Cheap fun in the sun
Honda decided to go head to head with the wildly successful Mazda Miata when it introduced the Civic del Sol for the 1993 model year and is the subject of this week’s spot.
Priced at $15,695 and featuring a removable targa top, five-speed manual, and a high-winding VTEC engine, it was ready to take on the budget roadster market. Trim levels in its first year were limited to the S and Si models powered by SOHC Honda D-series 4-cylinder engines. During its six run it went through some tweaks In 1994, the VTEC model was added which included the 1.6-liter 16-valve DOHC VTEC 4-cylinder engine producing 160 hp., stiffer suspension, larger front disc brakes, and larger 14-inch tires. The S and Si models were available with either a 5-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed automatic while the del Sol VTEC model was only available with a 5-speed manual transmission. In 1996, it received minor interior and exterior styling refreshes and the S model would get a 1.6-liter SOHC 4-cylinder engine replacing the 1.5-liter engine that came in the 93-95 models. 1997 would be the final year of production for the del Sol in North America.
Its newness faded mainly on complaints about leaky roofs and sales dropped. In 1995, just over 14,000 were produced, and in 1996, they dropped to less than 8,500. The final year of production, 1997 saw only 5,600 cars produced for the North American market.
RELATED Spot: One of Honda’s first entries in the US market, the Civic CVCC.
What are they worth now? According to Edmonds, you can get one for around 10,000 bucks. Talk about cheap summer fun!
Thanks for stopping by and reading about my latest spot. Come back next Friday for another one of my spots along with its history and have a great weekend.
Savage On Wheels 
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