Evolution of the Ever-Growing Honda Civic Four-Door Sedan

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A while ago I touched on the growth of Honda's Civic model as found here in America.  Now I want to add more detail regarding that growth as expressed in wheelbase length.  Perhaps that's because for many years I was professionally a "numbers guy."

The second link above is Wikipedia's Honda Civic entry that, with sub-links, offers information on what the writer(s) contend are ten generations of Civics.  According to the data panels in the generation sub-links, some generations either did not vary in wheelbase length or such variation was trivial (one-tenth of an inch, three millimeters).  In one instance (2012 model year in the USA), wheelbase actually declined, but I will not treat that deviation here.

Below are images of Honda Civics for each generation showing a noteworthy length increase.  Ideally, I would present the cars facing the same direction and sized for comparative scale.  But that was not possible, given the images I could find via Google.

Gallery

1973 Honda Civic
The first Civics imported to America were coupés such as this.  Its wheelbase was 86.6 inches, 2200 mm.

c. 1976 Honda Civic Sedan
A four-door sedan entered the US market later, with a wheelbase of 88.9 inches, 2288 mm.  This is the benchmark for the overall growth comparison.  It styling, like that of the 2-door, has a slightly rounded appearance that was at variance from the emerging angular look of European cars.

1980 Honda Civic Sedan
The next generation had a 91.3 inch, 2320 mm wheelbase, and its styling was now in line with prevailing fashions.

c.1986 Honda Civic Sedan
Not a sharp photo (from an unknown source), this angular Civic sedan's hood curves downwards toward the front, a Honda theme for many years.  Wheelbase: 96 inches, 2438 mm.

1988 Honda Civic Sedan
Styling is similar to the car in the previous image, but the wheelbase is now 98.4 inches, 2500mm.

1993 Honda Civic Sedan
The following generation Civic shows some wind tunnel testing influence.  Wheelbase jumped to 103.2 inches, 2621 mm, where it essentially remained for the next two generations.

2006 Honda Civic Sedan
Now the wheelbase is up to 106.3 inches, 2700 mm.  The body shape is more aerodynamic.  Perhaps this length increase was due to aerodynamic considerations.  Or it was simply more of the length-creep trend due to marketing, packaging, and other factors.

2016 Honda Civic Sedan
A recent Honda Civic sedan.  Sleek, yet fashionably Japanese-fussy.  Its wheelbase is also 106.3 inches, 2700 mm, though the car is longer (182.3 inches, 4630 mm versus 176.7 inches, 4488 mm).  Its wheelbase compared to the initial Civic sedan is 17.4 inches, 420 mm longer.

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