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Honda CRXRecipe for a cult hit, Honda- style: Take one competent C- segment hatchback, lop a few inches out of the wheelbase, tidy up the suspension tuning and aerodynamics, and repackage the results as a pint- size sports coupe. In this installment of Ate Up With Motor, we examine the history of the 1. Established in 1. Honda first branched out into passenger cars in 1. The company suffered a serious downturn in 1. By the end of the decade, Honda had tripled its 1. Japanese industry behind Toyota, Nissan, and Mitsubishi. What really put Honda on the map in the seventies was the CVCC (Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion) engine, launched in late 1. Notify me of new comments via email. Search for: Recent Posts. With its unique stratified charge head, the CVCC engine enabled the Civic was able to meet 1. U. S. Toyota, which had been among those, actually licensed the technology from Honda for use in Toyota’s own products, a remarkable coup for one of Japan’s smaller automakers. There was also strong interest from Ford and even General Motors. A 1. 97. 5 Honda Civic CVCC. The Civic was launched in July 1. North American Civics were 9. Japanese counterparts due to the bigger 5 mph (8 km/h) bumpers then required by U. S. This car also has a five- speed gearbox, newly optional in the U. S. The larger Honda Accord, introduced in 1. VERNO AND BALLADEThe Accord marked the first step in Honda’s expansion and automotive diversification, but not the last. The next followed in 1. Honda Prelude sports coupe and establishment of the Honda Verno sales channel. One of the factors that had kept Toyota and Nissan on top in the Japanese domestic market (JDM) was that these automakers each had a strong sales network with multiple sales channels. Each channel’s dealers offered distinct . Notably, the Ballade was available with both the 1,3. Exterior dimensions were very similar. The new dealerships, some of which were owned directly by Honda’s sales organization (something we assume is less legally problematic in Japan than it would be in the U. S.), were better- furnished and better- equipped than many of Honda’s existing stores and offered a distinct lineup. Honda intended Verno as a youth- oriented sales channel, loosely analogous to Toyota’s later U. S. Scion brand. The first Honda Verno product was the Prelude, introduced in November 1. Quint, ancestor of the later Honda/Acura Integra. These were joined later that year by the Honda Ballade, a restyled version of the new Civic four- door sedan, and in 1. Accord- based Honda Vigor. To our knowledge, the Verno sub- brand did not extend beyond Japan, but Honda did offer some of these models for export. The Prelude went to America and Europe while the Quint was sold in Europe as the Honda Quintet. The Ballade as such was not initially exported to the U. S. The “CR- X” name also foreshadowed the new Ballade line, which would be offered in CR- U, CR- B, CR- L, CR- M, and CR- i trim levels. The original Honda Ballade Sports CR- X was 1. The “DOHC” lettering on the rocker panel reveals that this is actually a 1. CR- X Si, whose heavier ZC engine and other hardware brings the curb weight to nearly 2,0. Only barely visible at this scale are the main distinguishing feature of the JDM car: the flip- up “eyebrows” over the headlights, also used on the second- generation Ballade sedan. These were not used on export cars and were deleted later in the run. The CR- X was 5. 3 inches (1. EA Civic three- door hatchback and 3. Ballade sedan, although overall width and track dimensions were the same. The CR- X wasn’t as much lighter than the Civic three- door as one might assume, but the lower roofline and truncated Kamm tail did make for better aerodynamics. The CR- X had almost 2. Ballade sedan. The Ballade Sports CR- X’s relationship to the Civic/Ballade continued beneath the metal- and- plastic skin. For the “Wonder Civic,” Honda had opted to trade the previous Civic’s fully independent Mac. Pherson strut rear suspension for a more compact beam axle located by trailing arms and a Panhard rod. The axle was not a torsion beam in the Volkswagen mold; in fact, a “sway bearing” on the right side of the axle tube prevented the axle from acting as an anti- roll bar, although some models added a separate anti- roll bar inside the axle tube. The new “SPORTEC” front suspension retained Mac. Pherson struts and an anti- roll bar, but the old Civic’s coil springs were replaced by longitudinal torsion bars, again chosen primarily for space efficiency. Brakes were front discs and rear drums. Extensive portions of the EA CR- X’s outer skin are plastic. The bumpers are “HP Blend,” a Honda- developed polypropylene blend. The rocker panel covers, front fenders, and the panel between the front bumper and the hood are “HP Alloy,” a proprietary mix of polycarbonate and ABS plastic. Although similar in displacement to the engines of the outgoing Civic/Ballade line, the new fours were extensively redesigned with conjoined cylinder bores; a shorter, lighter block; and the latest 1. Honda’s CVCC cylinder head with two intake, one auxiliary intake, and one exhaust valve per cylinder. The CR- X 1. 3 used the carbureted 1,3. The CR- X 1. 5i had the EW version with a lower, 8. The European 1. 5i engine, which had fewer emissions controls than the JDM version, was rated at 1. PS DIN (7. 4 k. W), so it’s safe to assume that the Japanese engine’s net output was somewhat lower than that.)Both engines were linked to a five- speed gearbox, but the 1. Hondamatic with lockup torque converter and overdrive top gear. The 1. 5i also included a stiffer suspension and vented front brakes. With the five- speed, Honda claimed the CR- X 1. The factory estimated a top speed of 1. Without the largely cosmetic folding rear seat, which U. S. CRX buyers were spared, the EA CRX has a useful if not vast amount of cargo space. Note, however, how close the passenger seat is to the rear shelf, which along with the downward slope of the roof would make stuffing an adult into the back rather challenging, particularly in locales that require passengers to have proper seats and wear seat belts. Honda frankly described this as a “one- mile” seat and we can only assume it was a concession to some marketing demand or regulatory loophole. The seat could be folded down for additional cargo space. In Japan, the Ballade Sports CR- X was offered with a number of novel options, including an electric sunroof that slid back over the outside of the roof rather than into it and a peculiar roof ventilation system. The latter, standard on 1. American cars and the popup ventilation hatches found on some conversion vans. It consisted of a retractable roof- mounted scoop that channeled outside air into a pair of adjustable interior outlets located above the windshield. Japanese buyers could also order a trendy digital instrument panel, a trip computer, and 1. LCD instrument panels were very popular in Japan throughout the eighties and were optional on the CR- X, Civic, and Ballade. American import buyers were less enamored of digital dashboards and the Japanese automakers who offered such features in the U. S. The digital instrument panel seen here is on a 1. CRX Spyder convertible, an aftermarket conversion. In Tokyo, the Ballade Sports CR- X 1. The CR- X 1. 5i started at . That wasn’t dirt cheap, but it was certainly affordable and a good deal cheaper than the larger Honda Prelude, whose base prices ranged from.
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