.
I love it. I call them ‘survivor cars’.
I love them also
My Foxy gets their heads turning every time I take her out. Foxy is my 89 Firebird Formula with ttops. Jet black in excellent condition. Mel McDaniel's song "baby's got her blue jeans on" I just sing the song and say , Lord have mercy Foxy's got her ttops off. 🎶🎵🎵💘
I agree. I'm thinking of shopping for one just to look at it and step back in time.
Yeah. Even if they have an aftermarket stereo head unit that’s way better sounding that the original...it just cheapens it to me, even if the rest is bone stock.
Doug: mclaren hypercar
Me:
Doug: old civic
Me: oh hell yeah now thats what im talking about
huh😺
Fuckin facts
Couldn’t have said it better myself
Gay
@@MrBooster999 PREPARE FOR DOCKING PROCEDURE
God I miss the bare bones simplicity and reliability.
Yup, basically that's the charm of Honda.It's not super fast (stock), but it's fun, very easy to modify, and very reliable.
I have the 1.4 GL of 1991, it's a lot of fun everyday
The Mirage is probably the modern equivalent to this, despite how much Doug hates it. That or the Fit.
@@baetsimpson what brand is the Mirage ?
@@julienbee3467 Mitsubishi, they seem to hold up alright
Love that he puts as much effort into this car as he does a 1 million dollar car.
Unmodded old Civics are even rarer.
Honda in the eighties and early nineties was obsessed with visibility, and it showed in all their designs. A big part of the reason they moved to double wishbone front suspension was that it allowed for a much lower hoodline than struts, and road tests constantly praised the way the hood just fell away in front of the driver's vision, so it looked like there was nothing but road in front of you. Narrow pillars and huge glass area completed the formula. To me this is almost a perfectly designed car, artfully utilitarian. I'd trade any of my cars for it in a second. And contrary to modern conventional wisdom, 108hp is plenty to have fun with in a small light car like this. For one thing, you can actually drive the thing.
Amen, Glenn. Artfully utilitarian ... that's a design philosophy I can get behind.
And it cane with manuals don't forget that
@@Jesse__H sign me up too.
What do you have available for trade?
Honda's obsession with a low scuttle for the sake of visibility was a minor fly in the ointment of their otherwise harmonious working relationship with the UK's Rover Group. When the two companies were jointly developing the European Honda Concerto and Rover R8 200/400 on a variation of this Civic's platform, Rover's engineers kept pushing for a higher scuttle and deeper flanks to make the cars appear less top-heavy.
There is something magic about lightweight civics from the 80s and 90s you feel one with the car and the road and you feel every pebble on the road through the steering wheel gas pedal and brakes. Its so light every corner or turn or curve is another chance to have fun. Eager cars that constantly reward you and literally make you happier.
@Daniel-mw7pu I've owned both. The fit is a good car, but it's much more tame feeling. They are unbelievably reliable and the name works great, because you can fit A LOT of stuff in them.
Cool trick is when the car is off, key is out, clock is "off", you can still check the time by pushing that flap that covers the time adjustments and holding it down. The clock will then light up, release it and it turns off. Another cool EF "trick"
That was a function that was still there on the 5th generation.
Love that this feature is shared with the NSX! Haha
This is also available on the EG and Prelude as far as i know
You just know that's a quirk Doug would have gone crazy over if he knew about it.
You can do this with the Integra too
This is the most Doug Demuro looking car
nah it's not big enough
Doctor's Music looks like him though
Nah, I had an '86 civic station wagon and that is a much more doug looking car. Probably one of the nerdiest looking cars in the world, but honestly it was a really good car.
He also fits the Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser and the Ford Bronco pretty good.
watergod 83 Doug’s climbing mountains in his Mercedes G Wagen. He looks nice near the Bronco and he liked it too by making a review of it.
“This car has nothing more than what is necessary.”
I miss cars like that.
Like I want my phones: NO BLOATWARE..👍🏼
I miss my '92 Civic DX. Nicknamed "Wondercar" because it was a wonder it ever got up hills, but it was great. Manual transmission. Manual windows. Manual steering. Ran like a champ. Had it nearly 20 years before I was car #3 in a 4-car pileup.
this is why ive owned 5 cars, all of which being Acura Integras. its the perfect balance in my opinion. im addicted to integras lmfao
1:29 except horsepower
@@iWerli You and me, both. Love the Integra (have had two) and sure wish that Acura would take the current Civic Hatch and make it about 2/3 the potency of the Type-R with just a bit of simply luxury for a modern day Integra. Funny thing and not surprising: every former Integra owner I know loved their time with the model.
One of my first cars I owned...and still own. Hard to let it go. Such a fun little go kart, and it gets better with mods.
@user name agree they are pretty much bullet proof, just change the timing belt and keep it away from salt
Drove my buddys a few times and go cart was exactly how i described the car at the time. Pretty bullet prof to because he beat the sh!t out of it and it just kept going
@@cwbetb mine has had the same belt for 30 years but it will be replaced this year
Which version do you have ?
@@julienbee3467 was a dx
Doug: "Obviously you want to hear the story about how this car came to exist"
Me: I mean, sure go on
This little Honda is an icon. It represents an era when Honda and Acura were at their peak, pumping out amazing, practical, reliable, somewhat fun to drive cars in every couple years.
