What's with all these Honda Civics???

[KillarneyRose]

All of a sudden, from out of nowhere, I find myself surrounded by teenage boys driving Honda Civics. They get these cars and tint the windows, put on gold hubcaps, all this neon crap, sound systems that HAD to have cost as much as the car did, tires that are way too big for it, etc...

When I was that age the Honda Civic was a modest li'l car your parents bought so there was a cheap third car around the car for the kids to putter around in.

Has the Honda Civic become some kind of status symbol? And if that is so, WHY???

[APhi]

I asked a guy friend that same question. He said there are more after market parts available for Honda's, Civics especially, than for any other car. Therefore, they are the easiest to mack out. It's quite epidemic in the little northern suburb I'm living in right now... Lots of very bored teenagers.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

My sister bought a Honda Civic a few months ago, and I noticed that everyone seems to have one in her color, Silver. Her car doesn't have gold hubcaps, tinted windows, etc. It is a nice car. Not as expensive as some, but not as cheap as others.

[amycat412]

ha ha I drive a VW Jetta and I feel that way about Jettas. Jetta here, Jetta there, everywhere I turn I see a Jetta. Fortunately not macked out ones, that would drive my VW Purist self nuts! ha ha

[The1calledTKE]

I have a honda civic and love it. Its not looking like you described but I am not a teenager.

[Kevin]

They're cheap and there's a movie that uses them... The Fast & the Furious. Teenagers like to emulate what they see in the media.

Strangely due to the spike in sales of Civics, the Acura Integra is three times more likely to be stolen than any other car in the top 10... Why? The engine bolts easily into a Civic without much modification having to be done.

[valkyrie]

LOL! There are quite a few alleged gangbangers in one of the suburbs of Chicago who steal, chop and mack out their Civics. They even race them. I had a good time reading a police report when one of my clients was accused (wrongfully, of course ) of participating in a Civic chop shop and racing operation. He and the other guys involved were all of Asian decent, although I don't know if that's really relevant -- it was just something I noticed.

[KillarneyRose]

Originally posted by valkyrie
...participating in a Civic chop shop and racing operation

PEOPLE RACE THEM???? When I ran track, I could have probably outrun one!!!

[juniorgrrl]

http://www.riceboypage.com/

This site, albeit old, has lots of stuff on the modded Civics.

[lifesaver]

Apparently, its all about the Fast & Furious. I think it glorified all that stuff withthe little "battery operated" cars. I dunno, I see one and wanna put a big penny in the back of it, ala penny racer style. lol

[mrblonde]

People street race Civics for 2 reasons:

1) Theyre inexpensive ans easily modified

2) Theyre the most customizable car on the road

[SSS1365]

I, too, am shocked to hear that people race them. They don't even have that much horsepower! The Accord would probably be more understandable...

[chopper816]

there are a handful of imports that are decent for racing, and the civic isnt one of them. I cant stand when people do stuff to civics or any import. they sound bad, more often than not they look bad, and overall it just seems dumb to me to race a civic. ill stick with mustangs, firebirds and the rest of the good stuff from detroit

[valkyrie]

I'm guessing that speed doesn't really matter when you're racing like this. Let me explain what I mean (because duh, I do realize that speed matters) -- if you're racing Civics against Civics, well, they go fast enough. Like racing turtles -- as long as the opponents are relatively equal, you can have an interesting race.

Of course, I do think racing is goofy. But I love Civics.

[KappaKittyCat]

One of the RAs in my building this past year did a continuing story on the whiteboard about trolls and unicorns and leprechauns who raced around town in low-rider Honda Civics.