mmarshall

In an age when Americans were rapidly tiring of the poor quality of American-sourced vehicles (the Chevy Citation and Pontiac Fiero I recently wrote about were perfect examples), as were some Chrysler K-body/L-body (Aries/Reliant, Omni/Horizon), the diminutive Honda CRX was arguably one of the right cars to come along at the right time. Honda managers were somewhat divided over whether to call it (or market it) as a sports-car or a commuter (it had some attributes of both), but it was an instant success almost overnight. When they first came into the D.C. area (1984 or 85, as I remember), you couldn't touch one at anywhere near list.....such is the world of Supply-and-Demand. Usually, I don't post dealer-names of places I've been for several reasons, but I will this time (Rosenthal Honda, in Tysons Corner, VA), as the place not only ticked me off to no end, but because it later became infamous as the place where the Federal requirement to report all cash sales over $10,000 to the FBI started.


First, the reason I got ticked is that, when I was up there one night, looking at a new CRX in the showroom (white, if my memory is correct), some young salesman came up, latched onto me like I was some kind of fodder-bait, and continually questioned me about this and that...on and on and on, despite the fact that all I asked for was a little time to look at the car myself in peace and quiet. Like many (but not all) Honda shops back then, they had marked CRXs up several thousand dollars over list...in this case, as I remember, about 30 or 40% (Yikes!) I didn't even ask for a test-drive that night...it would have been difficult, with the car in the showroom. Did I have some personal interest in the car? Yes...not a huge amount, but I wasn't ruling it out, either for myself or others. Well, this guy, despite several subtile hints on my part, simply did not know when to stop. He brought out this form, and that form, and said if I would sign this deal or that deal, I could get this offer that night...the usual pressure-deadlines. Finally, I was so irked that I (politely) said I think it's time for both of us to hang it up for the evening. This dude gets up out of his seat, stands in front of the glass entry/exit door, and proceeds to block it....even his fellow salespersons and the receptionist, at the front desk, were surprised, and stared at him. He said "Come on, Mr. Marshall....sit back down, and we'll negotiate". I quietly but firmly said...."See my watch?....I'm going to count to ten by that second-hand, and then I am going through that door, one way or another". Unlike today, I was still a relatively young and strong Spring Chicken back then, 6' 2" and 280 lbs. Well, needless to say, I went through the door just fine....and didn't go back to that dealership until about 5 or 6 years later, to help get a new Mazda Protege for my friend's father. By then, they had not only expanded into dual Honda/Mazda franchises, but the guy who had acted like a jerk was gone (I wouldn't be surprised if they had fired him that very night).

A few years later (I don't remember exactly when), this dealership made national headlines when government agents, posed as drug-dealers, attempted to set up deals with (claimed) drug-profits in cash. The dealership (or so it was claimed) said they they didn't care where the cash came from...money talks, and signed the papers. Well, a gaggle of armed FBI agents then busted in and arrested several persons....from what I remember, at least one salesperson and sales manager served some time in jail. After that, a bill was introduced in Congress, which passed (and President Reagan signed) making it a Federal law that cash sales over $10,000 for vehicles and other expensive merchandise had to be reported to the FBI....that included writing a personal check.

OK, so much for dealer-screw-ups. Now, for the car itself. As I said, in some ways, with the poor customer experience of the Pontiac Fiero and Fiat X-1/9, the CRX provided a less-expensive 2-seater alternative to the Toyota MR2, although the MR2 was a markedly different platform.....mid-engine/RWD instead of front engine/FWD like the CRX. As I said earlier, the CRX appears to be the right car at the right time for a lot of young people, particularly the Si version, which I'll get to in a minute. It rapidly became a cult-car, and a favorite with aftermarket customizers/tuners.