This and the next generation (92-95) hatch are some of the best normal cars in my opinion.
And, the interior materials in these Hondas put most all domestics of the period to shame.
Recently Honda announced that they were stopping production of two door Civics as the sales were poor.
@@terryorcutt8739 last forever
@@terryorcutt8739 the dash design was on par with bmw simple and driver focused
Had a base model, best car I've ever owned. Half of it's life the yearly maintenance per annum was zero dollars. Sold it 17 years old with 240,000 kms for a thousand bucks. Also when you fold the rear seats down the cargo cover sits perfectly on the near flat floor. I miss it a lot.
Do you regret selling it?
Bought mine 10years ago for $500 with 160.000km.
Now has 240k no problems at all. Just put gas in it an go.
Really lovely to drive, great little fun car !
Don't think i'll ever sell it...
Kinda sad if this is the best car you've had.
@@9.5.9.5 best is subjective man, it’s quality for what it is, it’s not trying to be something it’s not, and it’s fucking bulletproof. Obviously there are better performing, more luxurious cars. However, nothing touches the value of having something like this.
@@9.5.9.5 Kinda sad that you think the only "best car" someone can have is some expensive piece of shit that breaks all the time, because oooh "luxury"
Yet another Porsche 911 - I sleep
Honda Civic Si - real shit??
Right! He seems to review Porsche products every week. I see Porsche video - I skip. I'm a weird car enthousiast.
@@nekto34 I really like Porsches, but video's on them just bore me because so many people are doing expensive cars in general. I much prefer lower end or normal car videos.
「Ashita no Jonas」 AWAKEN
Ayeee
no
I see he found one without a 12” exhaust on the back.
th-cam.com/video/UdEla2-x-ec/w-d-xo.html
Or a gigantic one that is bigger than the car and sounds like a chainsaw
All of them have been fitted with fartcan exhausts
A unicorn
My exhaust tip seeking missiles (patent pending) have finally met a dudebro shitbox they can't hit.
I’ve literally never seen one of those not modified. I love those old ass steelies
🤮
There were plastic wheel covers that came with the car... this one has had them removed. Such a cool car. I loved mine back in the day...
Fun note. The 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 has a 20” spare steelie. It’s so nice I want to get a truck just to have a set of those in high gloss grey.
Love those wheels so much. Early Miatas have similar ones which I love too
@@christopherhamilton5557 well anything was better than 1990 hub caps.
I would never want Doug to check my exams keeping in mind the scores he gives
So true !!!! This Doug is chintzy !!!!
Exactly. This is a 30 year old model and he's comparing it to more contemporary cars. Obviously this Civic can't compete with them in terms of safety features and power. Neverthless, the Civic Si really was a very well built car. Look at how easily accessible the spark plugs are. No frills but no headaches either.
@@ADAPTATION7 I like new cars only. This is an old technology car. No electric hybrid technology. No apple and android. No electric parking brake. No vehicle stability assist and traction control. No autonomous braking
@@ADAPTATION7 That's the whole point of his channel. He reviews all cars compared to all cars.
Well he did say this 2 door hot hatch was more practical than every 4 door sedan he has ever reviewed.
Stil timelessly good styling of the back end. Clean, straight lines. Nice proportions between taillights and surrounding metal, large rear glass hatch. From the rear this is one of the tidiest designs ever made. Same goes for the sedan version. The red middle section ties up the lightclusters so neatly into a continuous bar element.
yes, agree 1000%. this model (hatch, coupe& sedan) are timeless designs imo. would love to own one and make some mods on it, like some project car.
Agreed. Early 90s Japanese cars in general are perfect examples of everything you've said. My first car was a 1993 Camry and it's another car you can still see on the road that still looks great for all of the same reasons. This Civic Si is awesome and, as a sucker for 2 door hatchbacks (current Mk7 GTI 2 door owner myself), I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't want one of these if given the chance.
I'll always prefer the hatchback, I personally think it looks beautiful
And the crx is even better
You know what,
You can read the CIVIC backwards as CIVIC
🥂
I read it as CMC
You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar.
That’s interesting- I’ll check your channel out
@@tobycripe8385 🤣🤣🤣🔥🔥
@@MC_MMV 😜🙏❤
My very first car was an '89 Civic Si. Looked exactly like this, but with a little different color scheme inside. I loved everything about it and it is definitely what sparked my love of cars. Like most of these cars and most teenagers though, I added MASSIVE 16" rims, lowered it (tastefully), and went with stiffer roll bars and sway bars, an intake and exhaust too. I loved everything about this car. Thanks Doug for reviewing it!
The reason the seatbelts were on the doors is that legally, those were "automatic seatbelts". The 'emergency release' decal on the brake is because you were SUPPOSED to leave them fastened all the time and open the door and get out with the belt stretched way over. It was a mechanically simpler version of the 'seatbelt that whirrs along the door'.
Came here to say this.
This is why I cringe when millennials review cars of this era. Not to mention, he couldn't really be bothered to properly research the model/engine/transmission offerings for that era Civic before doing the video.
Yes! "Passive Restraint" were becoming the law of the land - like air bags - but these seatbelts were a less expensive way to do it until air bags became required.
Came here as well to point this out. Glad someone did first. Man - we have to be of an age to remember that. I hated those - always like sitting into a spider web or something...
