More Distinctive Styling Sets Civic Coupe Apart
I've always liked the Civic coupe, ever since my brother purchased a 1993 two-door in '92. It's been a thoroughly reliable ride, now pushing 215,000
km on the odometer and still getting him dependably from home to work, the club, pool hall, soccer games, rowing, and the many other activities he involves himself in. In fact, if Greg is any indicator as to how long Civic customers keep their cars, I'm surprised Honda sells as many as it does each year.
I'm sure if the means are there, the new 2006 Civic Coupe will lure him down to his local Honda dealership to reinvest. It looks extremely good, and so much more distinctive than the outgoing model which borrowed its prominent triangular taillight styling cues from the much pricier previous-generation Mercedes-Benz S, CL, SL and SLK rear lamp design. I've even seen "tuned" Civic coupes with aftermarket lenses featuring the same M-B clear on red design pattern.
It's a lot more difficult, and maybe impossible to see any blatant design plagiarism in the new model. Now it includes those clear inserts import tuners like, but the taillight shape is completely unique, as it the rest of
the car's shapely behind. Its tall, bustled rear deck lid appears like an oversized airfoil, which isn't all that far from the truth. In fact, it's the result of extensive wind tunnel testing, as is the rest of the car's swoopy styling.
From the front, little distinguishes the coupe from the much more sporting 2006 sedan. Its racy headlight slits meld nicely into the horizontal grille opening, with its now trademark wing-shaped insert and stylized Honda "H" dead centre. It's not as radical a step forward as the Si Concept, which debuted earlier this year as a teaser to Civic coupe fans, and has since been softened into the new 2006 Civic Si - more on this one in a future road and track test. Ironically, Honda has chosen to the grille insert on its Si chrome, instead of black or body colour, the latter of which is the norm for sport models. I like the chrome better, and bet that owners will quickly swap out the base coupe insert for the upgraded one, as well as adding the Si's stylish rear deck lid spoiler.
I've always liked the Civic coupe, ever since my brother purchased a 1993 two-door in '92. It's been a thoroughly reliable ride, now pushing 215,000
 |
| I've always liked the Civic coupe, ever since my brother purchased a 1993 two-door in '92. (Photo: Honda Canada) |
I'm sure if the means are there, the new 2006 Civic Coupe will lure him down to his local Honda dealership to reinvest. It looks extremely good, and so much more distinctive than the outgoing model which borrowed its prominent triangular taillight styling cues from the much pricier previous-generation Mercedes-Benz S, CL, SL and SLK rear lamp design. I've even seen "tuned" Civic coupes with aftermarket lenses featuring the same M-B clear on red design pattern.
It's a lot more difficult, and maybe impossible to see any blatant design plagiarism in the new model. Now it includes those clear inserts import tuners like, but the taillight shape is completely unique, as it the rest of
 |
| Its racy headlight slits meld nicely into the horizontal grille opening. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
From the front, little distinguishes the coupe from the much more sporting 2006 sedan. Its racy headlight slits meld nicely into the horizontal grille opening, with its now trademark wing-shaped insert and stylized Honda "H" dead centre. It's not as radical a step forward as the Si Concept, which debuted earlier this year as a teaser to Civic coupe fans, and has since been softened into the new 2006 Civic Si - more on this one in a future road and track test. Ironically, Honda has chosen to the grille insert on its Si chrome, instead of black or body colour, the latter of which is the norm for sport models. I like the chrome better, and bet that owners will quickly swap out the base coupe insert for the upgraded one, as well as adding the Si's stylish rear deck lid spoiler.