A Testament to Honda

The car before you is a 1980 Honda Civic. It's my uncle's old car, but now it lies in a field beside my house. This car has been abandoned and exposed to the elements in that field for over ten years.

To make a long story short, we decided to grab some basic hand tools today and dismantle this car piece by piece, just for fun. First thing's first... off with the hood. Four 10mm bolts, and then clip out the washer fluid hose. No problem. Now, off with the doors. Sixteen 12mm bolts and a linchpin for each one.

And then that's when we noticed it. This car is in immaculate condition, even after sitting in a field for ten years. The engine bay looked cleaner than the one in MY Accord. There is ZERO rust on this car. The doors are still sealed, and the paint is in 'OK' condition for a 3o year old car. The shifter felt smooth, and aside from the three snake skins we found inside... it was still pretty comfy.

I sent my brother after the battery from my car, and we hooked it up.

It ran.

Well, ok, it started a few times and then quickly sputtered to a stop with quite a heave each time. But the point is... it turned over. It's been sitting in a field for 10+ years, has zero rust, and it turned over several times. Not only that, but you can also dismantle this entire car with nothing more than the most basic of basic hand tools. Why, you can have the entire head disassembled (valve cover, valve springs, retainers, cam, cam gear, timing belt, etc) with nothing more than a 10mm, 12mm, and a two screwdrivers.

Hats off to Soichiro Honda. You've been dead for quite a while, but this car you built definitely isn't. It demonstrates the sole reason that I love old beaters. With a normal, functioning car, you just can't have these kinds of experiences. We went on to discover that the motor, internally, is in immaculate condition. The carburetor is in immaculate condition. The pistons had zero buildup on them after 200,000+ miles. Everything still turned freely, the throttle still worked, and the distributor obviously still worked. Hell, the entire powertrain rotated under it's own power, albeit for just a few seconds.

I don't think I'll ever look at Honda the same way again.

2004 RX-8 GT

It would be wrong of me to dedicate this blog to nothing but terrible American cars that are more fit parked on cinderblocks than they are parked in the garage of a typical American consumer. As a habit, I'd like to highlight what I think are brilliant cars. In an attempt to be as unbiased as possible, I have put my own car up on the chopping block for dissection; something that I've had quite a while to do since owning it (also having literally dissected it in my own garage many times).

For two reasons. First, it's a pretty controversial car. Second, it's an interesting car from any standpoint.

When you Google image search 'RX-8,' you get a lot of pictures of RX-8's on a track, and there's a reason for that. Somehow, Mazda has sold this car to the American public, despite it being an absolutely terrible choice of vehicle for 99% of them. The ride is rough and unforgiving from suspension that, quite literally, belongs on a track. The air conditioning, both heating and cooling, are laughable... that is, if it decides to work at all since notoriously high rotary engine temps dissipate any sort of heat exchange that might take place in an engine compartment in the first place. Visibility is almost non-existent and it's nearly impossible to check your enormous blind spots. The factory seats are about as close as you get to actual Recaro's, and aren't for everyone. The shifter is notchy, abrasive, and the transmission is notoriously loud (partially due to the fact that it is, literally, right next to you.) There is little sound dampening. The engine, when not taken care of meticulously, lasts on average about 60,000 miles.

Gas mileage? Not going to happen.

Maintenance? Buy some tools, or take out a loan.

Recalls? I could write a book, and wouldn't be the first to do so.

But maybe all of those horrible, scary things are what makes this car fun. It's completely irresponsible. Owning one is like owning a puppy; It's fun sometimes, but the majority of the time it just leaks fluids all over the place and eats a lot.

It's a drivers car. It's not the fastest thing on the road (boasting an 'above average' 5.8 second 0-60mph) but I don't suppose it needs to be. This car was made to do one thing well, and that is out-handle every other car on the road. Yes, aside from a Lotus Elise or a Miata, you really won't find many cars on the road that surpass this car on the skid-pad or the slalom. G-loads during turns are second to only the Miata. This car needs no instruments; By using five or so of your six senses, you can feel everything that this car is doing at any given moment. Every notch in the transmission is felt and heard... sitting in the drivers seat, you can even feel the radiant heat off of it as you whir it up to 9,000rpm. That's because it sits about three inches away from you in a special housing that takes up a good part of the passenger side floorboard, leaving little legroom.

Aside from the feel of actually driving a car like this, you have brilliant engineering behind you to back it up. I don't want the problems I mentioned above to overshadow the thinking that went into this car. Mazda did a fine job with this car right down to the fit and finish. The orgasmic suspension in this car is complimented by a 50/50 front/rear weight distribution. With a curb weight of 2,900lbs, it's a lightweight for a car this large with this much power. Everything is crisp and clean with little body roll and steering like i've never felt before.

And then you have a 13b rotary engine crammed way back in there, which needs no introduction. The new Renesis is impressive, at 238hp (which, in reality, translates to about 200 at the rear wheels after you get through the transmission, but who's counting.) Mazda did a good thing by not weighing this car down with bells and whistles like 'drive-by-wire' throttle control, which dampens any driving experience... and instead relying on a good ol' fashioned mechanical throttle cable. Traction control and Stability control are a default 'on,' but can be turned off at the flick of a switch for tire-barking fun.

To summarize; I don't think I've ever loved a car as much as I love this one. It's raw, it's fun, it's irresponsible, it's juvenile, and best of all, it shoots flames out of the exhaust. What more can a 24 year old ask for?