Doug shouldnt review older cars as he never really cares to do any real research always comparing things to new cars.. Like HA HA it has 90hp or look a tach was an option holy shit... Like yeah all of the cars were that way back in the 80s early 90s
There's no rear seat storage on the left because that is where the fuel filler tube goes.
Yea I thought it was funny that the reason for the missing cubby was plainly visible during his rant of there being no cubby.
The PGM-FI was a technological advancement at that time when compared to everyone else’s carburators. He should call his channel “Doug’s ignorance’
Exactly the kind of humble cars we need today.
These were not considered bargain basement cars back in 1990 , hondas would routinely sell at nearly MSRP.
Not a lot of people know this about Doug but he regularly beats his wife
@@MinoritiesRlazy What ? C'mon man. Hard accusation...
Oshe Shango You had to be beaten to learn respect?
@Von_Nightmare_ Luciferian Thnx. It is an old slavic / indoeuropean symbol of prosperity and eternity combined with oak leaves. Nothig nazi about it. Perun forbid !
This was a family Civic for us back in the day - so this video was great to watch and reminisce, thanks Doug! Some notes: the backseat cubby could only fit on one side since the driver's side had the fuel filler line, the dual exhaust in the video seemed original (can't speak to the muffler in this tested model, but on acceleration, this one sounded very similar to our original), and it also came with the wheel covers as another standard feature over the less expensive Civics.
She's well looked after. Respect to the owner from a Honda fan.
1:56 cool little car.
Douglas, you mock the PGM-FI sticker in the engine bay, but you have clearly forgotten that in 1991, Honda’s proprietary electronically programmed direct fuel injection system was still quite a new innovation, especially for the economy class. The system relied on a piezoelectric sensor which took a measurement of air quantity, and calculated proper fuel injection with the assistance of performance maps. It had a fully integrated self-diagnostic system as well. This was new and innovative at the time, and was most certainly worth highlighting with its own unique branding and decal.
Next he will make fun of them for putting a VTEC logo on their 90's engines
"pfft Honda don't you know that variable valve timing is a common technology?"
Here in the UK Fuel Injection basically meant Sporty back then My 1988 Nissan Sunny Coupe had a Carburettor. Only the top of the range ZX model got fuel injection. The same with every other manufacturer; Honda, VW, Ford, Vauxhall, Peugeot, Strange that my current car a VW Golf Estate / Wagon has Fuel Injection, a Turbo, and Paddle Shifters, yet isn't considered to be Hot. Admittedly Power to Weight is probably worse than this Honda.
I mock them for using alphabet soup acronyms and sticking it on the engine as if anyone who buys this car will care. Not for the technology itself. Which I think is clear in the video :)
"It makes you think it's some new special technology they put in this engine to make it way better but then you look and see that it stands for "programmed fuel injection". It's not really special at all they've just given it a weird acronym to make it seem special"
Comes across to me as "haha stupid Honda, fuel injection isn't a fancy technology worth advertising" when it absolutely was but life goes on I suppose
Doug DeMuro No one knew what VTEC was back then yet they still slapped a giant VTEC logo on the engine of some Honda’s. What’s your point
Couldn't put storage and left side in rear because of fuel filler door/piping.
I HATE people that HATE other people. I get a lot of HATE comments on my amazing videos and I HATE it. Please don't spread HATE. Do I have to HATE you too, dear ian
@@AxxLAfriku Hate isn't a helpful emotion. Maybe just take me off your Christmas card mailing list?
@@AxxLAfriku Uhhh....what does that have to do with this comment?
@mipmipmipmipmip Might have been a fire safety choice.
@@AxxLAfriku
You're so weird. Are you okay dude?
I owned the base base model. It was my first car. Didn’t come with a radio or passenger side mirror. It was bulletproof!
_"Very little body roll, cuz there's really not all that much body to roll"_
Thats a fkn best one in the video
so it's just a roll
Lol
Isetta proves that statement false
I had one of those. I loved it so much.
Destroyed it in a 68MPH frontal collision. Then someone else also rammed us in the back at 68MPH. It got CRUMPLED. My heart got crumpled too, but it saved me and my girlfriend's life so I'll be forever grateful. Thank you Honda.
Off to buy an EJ9 Civic today to replace the Prelude I bought to replace the EF. I hope it'll be even remotely as fun as this car was.
❤️
I'm sorry for your loss
How does the ej9 compare?
That's incredible. I'm glad you and your GF are okay. Getting crashed into is my biggest fear driving my 90s tin-can. I'm thankful for my modern daily driver.
@@dil6969 Just wear your seatbelt. A friend of mine had an 88' Accord and was thrown out of the car. Single car accident, his fault, but no belt. For the most part their good. I threw a 94' off the side of the road @ 70mph. Walked away.
Doug: "The term go-kart is so overused"
Also Doug: *Is the person who uses that term most often
Just started my channel where I take trucks into the mountains and bag on them. I just wanna make people laugh.
Doug: Before I get started
Me: *aggressively spams arrow key*
Exactly cars and bids my ass
That interior shape with 190k Miles? Holy smokes....amazing...and there is no storage cubby back-left because Fueltank-filler.
they are known to be able to do many times that.
That car looks like it was garaged. Very well taken care of from the looks of it.
