Honda has long been known as an innovator when it comes to energy efficiency. Back in the early 1970s, Honda engineered and trademarked a technology called CVCC (Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion) which led the way in optimizing combustion cycles, minimizing emissions output, and achieving maximum range on a tank of gas. U.S.-market Civics and Accords from that era were among the many vehicles produced with CVCC engines.
Decades later, Honda was still at it. When the 1992 Civic VX launched, it employed an efficient 16-valve engine, a lightened chassis, and a body shape that both minimized wind resistance and stabilized handling. The result was a compact hatchback that raised the bar in fuel economy standards.
The Pick of the Day is a one-owner 1992 Honda Civic VX hatchback listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Bangor, Maine. (Click the link to view the listing)
“This pampered, single-owner car will only be sold to someone who grasps its historical significance in the development of Honda’s legendary VTEC-powered Civics,” the seller says. The listing continues, “When I purchased it as brand-new vehicle, it was noteworthy because its introduction was widely covered in the automotive, business, and scientific press for making history as the first car in America to earn a 55-mpg rating.”
The fifth generation of the compact Civic was brought to market in 1992 and sold in three different body styles: EG (hatchback), EH (sedan), and EJ (coupe). The “VX” version of the base model EG hatchback was built with fuel economy in mind: It came with minimal exterior and interior trim, lightweight 13-inch aluminum wheels, and a 92-horsepower 1.5-liter VTEC-E engine. The key to the engine’s efficiency was its ability to burn a lean air-fuel mixture at and below 2,500 rpm and at low load.
The seller says, “The high mileage on this car is a testimony both to the durability of Honda engines and to the dramatically reduced number of RPMs the engine turned when driven at highway speeds (between 2,000 and 2,200 RPM at 65-70 mph).” Additionally, the car was reportedly rarely driven in stop-and-go circumstances. Even at 265,000 miles on the odometer, it has lots of life left in it.
The asking price is $20,000 or best offer, which the seller says is negotiable. The car will come with documentation including magazine articles, owner’s manuals, a window sticker, and a logbook containing fuel-ups, oil changes, and tire rotations.
Bonus: You get a built-in arm workout with those manual-crank windows!
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, hyper-mile your way over to Pick of the Day.
Source: www.classiccars.com