Honda celebrates Civic’s 50th anniversary

The half-century mark is always cause for celebration, and car nameplates are no exception. This year, Honda marks five decades of its iconic Civic compact sedan’s existence. 

July 12, 1972 was when the Civic began to roll out of the production lines, marketed as a 1973 model for the Japanese market. While the automaker was already manufacturing the N360 Kei car and 1300 compact models, the Civic was the first market success for Honda both domestically and overseas. 

It inspired automotive designs throughout the 1970s, with models such as the Volkswagen Golf, Ford Fiesta, and Fiat Ritmo all adopting the Civic’s design cues as well as the transverse front-drive layout. 

The Civic marked the first success for Honda both in Japan and overseas

The Civic’s debut year began a streak of consecutive Car of The Year awards it received from Motor Fan Magazine Japan for three years. In the U.S., the model was the first one that complied with the 1970 Clean Air Act. Combined with the capability to use any gasoline fuel available at the time, the Civic became a popular choice for buyers. 

Honda offered the Civic as its first model in the Philippine market back in 1991, and this eventually became a favorite for local car tuning enthusiasts. As of October 2021, a total of 132,000 Civic units have been sold in the country.  

Turbo power is available on the Civic for the first time in the model's history

One little-known fact is that Honda introduced all-wheel-drive on the Civic during its third generation. Originally positioned as a subcompact, the Civic gained compact car status with the seventh-generation model in 2000, thanks to improved interior space made possible with the use of a flat floor for rear occupants. 

Today, the Civic is on its eleventh iteration, and it still bears the traits that have made it stand out in its class. These include the sleek design, exceptional handling, and impressive fuel efficiency. A major addition to the current Civic is the Honda Sensing suite of driver-assist technologies that make the model both smart and safe in protecting occupants.

Accompaying the Civic's 50-year mark is the upcoming debut of the Type R performance variant, itself celebrating 25 years

With over 27 million units sold globally as of 2021, the Honda Civic is considered one of the best-selling automobiles in the world of all time. It has certainly come a long way, but the road ahead is another 50 years long, time enough to make this icon even better. For Honda and the legion of Civic fans, they wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Celebrate your favorite model’s automotive milestones at Philkotse.com.