My 91 civic has 157k on it
447 k miles...she's retired now. Still smile about that car. Best automotive investment I ever made.
@@RetroAmateur1989 but they are not known to do so many miles while staying so clean and pristine looking.
..actually, if they made a car like that today, I would buy it.
Me too!
base model Toyota Yaris
Mitsubishi Mirage
Honda Fit is as close as we can get now.
It’s electric, but the Honda E captures the same essence as this car imo
I bet a CRX in good condition would be almost impossible to find also. I would love to see Doug review one.
There's more out there than people realize. I see them for sale all the time for cheap and have owned several. 85 prelude 2.0 Si, 87 accord Lx-i hatch, 88 CRX Si all clean and stock and purchased within the last 5 years. There's a first gen integra coupe with a 5 speed that's teasing me right now but I need to resist.
I have one that is almost as clean as the one Doug did this video on....
I just sold my 89 CR-X Si and this video made me miss it so much. Mine had 67k miles and was definitely one of the only bone-stock CR-Xs I had ever seen
fr
To find an '88-91 CRX Si that's not engine swapped, stanced, or completely rusted out is impossible in the Midwest.
Thank you Doug! This was awesome, I am now able to show my son this is what Daddy had when I was younger. I wish I kept my White 89 Si, it had 350,000 km's when I sold it. Kicking myself now, it was original except the radio :)
"This car only has the necessities"
And it's beautiful
I miss car like that.
No A/C apparently.
@@TucsonDude that's a big yikes for those of us in the southwest haha
@Oscar Patino It's beautiful and simple.
The seatbelts were on the door to comply with US regulation which required "passive restraints". This meant Airbags in more expensive cars, but for the Civic/Sentra/etc it meant attaching the seatbelt to the door so occupants could get in and out while leaving the seatbelt buckled. This is why the warning label with instructions on how to unlatch the belts--it was all about government compliance.
Do you like my cat 🐗
Was about to write this but you beat me! Good ole’ 80s and 90s motorized seatbelts existed to meet the “passive restraint” rule too.
But doesn't "passive restraint" mean at least one part of the belt has to be connected to the other side of the seat? This design is not passive at all because you can just leave it unbuckled and hanging from the door. The early 90s motorized belts are always connected to the other side of the seat, which was why they made them motorized, so they will move out of the way when you open the door to let you get in or out easier.
@@tren133 you can, in fact, leave it buckled and get in and out. The belts are super long. I'm not arguing that this was effective--or that people did this. Most people buckled and unbuckled to get in and out--this scheme was only to comply with the law as Honda could argue that their instruction was to leave it buckled unless there was an emergency--which is why the labels instructing occupants how to unbuckle in case of emergency. The law was ahead of the price point for SRS airbags. I remember paying $500 for an optional airbag on a Sentra.
Here is the quote from the owner's manual (p. 15) @ justgivemethedamnmanual.com/honda/1991-honda-civic-hatchback-sedan-owners-manual/;
"[Hatchback]
Wearing the Front Seat Belts
The automatic ("passive") lap/shoulder belt systems with emergency locking retractors are designed to lock only during a sudden
stop or impact. Otherwise, they allow you some freedom of movement in the seat.
NOTE:
The motion sensing lock mechanisms for the front belts are located in each door. Therefore, if a door is opened too quickly, the belt may lock and the door cannot be opened further. If this happens, close the door and open it again more slowly. Enter the car and close the door completely. If a door is not completely closed, the warning lights in the ceiling and in the instrument panel will come on and the beeper will sound when the ignition switch is turned on (see page 17).
The driver's seat should be moved to a comfortable distance from
the steering wheel. Sit straight up and well back in the seat. The seat belt should fit snugly against your body. The shoulder portion of the belt should go over your shoulder and across your body to evenly distribute the belt's restraining force. Check that the lap portion of the belt is positioned low on your hipbone and below your abdomen. This way, if the car is involved in an accident, you will be less likely to slide under the seat belts. If the belt is too near your neck and throat, move toward the center of the seat. Never drive the car with the doors ajar. The front doors must be closed completely for the front seat belts to function properly.
@Doug DeMuro at 8:32 you talk about the clock but didn’t mention it’s most quirky feature! Even with the ignition completely turned off and the key removed you could still turn on the clock to view the time by pressing in that little door that covers the buttons to adjust the time. That “cover” also acts as a button itself!!! How quirky is that?!?!
My '99 Integra did that still then! *miss that car*
My 91, 90, and I think the 98 Integra did that too
@14:55 Those are not really shallow "cubbies" They were designed for JDM Gathers Speakers to be mounted there. Oh how I miss my 91 Si.
The world’s rarest car is a stock Honda Civic. 😁
Has the wrong seats in it. So its modified already.
Seriously, I see exotics cars almost daily near my house. A stock Civic from the '90s is almost impossible.
@@aquilesvailo4786 you will damn near never see a bone stock civic they are dinosaurs
Three years ago a saw a completely stock, minty clean, white 2nd gen CR-X with antique plates on it.
Kate & Kara well it’s a CDM Integra type R seat, we didn’t get recaros here in Canada
These are the types of reviews that I love from your channel. I couldn't care less about Ferrari or Lambo reviews. This is actually interesting.
I agree. Regular Car Reviews is generally a more entertaining channel in that regard, though Doug's personality is why I still watch him.
