(engine revving and exhaust cracking) - It's one of the most ubiquitous cars in all of automotive history. A hero of the masses
that promised to get you where you needed to go
and never let you down. Chances are you know
someone who owned one, or you've owned one yourself. From modest beginnings, dipping it's toe in the American market, becoming one of the best
selling cars in the US. (engine revving) This is everything you need
to know to get up to speed. This is everything you need
to know to get up to speed. (layered dialogue) (lightning cracks) To get up to speed on
the Honda (beep) Civic! (lightning cracks) In the late sixties to early seventies, Honda was selling their N and
Z600 passenger cars in the US, but they weren't moving
a ton of inventory. These cars were powered by small two cylinder motorcycle engines and in the land of V8 powered land barges, nobody really wanted one. Fortunately, Honda was
already hard at work designing a replacement
for their tiny K car. Their new car called the Civic would use a transverse
front engine layout... (truck engine roars) Would use a transverse front engine layout similar to the Mini over in England. Turning the engine sideways
to turn the front wheels meant no running gear going
to the back of the car and that meant more room
for passengers and stuff. The design phase was going great but the suspension was
a point of contention. Honda's founder, Soichiro Honda, wanted the Civic to
have a solid rear axle. He told his lead engineer, Mamoru Sakata, "I don't see any merit in
independent suspension," and Mamoru was like, "No merit in independent
suspension, are you insane?" And Soichiro was all
like, "Chill out dude," "I know we're friends
but I'm still your boss." "Oh, my bad, anyway," "independent suspension is
better in pretty much every way," "especially in front wheel
drive configurations" "like this new car." And he's like, "Fair enough,
you are the engineer." "That's why I hired you." And they deep hugged it
out, deep, deep hugged. (both laughing) It's a legendary hug, read
about it on the internet. So the Civic would have
independent suspension at all four corners and that was about as
far as the features go. Honda wanted the Civic to be
a bare bones, daily driver that was still engaging behind the wheel. ♪ We make it simple ♪ The Civic's 71 cubic
inch 50 horsepower engine really liked to be driven at high revs, meaning you could make a lot of noise and feel like you were going fast without breaking 35 miles an hour. (mocking engine revving) Honda sent the Civic to
American shores in 1973 to a lukewarm reception. (stifled cheering) It was really good in the city but that wasn't enough for people to hop on the
Civic train, not yet. That next year, federal law dictated that unleaded gas would be available at every gas station in the country meaning catalytic
converters could be added without getting clogged up
with all those lead additives. Most car companies
started freaking out, man, but the government was saying
they had to put those weird, unreliable catalytic
converters on their exhaust, but not Honda, why? Because their new CVCC engine in the Civic didn't need a cat. Almost 10 years earlier, Honda decided that they didn't trust those unreliable little boxes and wanted to make
engines that ran cleaner instead of adding a
scrubber to the exhaust. The Compound Vortex
Controlled Combustion engine would run clean enough to
pass emissions without a cat. The Civic was years ahead
of it's American competitors and people started realizing they didn't really need a
huge, smog belching sedan to get around town. (engine revving) Maybe they could live
with something smaller. A few years go by and it's 1980, time for the Civic's first refresh. Honda was aiming for staying power that would outlast the
now fading gas crisis. To appeal to a wider market, Honda introduced two more trim levels to make the car more livable. The DX with a more efficient five speed and the GL with a tacho... (beep) And the GL with a tachometer,
a clock, and cushier seats. Oh. Even for that time, it
was lacking some features but the Civic was still comfy. By 1981, Honda sold just over a million of their little cars. The GL would last three years before being killed to make room for the first sporty Civic, the Civic S. It has a rear sway bar, stiffer
suspension and better tires. It was Honda's first entry into the fast growing hot hatch war but it didn't exactly captivate
the world like Golf GTI did, so they killed it after just one year. 1984 ushered in a new trim that would help define the
Civic as a true fun-haver, the SI. It was only available in Japan and had a little bulge in it to make more room for the
new dual overhead cam engine. The SI stood for sport injection. Previous Civic's were
carburetted which cut down power but this one made 182 (laughs), made 118 horses and could
do 122 miles an hour, although I would not suggest
it, that sounds terrifying. Around the same time, Honda
introduced the CRX in America. It was basically a Civic
with a different body. Honda saw that oil
prices would keep rising and they wanted a car that
get 50 miles per gallon and still be fun to drive, so they made the Civic more aerodynamic and ripped out the back seats. It was funky and my second
grade teacher drove one. In 1985, we finally got
an SI badge in the States and it was on a CR-X. Ours didn't make as
much power as the JDM SI but we were still happy to have it. The CR-X got a huge upgrade in 1988 with new double wishbone suspension inspired by Honda's Formula
One success with the McLaren. The new suspension design