One of my ex-co-workers (and a close friend of mine), whose name/address I'll withhold for privacy reasons, owned two of them.....I helped him buy one of them, so I'll discuss both of the CRXs here. The first one, he already had when I first met him, as one of our new co-workers, in 1989........it was a red, mid-1980s HF high-fuel-economy version with contrasting-color lower-body cladding and a thin blue clad-stripe. The interior, if my memory is correct, was simple black vinyl. It had a 5-speed manual floor-shift, a tiny carburetor on the small 1.3L in-line four that you could hold in one hand, and produced all of 48 HP, although the car was very light (only around 1800 lbs) and didn't need very much power to at least get out of its own way. What's more, the Munchkin-sized engine/carburator and light vehicle-weight produced some astounding fuel-mileage figures for the period...similiar to the high-mileage, three-cylinder Suzuki-designed Chevy/Geo Sprint/Metro XFi version that GM was marketing. 50 MPG in daily driving was easily obtainable, and, cruising on the Interstates at moderate speeds in light traffic, sometimes 60+. A lady that worked in our office also had a white HF that got about the same mileage....a classic fuel-miser. Except that the CRX, despite light weight, was built a lot more solidly than the Sprint/Metro, which, in comparison, was like a tin can. Me and my friend were at the D.C. auto show one year, and I made him laugh (and made some faces on the Chevy-reps turn red with embarrassment) when I took the hood on a new Metro and actually warped/bent it back and forth with only a couple of fingers in each hand....it was almost like tinfoil. I would not have wanted to be in that car in any kind a substantial accident.

Which brings me to the next point. His red CRX HF, from what I remember, had at least two accidents, one of which I was in the car with him...we were sitting at a red light, and a much larger Olds Cutlass Ciera slams on his brakes, doesn't stop in time, and hits us from behind. I was OK...no whiplash or any other injury, and said so after the wreck, though my friend, who was driving, got a little perturbed and told me I should have kept quiet, as sometimes injuries don't show up till later or have a delayed reaction. There didn't seem to be much damage to the back of his car, despite its small size and weight, and I don't recall it spending much time in the repair shop after the wreck. Somehow (again, I don't recall any details, but think it got totalled), he later was out of a car, period, and it was time to go car-shopping again. We rode around for a couple of days, this time in my car, and looked at some new and used vehicles for him, and, by this time, the sport-oriented Si version of the CRX (which became even more of a cult-car) had been on the market a couple of years. Then, he saw an ad in the paper (this was generally before on-line Internet ads) for a couple of used Si models at a Honda/Mazda dealership down near Ft. Belvoir, VA, south of D.C., and asked if we could drive down and take a look at them. There was a silver 1989 Si 5-speed on the lot in superb condition, with only about 30,000 miles, and a 1990 Si, which, again, I don't remember many of the details of. We both inspected and test-drove both cars, decided the 1989 was the better buy of the two, price/condition-wise, settled on the deal, and he took it home that evening.

This car, for him, became a real workhorse....he just loved it. It went on several skiing trips up to the New England mountains, served as a daily-commuter until he started riding the Metro Subway, and was a Jack-of-All-Trades car, if a small one. It was far more powerful than the earlier HF version, with almost three times the engine horsepower, although it was also a little heavier, as one would expect. It didn't get the Miserly gas mileage that the HF did, but still was not a gas-hog by any means. I thought it was exceedingly well-built, although the brake-rotors/calipers were somewhat undersized and weak (which was typical of some Honda products of that period) and the manual, non-power steering, though excellent in road-feel and tactile-sensation, was a little slow in response for a sport-oriented car of that size. It required very few repairs during the time he owned it....one of them, I remember, was a wheel-bearing, which I (correctly) guessed when he asked me to drive it and listen for a noise while turning the steering wheel. It also needed some engine work when the oil-level got too low.....I don't remember how it got that low, if my friend just forgot to check it or if the engine was wearing by then.

By this time, he also wanted something larger, and presumably safer in an accident, after he and his wife were in it and they got (yet again) rear-ended by another driver. So, after the body work and the engine work, he (Friend X) sold it to another one of our friends (Friend Y)...a coworker who worked in different section of the same building, who would often, with me, come over to Friend X's house on Friday nights for friendly cookouts. (I, a Teetotaller, was sometimes the Designated Driver after the beer-drinking was done LOL). By this time, the Si had over 200,000 miles on it, but Friend Y didn't mind, and he was capable of doing much of his own service-work/repairs...he had worked on several other automotive and motorcycle projects. Friend Y kept it for a while, spun it out once on the ice, on the Washington D.C. Beltway, into a ditch (fortunately, no injury or major damage), and then (sadly) started to develop cancer, which worsened despite chemo and radiation. He sold the old Si to a young kid before he passed away several years ago, and I don't know what became of the car after that, though it was likely added to the list of customized CRXs/Si's that this car became famous for.