I hate when car reviewers only review high end cars, like what's the purpose in me watching this?
I never liked Honda until i drove this....i literally fell in love...the manual shifter and leg room for tall drivers was pleasant
It's crazy how roomy these little 80s hatchbacks are. I had some early GTIs and it was the same story. People wondered how I fit (6'5"), not realizing that my car had more space than their bigger sedan/SUV.
i like how this dude has the same enuthusiasm for a honda civic as a ferrari . good shjt man
If doug was a rapper, his name would be 2 shirtz
Or 2 shits
Sleazy "D"
stolen comment
Will he make this tracks instead of diss tracks?
2quirks
There is something I love about an old car’s simplicity
I'm surprised he didn't mention the one and only visible Si sticker on the car.
And the fact it’s a sticker so you can easily peel it off to make it look like a normal civic lol
@@Brotschnider Or...order one on ebay to put on your CX LOL XD
Tech Wiz Master you can lol then It would be a replica
Hey Doug. This car brought me some good memories. I owned a 1991 1.3lr Toyota Starlet. And til this day, it was the funniest car I’ve ever driven. Fast for its size and quite sharp on turns. Perfect to drive on hilly roads. The previous generation was also really fun to drive. Unfortunately I crashed it in one of my long nights out drifting with the boys and I still miss driving it.
911: "Pfftt...."
'91 Civic: "Go on...."
Several GM cars of this era had the same seatbelt design. It was done to meet passive restraint regulations at the time. Manufactures either had to have passive seatbelts or airbags. Passive belts were a cheaper alternative because many cars during this era were not originally designed to have airbags. In theory you could keep the seatbelt fastened and still open the door and enter or exit. Hence the passive feature.
Presumably this passive restraint regulation was to prevent the front occupants from being ejected from the vehicle in the event of a crash?
@Crooked Skate Supply Co By this year, all cars in the U.S. had to have passive restraints for the front passengers in some form: airbags, motorized seatbelts, or door-mounted belts like these. Even the Ferrari Testarossa had motorized belts for some years. www.red-headed.com/images/testarossa_seatbelts.jpg Airbags got cheap enough, quick enough, that passive belts were only a thing for a couple years.
@Crooked Skate Supply Co Anything without an airbag would either have these or the motorized belts post-1990.
Brian Ashe I’m guessing the intended purpose of this passive restraint mandate was to prevent the front occupants from being ejected from the vehicle in the event of a crash?
@Crooked Skate Supply Co Those were the ones that had the motorized shoulder belt that would whir back into place and garrote you after you closed the door. Every federalized car of that era had at least one of these three features: door-mounted outer belt points, motorized shoulder belt, or driver-side airbag.
Its incredibly mint, who saved it from imminent destruction by ricers and and rust? That person is a hero :)
"In fact, it's so mint that I had to enjoy a tasty mint ice cream whilst sitting in it, listening to some fine classical music from this hardened little radio and gazing up and out of the sunroof."
(An imaginary quote born seemingly from spontaneous inspiration but, in a further sense, from an appreciation for a particular recent past obviously.)
The original owner must have been middle-aged when he bought it new. Probably a wnd car to get him to work & back. Not often do you find an almost 30yr old car with only 187K on it!
@7:22 A tear dropped from the corner of my eye, as Doug made me internalize car interiors will never be as "direct" and zero-bullshit as cars from this era were.
This was a car, not less than it needed to be, but not more than it is supposed to be. No intelligent assistants, no shrieking buzzers because you forgot to zip up your fly, no 3 airbags for every bone in the human body, no consoles refrigerators, massage chairs.... It was simply and geniously a car.
God I love the 80s/90s era of automobiles.
This car was stolen 5 hours after filming this video
Edit: this was a joke. It didn’t get stolen. I’m just saying that these have a **tendency** to get stolen
For real?
@@93mlo very likely as the 80s and 90s Honda Civics are still to this day the most stolen cars on the road.
lmao
Except it wasn't lmao, I follow him on Instagram
Told my wife IM surprised it hasn’t been stolen and stripped and would in a heart beat around any city left alone. I don’t think she believes me
I’m surprised you don’t actually know the seatbelt history of door mounted belts. They are meant to be buckled all the time. That’s why there is the emergency release label. You should have tried leaving the belt buckled and opening the door and sitting into the seat and close the door and then reverse, open the door with the belt buckled and get out without unbuckling. As that is how the belt was designed to be used. They did this instead of adding an airbag or just using the motorized shoulder harness. GM used door mounted belts a lot.
Doug knows very little about cars for a "car journalist"
And nobody ever actually left them buckled, because they were incredibly annoying. Most people bypassed the sensor in the buckle too.
Came here to mention this. Glad some other people remember this. I believe the Lumina and Beretta had the same feature.
The Accord from this era had the retractable seatbelt. I loved it, even if it was pretty much unneccessary since you still had to buckle the lap belt. But it was easier to buckle 'half' of a seatbelt. My friends Ford Tempo had retractable belts too. I never saw these broken, which was interesting because it seemed like something that would break.
Yes, the seat belts were meant to stay buckled to meet the passive restraint requirement mandated by the gov’t . Of course, no one kept the belts buckled all the time and subsequently, the spring loaded recoil system would fail. Had to get my drivers side belt spring replaced on the mini me version, the CRX.
