Boise Street Sighting: Honda Civic wagon

Everyone knows by now that Boise is cream of the crop for old car sightings; but those sightings aren't just limited to American iron of the 1960s and 1970s. Pre-1990s Japanese cars are fairly common out west as well. Must be something to do with the combination of lack of road salt, and immensely strong reliability records. Even in the junkyards, the Japanese cars sitting on death row were visibly wrecked rather than just mechanically dead.

Like Toyota, Honda (as well as Datsun) started off small, making a rather tiny imprint in America's growing import market. One of the first nameplates from the brand to really take off was the Civic nomenclature. While we did get the CVCC in the US, changing the name to "Civic" really put Honda on the map. No longer was it seen as the "rollerskate on wheels" that cars like the Z600 were seen as. The Civic marked Honda's place in the economy car market for good. However, the Civic also signified something else for Honda--that reputation sells. 

Introduced in 1980, this generation of Honda's venerable compact would last three model years, and then would replaced by a more modern design (which unfortunately didn't include a wagon.)  All of our Civic wagons were one-spec, and were closely aligned with the DX trimline. While not "loaded" by today's standards, the Civic wagon was nice little grocery wagon--especially when you considered what the small-car competition was.

As a longtime Honda fan (expect for the more recent models), I tend to geek out over anything older than say, a 1990, two-door Accord DX.  Being brown, being a wagon, and being a vintage Honda (yes, I did just write "vintage Honda", so STFU), all of my attention was focused on this little car. Unfortunately, like the neighborhood it resides in, this poor little Honda is quite dirty.

Aside from the surface "patina", this example was very clean. No dents, only minor dings, and nary a bubble of surface rust; the stock wheels were in great shape, all of the correct moldings were there, and the delicate bumpers and grillework were still intact.  Time capsule Honda? Quite possibly. Yes, I realize that this one was far from "mint condition", but a thirty year old Honda Civic is amazing in of itself--let alone a wagon.

I am very happy I found this, and even in the rustbelt where my chances are extremely slim, I might have a chance to spot one again--in a shady neighborhood.