The CRX was replaced in the early 1990s by the 2-seat Honda Del Sol, which, for a number of reasons, neither me or Friend X liked. For one thing, being a semi-convertible T-Top, it didn't have the CRX's space-efficiency or interior room, and was cramped. It didn't feel or drive as perky as the CRX. It did not feel as well-built. The main thing it was good for was fun in the sun, on a nice day. But that is the story for another write-up, not this one.

And, as Aways, Happy Car-Memories.

MM

Kira X

iTrader: (24)

That’s a pretty crazy story about that dealership and your experience with them. Those are the kind of experiences that make people hate the car buying process.

The CRX was a cool car back then. It sounds like it was a good all around car and well built too! I would love to find one but they’re pretty rare around here now. A CRX Si would be a fun daily driver. Also, I didn’t realize the Del Sol replaced the CRX. Those were cool cars too but the CRX seemed much roomier.

Thanks again for the retro review!

Stroock639

i've always liked this thing, must be a total riot to toss around some corners

mmarshall

Remember........that was some 35 years ago. The auto-buying business, on the whole, is much different today. The public won't tolerate that kind of stuff any more, and dealerships have generally moved past that.

Your best bet, today, for a small two-seater, would probably be a Mazda Miata....you can get them new or used. It, like the CRX, is well-built, and the Fiat Spyder version, IMO, is better-looking both front and rear, and it is the same car mechanically except for the Italian-built turbo engine. It was taken out of the U.S. market last year because of low sales, but may still be available in Asia where you (apparently) are. And, of course, with RWD and light weight, they are not snow vehicles.....keep them home in bad weather.

Here's the Del Sol. The CRX was definitely much roomier....and it had a relatively large but shallow cargo area in back, under the hatchback.....something that the Del Sol also lacked.

The Del Sol was Honda's first attempt at this type of vehicle, and, of course, there was a learning curve. It didn't have the CRX's body-ridigity because of the removable roof panel (which stowed in the trunk), had some cowl-flex like a convertible, and tended to develop squeaks/rattles/leaks.



Glad you enjoyed it. More coming.

mmarshall

Yes and no. The body rigidity was excellent, the double-wishbone suspension was quite good for the time, and the light weight made for not a lot of bulk to plow around the corners. But the brakes were weak (even on the Si version), the manual/non-power steering was slower in response than one would expect, the engine had decent HP but not a lot of torque (which meant high revs), and what little weight there was was front-heavy.

oldcajun

When I lived in Lancaster, CA and worked at Edwards AFB, I had a 30 mi commute each way. I bought an '89 CRX Si for my commuter car. The 1500 cc engine did not produce a lot of power (105 hp?) but the car was really light and had a 5 speed manual transmission. For the time, it was pretty quick. It was great fun over the Angeles Crest highway and it's tiny size even left room for small driving errors on the narrow, winding road. Commuting to work at well above legal speeds still returned near 40 mpg. I'm 6'3 and at the time weighed about 220 lb. No one could believe that I was comfortable in such a tiny car, but I fit well. Repair costs were typical Honda for the time: $0 for 30,000 miles. When I got transferred, I sold it to a neighbor for near what I paid since they were out of production. It was a great little car considering it was just a Civic with a shortened chassis.

I wonder what a new Type R Civic might be if made into the new CRX Si.

mmarshall

The specs, I think, said 125 HP......I don't remember the torque rating.


The suspension and chassis was well-done, but did you find the manual (non-power steering) a little slow? I did. I also bought the brakes were not up to par. The basic build-quality of the vehicle, though, was excellent.....IMO better than many of today's Hondas.

The L.A. region, where you are referring to, rarely ever gets really cold, and that helps gas mileage.....although, of course, the elevation along the Crest highway make it somewhat cooler.



