CIVIC’S RENAISSANCE EXPERIMENT

As they used to say about Porsches before they became too spendy, you could race a CRX on Saturday and drive it to work on Monday

Mazda came up with the MX5, Toyota had the MR2, Honda’s giantkilling sports car was the CRX. With its compact coupe dimensions inspired by the Alfa Romeo GT Junior Zagato, the CRX — or Civic Renaissance Experimental, if you want the full name — has gained a cult following, from keen drivers to eco-minded motorists.

With its peppy choice of economical yet sprightly power units and weighing in at less than 900kg, the CRX became not only a great daily driver for those who want to champion lusty performance with frugal open road economy, but also a great tool for racing.

“You can do so much with them,” says long-time CRX fan Sharky Archbold. “Honda pulled the design of the Civic and put it on the CRX; they shortened it; made it handle better. I used to race them, and you can do so much to them for very little money. It is also a cute wee car. I love the shape and especially features like the glass window on the boot lid.”

The CRX stayed in production from 1984 until 1991 when it was replaced by the CRX Del Sol, which greatly departed from the original concept.

For fellow CRX fan, Ava Bifield, admiration for the first and second generation CRX is something that has been in the family for many a moon.

“My mum used to have a firstgeneration CRX. Ever since then I wanted to have one of my own; now I have a second-generation CRX,” she says. “They were way ahead of their time in 1987. You had electric mirrors, electric windows, and that classic shape.”

AFTER THE FLOOD

In New Zealand, the CRX was a common sight on our roads for almost a generation, thanks in part to a flood of imports into the country prior to the changes in import laws in 2005. First and second generation CRXS were a dime a dozen. Countless enthusiasts and collectors were buying them for next to nothing and doing them up. So much so that even then it got harder and harder to find a genuine factory

example with low mileage.

Today, the big problem with the CRX is supply.

“There used to be heaps of them; now you just don’t see them any more,” says Sharky.

Values for first and second generation CRXS have risen, but, despite the lack of supply, prices haven’t gone stratospheric as they have with other JDM icons of the period.

“Keeping my eye on the classifieds, these days you wouldn’t see a decent example go for less than $8000,” says Ava. “A good factory example is usually between $15,000 and $20,000. They aren’t going up as much as other JDM icons, as I reckon they are still very much a niche market for Honda owners,” she says.

Not so long ago, a CRX project could be had for a bit less.

“I bought mine in 2014 for $1000 as a turnkey runner,” Ava explains. “I stripped it out and am currently restoring it to factory. Today, a good factory example is around $15,000 and a roadworthy average example between $9000 and $11,000 with reg. Minters will be around the $20K mark.”

If you manage to find a CRX in a condition you are happy with, what should be on your checklist when buying?

“Definitely rust,” says Ava. “If it hasn’t been restored, nine times out of 10 there is potential for a rust issue. Check around the aerial and around the A-pillar, around the sides of the boot catch, and around the fuel filler flap.”

“Mainly the boots can leak if you have worn seals, which, if left unchecked, can result in rust. Also rust around the windscreen can be a problem,” says Sharky.

WHEN TO WALK AWAY

Having a matching-numbers CRX is always good, although some examples have had their serial numbers removed.

“I had a CRX which had its serial numbers taken off. If you find a CRX that has been messed with like this, it’s best to walk away,” says Sharky.

Mechanically, any CRX, like many Hondas, is a pillar of reliability so as far as engine and transmissions go; they are pretty much bulletproof.

“Mechanically, it’s fine. I bought mine a few years ago with the factory engine. It’s unbreakable to a degree,” says Ava.

“You just can’t kill a Honda. My dad won the Canterbury champs at Woodford Glen with a motor he bought for $5,” says Sharky.

With a strong community in New Zealand for all things Honda, there is no shortage of online groups and clubs that are a hive of information.

The Honda CRX is a gem. If you desire a fun, practical, sprightly handling, and reliable sports coupe with character, the CRX is all this and more. If you find a good one, don’t let it go.