As if civic prices weren't high enough.
I joke (slightly).
Yea, I was deciding whether I should rebuild my 90 hatch or get another one and start over, Doug made my decision for me
theres a guy on offer up right now with this year civic and its cleaner than this one he want $5000 for it
@@djrek521 5,000 is a steal for a clean si. Saw one that was showroom condition that went for about 15,000 underbody was still factory shiny
😂 10k for this hahaha gotta be kiddin
@@noeyedeer4227 Old Hondas are going up in value, yes many see these as an old econo box but there are quite a few people willing to shell out real money for rust free low mileage examples.
My very first car I owned, a 89 Black Honda Civic Si (w/air cond), I got as a present for university. I loved it and still my favorite car I've owned atleast 20 others since, it's the perfect fun/value vehicle I remembered the mods I put in as a young would be tuner, a HKS exhaust, HKS mushroom air filter, and of course a pull out cd/tuner deck with bazooka subwoofers, those were the days!
19:52 Doug casually driving away from a nuke going off in the background.
To be fair, to get the "speed" out of these, you had to be in the top of the rev range, at all times. That's when these Honda engines made their power. Anything low-down was tuned to be efficient and "torquey". Whereas the HP was near the top. It was part of the fun too, as it sounded like you were going a million miles an hour.
Basically foot to the floor at all times, and the thing is, these cars can handle that just fine. They were meant to. The Japanese themselves hooned these things in the early 90's on their highways.
Midnight Club was also hooning their Supras and Skylines at over 200 on the same highways 🤪
Jarik McCann and somehow it still wasn’t as cool as this
Don't forget the double wishbone suspension, which actually lets this little thing corner better than a Porsche GT3.
You forgot to mention going downhill with the wind to your taillights and the pizza roof sign removed.
@@baddestburrito You're insane.
Doug: "Acceleration 0-60 is 7.5 seconds."
Me a poor European: Wow, thats pretty quick
Doug: "Acceleration 1 / 10"
wtf
That’s not too bad today, it was pretty swift for the time🤔
You poor Euro diesel guys get like 0-100kph in the 14 seconds range, which was normal for the VW Rabbit.
@UCfhgjTiZZeWYvlOiuIBNU6w at least we're not dieing of asthma from all the poorly regulated diseals in Europe 😂😂
In fact it was nowhere near 7.5. Probably more like 8.5 at best.
A respectable 0 to 60 in 91 .That's about what a 1991 SHO 5 speed would do. And the mustang gt of the same year. ( 2 of my friends in highschool in the 90s were brothers. One had a sho..one a mustangs GT same year. )They raced all the time .The sho was faster.
I had four mid-late 80s Hondas. My favorite was a white 1989 Si hatchback. Air conditioning was the only option. I had a killer Yamaha sound deck with Polk Audio speakers and a Sony disc changer in the cargo area. It was an awesome car....the low dashboard and huge glass area made the car feel so incredibly spacious.
Early 90's honda interiors are my comfort food
The reason those seatbelts are like that is because they were supposed to be "automatic". At the time, automakers had to have those motorized seatbelts that ran along the top of the window, or a solution like this. So you leave the seatbelt buckled in, and when you open the door, you just slide into the belts. When you close the door, you will already be buckled in. Hence the "emergency release", as the seatbelts were not intended to be unbuckled.
Also, I am surprised you missed the little button that allows you to display the clock with the ignition off. I believe you have pointed this out on another car, perhaps the acura legend.
You are correct about the belts. Doug seems to miss factual details a lot more often lately.
This is true, and I’d add that it was the official alternative to mandatory airbags, before those became the norm. It was intended to get people to buckle up. Some manufacturers used motorized seatbelts to achieve the same result, Mandatory airbags became the norm soon after and those weird seatbelt arrangements went away.
Acura nsx also said that with clock
honestly, the best and most fun gen civic i ever owned, Also, those pop out rear windows made air flow amazing. no A/C needed.
Yup.
I put thousands of miles on my base model with no AC! You HAD to open those windows!
Greatest car I ever owned. I miss it so much lol
My '77 Mazda GLC had those windows too.
I had a 1992 Toyota Tercel when I got my drivers license. Very similar in that it had no horsepower but it was fun to drive anyway because it weighed about as much as a piece of paper. This review was a fun nostalgia trip because all of the trim and the "no frills" design were so similar. Manual windows, manual locks, manual transmission, etc. The thing I remember most about it though were the black vinyl seats that would burn your ass off in the summer. Good times :)
Thank you Doug for this review - which has brought back many wonderful memories. My first car was a 1990 Civic (European Spec - with the seatbelts mounted on the b-pillar, build in Japan), 1.5l 90hp, 13" wheels (175/70 R13), and it was a wonderful car. Due to the low seating position, the center of gravity was so low that the cornering abilities were extremely good, even without a rock-hard suspension and extra-wide tires. With the 90PS engine, I got the speedometer to the limit (210 km / h ~ 131 mph) on the Autobahn.
In Europe, the model was also offered with the 1.6l i-VT (VTEC) engine, which developed 150 hp, but needed very high revs (~7.000 rpm) for full power and was not much livelier than the normal 1.6l at low revs.
I had the integra version with the vtec in Japan. It was a lot of fun to rev it out. Miss the simplicity of cars of that era.