Yes, unlike most small cars, it was ideal for tall people, because the position of the two seats, without having to compensate for two added seats in back or a transmission-tunnel, meant loads of legroom...you could stick your legs almost straight out.

TriC

The first new car that I tried to buy was a first year (1984) CRX. As mentioned, dealers were then marking them up, so after failing to cut a local deal at MSRP, I spent one snowy Saturday in March driving more than 100 miles to a then tiny Honda store in Sandusky, Ohio, to order a red 5-speed at list. After several months the dealer advised that they would be unable to fulfill the order, at least for a MY 1984 vehicle. In the interim, I had become interested in the new Civic S hatchback. When the dealer said they had a red Civic S coming in, I made the plunge, paying $7794 (including a whopping $1000 for dealer installed air conditioning - the only way to get it) on 7/27/84.

Although the Civic was a great car, we didn't keep it long. After our first child was born the following year we sold it privately for damn near what we had paid and bought a new 1986 Accord LX sedan, again going out of town (albeit to a different dealer) to buy at MSRP. The Accord was a big jump in price at $10,995.

mmarshall

Back in those days, it was quite difficult to "order"a Japanese-brand vehicle, for several reasons. One, they were not built in American plants, and what dealerships got here was basically whatever the factory decided to ship them. Two, there were "Voluntary" restrictions (and, in some cases, tariffs) put on the importation of Japanese-sourced cars and trucks, which in actual practice, were usually mandatory (done, of course for the protection of the Big Three American automakers). Three, if you, as a customer (or potential customer) were not satisfied with any of what was actually in stock, and/or not willing to pay the markup, the person right behind you would.....it was a classic seller's market.



Congratulations on being able to even be able to get a Civic back then. (An Accord, particularly in the nice blue-green turquoise color ,would have probably been even harder to get). My first Japanese car was a top-level 1984 Mazda GLC LX....I paid a flat $8000 for it, which included a (very slight) markup...almost at list, and I had to do some bargaining to get it down to even that level. I was lucky enough, though, to get a young, courteous (and perhaps inexperienced) salesperson who was willing to give some on the price....it was a car sitting in the showroom, on display.

Yeah, like I said above, Accords and Camrys were like gold back then....classic sellers' market.

JDR76

I loved the CRX. I have owned two of them. In '92 I picked up a well used '85 CRX HF. The 5 speed was fun, the mileage was amazing, and despite it only having two seats, it was remarkably roomy inside. Plenty of storage room in back, and leg room in front was great. I really loved that car.

I later bought an '88 CRX. I liked it too, but not as much as that first one. Again, it was a 5 speed and again, it was fun and returned great mileage. All was well with it until I got rear ended by a dump truck...

UDel

I always liked the 2nd Gen CRX Si, cool looking hatch that was quicker then you would think with its lowish power because it was so light. One of the complaints about the CRX back in the 80's and early 90's was that insurance rates were so high for it, it was classified as a risky sports car by most insurance companies despite it being fwd with a 4cyl not making much power.

Like many foreign cars in the 80's and 90's the US didn't get the hottest versions, 1st Gen CRX Si US versions made much less power then Japanese and UK Si rocket versions making 135-140hp, it was the same with 2nd Gen versions, US CRX Si only made I think 108hp with a D16A6 where in Japan and UK they had B16's in Si's making 148-158h which were rockets.

In Japan they even had a special luxury edition of the CRX called the CRX Exclusive which had a tan leather interior, power windows/mirrors/locks, CD premium soundsystem, Auto climate control, glass roof, and other features not available on CRX's. They are highly sought after now.
http://maydaygarage.com/nostalgic-we...crx-exclusive/

mmarshall

Good point....I had forgotten to mention that 2-seaters, even low-powered ones, did get an insurance-surcharge. My friend's first CRX HF, for example, had 48 HP, yet was classed as a sports car. And none of the accidents he had in it were chargeable to him.....he got hit from behind by other cars while standing still.


Thanks. That, I was not aware of. In fact, I'm going to send that link to my friend (he's still around). I don't think he was aware of that, either.