The truth, for starters. Of late we’ve (big assumption here?) been bombarded with messages, commercials and the like, that an electric vehicle (EV) is the way of the future and if we currently don’t own one then in some way we are missing out. Apart from a nearby neighbour I don’t know anyone else who actually owns one or even is considering the purchase of one. The closest I’ve been to one was availing myself of a drive in one provided by an electricity supplier and even then we had an argument about how far we had actually travelled. I claimed that the kilometre recording was some 10km short of what we had travelled thereby making any sort of distance travel in it a risky gamble, especially as it was one of those that had a range of about 100–120km. There has also been a bit of negative press about the batteries and. more important, the safe disposal of same, not to mention the average age of the miners of the minerals!

In the US, for instance, and I quote, “Over the past 10 years, sales of plugin EVS have steadily increased, with nearly 327,000 sold in the US markets in 2019 alone — an increase of nearly 1,900% from sales in 2021.” That sounds a lot until you remember that the population of the US is just shy of 335 million! When you consider that the US has some 286.9 million cars, that 327,000 doesn’t equate to much of a ‘move to EVS’, does it?

Here in New Zealand, our population is nearly 4.9 million, and there are approximately 3.5 million cars as of 2021. So how many EVS are there? Good question and damn difficult to find the answer, as for some reason the statistics seem to always include hybrids — probably to make the numbers look better perhaps?

To be honest I’d started to believe the hype and began to think that around every corner there’d be an EV. But when I managed to crunch the numbers, and I stand to be corrected here, the total number of actual plug-in EVS is just 16,153, which represents a whopping 0.021 per cent (my calculator doesn’t do miniscule calculations). So the number of EVS in the New Zealand fleet doesn’t even break the one per cent mark.

While doing my research I had a chuckle when I read this in an American publication: “The election of Joe Biden as president was widely considered to be a catalyst to facilitate continued EV growth in the US.” Of course it did, remembering that once Donald Trump had made America selfsufficient in oil production, the world oil price per barrel plummeted to below US$30 a barrel. Once Biden took control and the US once again became dependent on other countries for its oil things changed — the price currently (at the time of writing) is US$116.70 per barrel! Equating that scenario with New Zealand and the current government’s closing down of further oil and gas exploration, and happily seeing our sole refinery at Marsden Point closing down for good, what has happened to our petrol price? I can tell you it has ratcheted up to between NZ$2.93 and NZ$3.17 depending on where you are domiciled.

On average I’m spending at least around $1 per litre more on 91 octane. One has to ask the question, is this a cunning government plan to make us rush out and buy an EV? Who benefits from more vehicle sales? You guessed it! The government (via GST) and also motor-vehicle retailers, both new and used. As I’ve said here previously, the Motor Industry Association (MIA) and the Imported Motor Vehicle Industry Association (IMVIA) have the best lobby groups in the country and I’m sure they have been badgering the relevant MPS on the topic.

So what are we not being told? For a start road-user charges (RUCS) are simply on the back burner until 2024 but they will be introduced. So that’s somewhere between $600 to $900 per year on average. In addition, as I’ve previously warned, New Zealand will very likely follow the UK and introduce legislation mandating (they’re good at that!) special home charging points that will allow power used for charging to be levied at a greater rate than normal, and, more important, allow the power company to drain your car’s battery overnight to top up the national grid. Remember this term — ‘Time of Use’ rate (TOU) — which will be part of the rate structure to encourage power customers to shift their car charging to off-peak hours by charging higher rates for usage during peak hours. When are peak hours? In the evening when you will be expecting to charge your EV of course!

What has yet to be established is for those who cannot afford an EV with a longer range (250-450km) is where you can charge them en route. In an EV you cannot just drive into a filling station, hook up to the pump, and be on your way after five minutes. So what happens when there are several other EVS in the queue?

And those incentives to buy ‘green’ are working well, aren’t they? It would appear that those with the means to do so are simply buying a discounted vehicle and on-selling it and pocketing the profit. Who saw that coming?

Finally, I’ve yet to establish the insurance companies’ position on the garaging of EVS and the potential increased fire risk, not to mention how the people with EVS who live in new housing for which no garaging is provided expect to charge their car overnight?

But don’t let my facts get in the way of an otherwise good sales pitch. Meanwhile I’ll continue my search for an extension cord longer than 30m so I can at least get out of my driveway.