made the CR-X even more fun. The next year, the Civic was hooked up with a new B16A VTEC engine,
but only outside of America. The SI was a for real sports car, a serious option for buyers
who didn't have a ton of cash but still loved driving. Another decade began and thus
another Civic refresh was due. 1992 saw a smoother, more inviting Civic. The EG hatch kind of looked like an egg and the SI version now made
a punchy 125 horsepower and had rear disc brakes. The next year two things happened. My son Nolan was born and
Honda did something weird. If you wanted a sporty looking
Honda with a target top, something that looked
mid engine but wasn't and that was also front wheel drive. Well, there's a new Civic for you. The Del Sol was the CR-X's replacement and Honda's answer to the Mazda Miata but unlike Mazda's Brit-inspired roadster, the Del Sol was killed
three years later in 1997. - May he rest in peace. - It was that year that Honda unveiled the sportiest Civic yet
and it wore a red badge. The Civic Type R or EK9 was the first Civic meant for the track. It had a bare bones interior with bolstered seats to keep you in place and a MOMO steering wheel like an F1 car. Altogether the Type R
was 66 pounds lighter than the regular Civic
and made more power too. The Type R got it's juice
from the legendary B16B making 182 horses with
a redline of 8400 RPM. The Type R was only available in Japan which meant Honda fanboys over here were going insane that
they couldn't get it. (screaming) Instead of just whining about it, the Honda faithfuls started
modifying their own Civics and making their own Type Rs. People were swapping B18s into their EFs and H22s into their EG hatches all in search of a
quicker quarter mile time. This phenomenon of modding Civics helped start a little thing
called the tuner scene. It's sort of significant. The turn of a new millennium
meant another new Civic. Now on it's seventh generation, the 2001 Civic had new styling
and a simplified suspension. Gone were the Formula One
inspired double wishbones with struts now in their place. The seventh gen also had it's own Type R but this time around
it was very egg shaped. Still, a Type R is a Type R. The EP3 Type R was a
hatch like the first one and made 212 horses from it's K20A engine. It was a little more bulbous
than it's predecessor but people still loved how it drove. The gen eight Civic showed up in 2006 and was a big departure
from previous models. Honestly it was kind of boring, but there was an SI which
had the usual SI flare of stiffer springs and sway bar and a limited slip differential to get you out of the turns quicker. We still didn't get the Type R over here but there were now two versions
for the rest of the world. Japan got the FD2 four door version with a 222 horsepower K20 and Europe got this super funky
looking FN2 three door hatch which made about 200 horsepower from a different K20, the K20Z. The ninth gen was more of the same Civic we've come to expect
with improved everything. It was a Civic. You guys realize how hard
it is to make this exciting. The tenth gen Civic arrived in 2015. The styling was crazy and in 2017 we finally got
the Type R here in the US and it's incredible. It set a lap record at the Nürburgring. It makes over 300 horsepower and has a top speed of 170 miles an hour. The FK8 is the best Civic ever and I would know because I drove
it and I'm in love with it. This car (beep) hauls ass. When we started this show, we had all the heavy
hitters to choose from, the Skyline, the Supra, the Viper, the M3, the Civic is a heavy hitter
too just for different reasons. There's a Civic for
everybody and to prove it over 18 million Civics
have been sold worldwide. I wanna thank you guys,
I'm gonna cry. (laughs) I wanna thank you guys from
the bottom of my heart for, (beep) dude, for supporting
Up To Speed and Donut. This is out fiftieth episode and I'm so proud of how
hard everybody here works and how far this show's come and how far this channel has come and it wouldn't be
possible without you guys so here's to 500 more. Hit this little yellow guy right here so you don't miss any
episodes of Up To Speed. If you like VTEC, check out
this episode of Science Garage. If you like VTEC, check out
this episode of Up To Speed. Follow me on Twitter and
Instagram @jamespumphrey. Follow Donut @donutmedia. I love you. Sit. (crew members applauding)
There's some crying involved with this one. Congrats to Donut Media on their 50th episode of Up to Speed! They really have come a long way, and are now approaching 1 million subscribers. These Up to Speed episodes and the science one are some of my favorite car vids to watch.
They used footage of my CRX at 6:06! I guess you could say I'm kind of a big deal
Pumphrey with the manliest tears. Love you Donut <3
Moments like the end here really show that Donut is made up of some guys who are truly passionate about cars. Congrats to the crew on 50 episodes and their growing success. Looking forward to what the future holds!
8th gen owners in shambles. i swear they’re fun if you can find one with a manual!
I wanna bear hug him through the screen. Congrats on the 50 eps!
I love these Up to Speed vids. The perfect length, very funny, and very informative. Here’s to the next 500!
YEAH i cried so what
I love you guys so much, please keep up the good work and I love what you guys stand for
That was some genuine feels right there. Congrats y’all! I remember watching the first up to speed when someone posted it to Facebook and to see the channel now is just awesome. Y’all really do love cars and the passion shows in the videos. Jessica really missed out Pumpfrey she could have been with someone famous.