Actually, the reason that the seatbelt is on the door is, you’re supposed to leave it buckled in down at the emergency brake and it would let you get in and not have to worry about buckling the seatbelt when you get it. It’s an early version of passive restraints like the motorized ones in the mid 90s
In fact, Honda did this to avoid having to do either those motorized seat belts or those newfangled and very expensive air bags. Per new US safety regs, those were your choices.
I had a 1996 Oldsmobile Ciera with the door-mounted belt. I attempted to get in the car with the belt already buckled but it was extremely awkward. It was much easier to just buckle the belt once you're in the car.
Cars of that era needed a passive restraint. The idea was to keep it buckled and slide in under it when the door opens. As mentioned, GM cars had this too. Other cars like Ford had the electric seatbelts instead (my 89T-bird had it) It was a stop gap until airbags could be fitted to the cars in later model years.
Yep... came to the comments for this... My '94 Mercury Cougar had this style of seatbelt. (Mounted to the door, non-electric like this Civic... Though it also had airbags, of course.)
Fun fact about the seatbelts:
They were intended to be PASSIVE RESTRAINTS!
The idea was that you would leave the seatbelt buckled and just open the door and get out. Obviously this was ridiculous. It was way easier to just unbuckle the thing. But it could be done and it was more elegant than the motorized-track contraptions found on other cars of the era.
That's why there are the "Emergency Release" stickers. Per the owners manual: "Emergency Belt Release: The front belts should remain permanently latched. However, an emergency release button is provided as shown." (And there is a picture of the seat belt buckle.)
I really wish Doug would do a little more research or, you know, talk to some of us who were around... 🙄
@@JamesPhieffer I think Doug does a pretty good job of balancing quantity vs. quality. If he did that kind of research on every video we'd only get like one a month.
It's just fun watching him react to these cars, so I won't nitpick.
(But if we are gonna nitpick. This would be an ED, not an EF. (An ED7 I believe.))
Is this a US spec only thing or all the EF civics got it ?
@@haziqhashim2618 us only. My Canadian market one didn't have it.
I had a '91 Nissan Sentra with the same kind of seatbelts. You were supposed to keep them permanently latched and they would stretch way out when you opened the door. I never used them that way though.
I had a 91 Civic hatchback DX as my first car. It was a blast to drive but being 16 I put rims and stereo in it. This was a fun video to watch
@@Rockytop548 I’m 16 rn and this is my first car. It’s cool to see that a lot of people had this as there first
"cause there's really not all that much body to roll" man this called PERFORMANCE!!!
Fun fact: There are K24 mounts and all wheel drive mounts for this civic lmao.
And those are disgusting, sorry not sorry.
OMG VIDEOS !!!! VINE COMPS, TOP 10s AND MORE why are they disgusting? It almost seems like you don’t know what the OP is talking about. My apologies if you do.
@@loganmai1812 ??? what
@@aura2d he likes little tiny engines making no power driving just teh front wheels instead of all the wheels
The AWD Civic is about as cool as an AWD 323. Even with a Turbo and AWD they are slow and incapable of making reliable power. Those early AWD systems broke around 200ft lbs. This is why every Civic you ever saw at a drag strip was FWD, often with welded diffs, 30mm axles and unstreetable clutches.
A friend of mine in Canada had a Mazda Protege AWD, basically the same car, and it was slow as a dog but mostly reliable. The AWD system was open diff front and back so it didn't really offer much over a limited slip FWD setup would...
Other car TH-camrs: This is...
Doug: THVVISSSS IS A...
Smh
The greatest Honda Civic Si was the next one, the 1993-1996, which came in hatchback or coupe.
It added a much nicer interior, great seats, 6 speakers, ABS and an airbag
The seatbelts are mounted on the doors so they're "automatic" to avoid the need to have air bags. EF civics sold in Canada have normal seatbelts.
In Canada it had 15" wheels with hubcaps and 118 hp
'
Wasn it "si r "
A few cars from back then had that arrangement with the seat belt. The idea was that you just kept it buckled all the time and when you slid into the car and closed the door, you were buckled in. I do not think many people used it that way, though. My aunt had a Chevy Beretta back then that had the same thing.
same in Asia, we have the seatbelt on the pillar
I totally agree with this. I watched an old motor week of an 80s accord coupe and it had the seatbelts on the doors too that you were meant to leave buckled all the time too. They were actually using them in the always buckled mode too. It explains the warning label by the parking brake too.
you can barely see out of the backseat windows of today’s cars
Ya new cars are very cramped inside and there roofs are very small too and older cars have taller roofs so more visibility.
My 2012 civic literally has a bar running through the middle of the rear window.
Pat 280ZX Yeah, I sat in the backseat of my friends new Honda Accord and my head was touching the roof. I didn’t have that issue in the back seat of my friends 2006 Camry.
@@kevinnorris6558 The sloped "coupe" roof has cut down rear headroom in most sedans. Just like many have long trunks but too shallow for a large cooler = really annoying
'91 was the year I graduated HS and I can't tell you how many of these flooded the student parking lot
really? spoiled rotten kids!
In hs if anyone had a newer civic it was a base model cx haha
You go to Beverly Hills 90120 High School or something? I graduated in 89 and all I used to see in school parking lots were rusted and primered out Camero and Mustangs, and of course the paneled station wagon and your typical economy cars. One person had a sweet 200 SX.
my first car was a 91 civic hatch standard model. Came with AC which i had converted to r134 and converted the stock engine to fuel injection. Really loved it and ended up swapping the engine for a JDM GSR B18C, lowered on coilovers and had integra GSR fat five wheels. Added little bits to it like the si steering wheel, del sol seats, 4 door civic sedan gauge cluster and different stereo.......good times!
Dude! I had fat fives on my 91! One of the best stock wheel designs ever
COVID hit everyone hard, even Doug went from reviewing Porches to old Civics.
I'd rather watch an old Si review than another 911
@@Tool0GT92 exactly
LMAO
🤣🤣🤣🤣
I didn't realise that Doug reviewed entrances to houses.
21:09- lies. That is EXACTLY what I want. Crank windows, manual locks, manual seats, manual mirrors, manual transmission... I want AC and cruise control. Hell, I can add aftermarket cruise. I don't even want carpet.
Right? I don’t want so much complicated stuff on my car. It makes them cost 40,000 and impossible to repair for a normal person.
I want AC, cruise, and a body with modern crash dynamics.
Mark Brand I don't even want that. I drive defensively, and new crash stuff is the reason even 'lightweight' 'sports' cars are bloated pigs that regular people can't work on very easily.
@@The_sinner_Jim_Whitney Preach brother.
I have a Ford Fiesta and it has A/C and cruise but nothing else. Bluetooth is standard. Crank windows. No power door locks and 10 air bags.
Ah, a car that is as aged as Doug's cargo shorts
It’s such a flashback! We owned a civic (not SI of course, a basic one) when I was a kid. Loved watching it.
8:56 "Clock button changer door" in German is "Uhrzeiteinstellungstastenklappe".
What Germans don't have compound words for isn't worth a compound word!
Teacher: make a 1000 word text in German!
Students: FUCK!
Germans:
Let’s take all of the words and make a *SUPERWORD!!*
for JDM and honda fans, this car gets a 10 on cool factor, because its so clean.
It's such a cool car that it gets stolen alot.
Yeah only jdm fans.) I love civics
THISSS is the car I dreamed of when I was in highschool
And the CRX Si
CRX Si is still pretty cool - pretty sure they are all trashed though.
I haven’t seen a CRX in years.
I had a blacked out crx si. I miss it so much.
I had a 1990 Civic LX, and I could only dream of a CRX Si.
There was a clean low mileage CRX SI on BAT last year, it sold for about $12k.
Much more interested in this than a review of the latest Lambo.
Me too!!!
Absolutely! Not only because this was my first car, it is just much more interesting to see what cars used to be back in the days. I would like to see more reviews like this instead of the next 20 similar boring SUVs.
Does anyone else read the “looking for cars in San Diego AAAAAAND Orange County / Los Angeles” in Doug’s voice?
This was my first car, had it in white and kept it in immaculate condition. Same scenario, bought from the first owner who was getting older at 170K miles. I sold it for more than I bought for in 2011 to get an RSX Type-S. I'll always miss it due to sentimental value. I am now in a 10th Gen. Si and am thrilled to have come full circle.
"There's very little body roll because there really isn't all that much body to roll."
I was looking for this comment 👌
"Not baaahhd."
You forgot " - Daddy Doug"
An exuberantly idiotic kind of admiration apparently corrupted by questionable pornography has what to do with the relatively humorous quotation at the top? It was a rhetorical question, so nevermind.
@@enforcement2 what?
That’s the fastest sunroof I’ve a
ever seen.
The sunroof in my brothers 97 civic EX opens pretty damn fast I was surprised 😂 both of the power windows came off track lol he can only use AC or sunroof for air circulation
When
@@CameronsCars 6:05
I don't know about anybody else, but if a car like this was available today, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
Manual used Honda fit Should be less than 10k
Owned a perfect condition red base sedan model with 90k mi (!) that was a hand me down from my grandparents. I loved that car so much. The design inside and out is timeless, visibility unparalleled, cabin was so pleasing and no-nonsense. Very gutted when it met an undignified end getting ripped off in a parking lot. I miss you, little red car.
A digital clock: absolutely nothing
Doug DeMuro: Ah, a Japanese clock!
Why did I picture Doug high af saying that?
Not all cars had clocks back then...
CLOCK.
I had a 91 Civic DX sedan around 2001 and it took me weeks of scouring local yards to find a clock with the little door still attached. The hinge plastic is very fragile so even back then most of them were missing the door. Props to the owners of this classic!
@@zilfondel almost all cars had clocks back then. Even in the 60s.
Those cubbies in the back are for HONDA’s stereo speakers if purchased through options. 👍🏾🍁🔥🇨🇦
My car has that option.. But I have never seen a non a/c si car before, I wonder how many of them were made like this.
I thought so.
My DX had that option as well. 2 rear speakers.
Again I said DX. I think I meant LX. Mid trim.
93hokie93 lx was only a sedan. Dx is the mid trim of hatchbacks when it comes to United States idk other countries tho
This is the cleanest civic in the United States 🙌🏽
It would be pretty cool if you did a camping roadtrip series with various vehicles that might be suited for it. Sometimes hatchbacks, or off roaders, or campers.