Those are weird lights on that Civic. Whaaaat… that’s not a Civic?
Oh right, Acura sold a rebadged version of the eighth generation Honda Civic in Canada only as the CSX. CSX sales were quite low, never reaching the volume of its EL predecessor, possibly due to this generation Civic’s distinctive body which was harder to disguise with only different fascias. Likely uncommon sights in Canada, these rarely are seen several hundred miles south of the border in Boston, and this Québécois quasi-Civic is only the second one I’ve seen in my life.
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We’re you in Canada? Either that or they were visiting from Canada. Only way we would see one of those rebadged Civics around here.
If you live near a national border, you’re more likely to see models specific to the other country, which is why I sometimes see Mexican-market cars where I live. We even get some Canadians here in the Southwest because some don’t want to tough it out in winter, though I don’t recall seeing any unusual models.
Locals call them (& transient Americans from northern States) “Snowbirds.”
A month ago, I saw a Chevy pickup with a license plate I didn’t recognize. Eventually, I got close enough to it to realize it said “Durango” – presumably the Mexican state, not the Dodge SUV. Then I realized that it was a Chevy Cheyenne, which is evidently what the Silverado is badged as south of the border.
We don’t get a lot of cars with Mexican plates in Maryland
In the mid-90s I recall seeing a Hyundai Pony (predecessor to the Excel which was never sold here) with Quebec plates here in California. It looked awful.
More commonly I see Mexican cars like the Nissan Tsuru (mid-90s Sentra) or the Opel-derived Corsa.
I’ve seen a couple of Mexican-plated cars that were not available in the USA. Oddly, neither was anywhere near the border–saw a K12 Nissan Micra in Raleigh, NC in 2008, and an E87 BMW 120i 5-door hatchback in Williamsburg, VA in 2013.
As a lil kid, my parent’s friend’s wife was from Canada, and she had a Canadian Chevette, a red 2 door 1977 Pontiac Acadian.
I remember also, when we went camping at a friend’s lodge in Maine, in 1978, seeing a Chevy Beaumont.
When me and my girlfriend went to a concert in northern, MA, we saw an R33 Nissan Skyline with Ontario plates.
This one uses the wheels from the Civic Hybrid. I had forgotten about these.
That’s what I thought, too. Couldn’t make out any hybrid badging on the trunk lid, though.
Someone mentioned here before that the tail lights of the concurrent Civic look like two eagles facing each other. Now every time I see one, that’s all I can think of.
I believe this is just a really sweet set of Hybrid take-off wheels that the CSX owner has purchased to use with snow tires. They’re 15 inch alloys, while the other Civics of this generation all had at least 16 inch wheels.
Canadian DX-G models got the 15″ hybrid wheels as well, so they fairly common and easy to come by
Why does the Hybrid get the smooth wheel covers & decklid spoiler, but not the DX/LX/EX? Perhaps these aero goodies would close the MPG gap a bit. I test-drove the Hybrid but decided the price premium was too high, plus you can’t fold down the rear seat. All Hybrids & EVs cost you useful interior volume.
I could understand the wheel covers if they didn’t need to vent as much heat due to regen. braking.
Not sure if you realize it or not but those are not flush wheel covers used on Hybrid Civics, but alloy wheels. When Honda first sold the fuel miser Civic HX in the 90s, they came with light-weight, thin spoked, alloy wheels which some folks swapped onto regular Civics for their factory custom look.
As far as why Honda does not sell “aero/full economy” addenda on all models of the Civic….for starters, you can get those “bits” through a Honda dealer….as part of their holdover from the days when even the A/C had to be purchased from and installed by dealers. And as part of it’s “vast” Civic model lineup, Honda sells (or used to sell?) both a Hybrid Civic and the fuel miser Civic HX. Add all the aero bits to a Civic DX and the model line has no reason for the HX…..a model for folks who want to save on gas but don’t want the high buy in of the Hybrid.
Thanks for the correction, I guess I didn’t look closely enough while at the dealer; they’re unusual for alloy rims.
HF was the recent Civic fuel-miser model, confusing since their other trim levels end with ‘X’. They had a GX CNG version in the showroom when I bought my 2010; I assume they interested only fleet customers.
Canadian DX-G models got the 15″ hybrid wheels as well, so they fairly common and easy to come by.
That is the Cadillac Cimarron of Civics. If I remember correctly, it used to be called the EL with the Acura CL front headlights and grille grafted onto the front of the Civic. I am not sure why anyone would pay extra money for what is essentially a fluffed up Civic.
What’s even worse is, this one has the ugly Optimus Prime face shield “beak”.
Out of all Acura traits, that has to be the ugliest one they have to bestow upon this Civic.
The Acura ILX is the American market counterpart. As a Civic owner I recognized some bits in it, but it’s not as bad as the Cimarron in this respect. Still, “compact executive car,” as it’s classified, seems like a dubious market category, esp. in a culture which emphasizes personal status.
The ILX has unique sheetmetal, a unique greenhouse, and a unique dashboard. It’s many orders more differentiated from the Civic than the Cimarron was from the Cavalier. On top of that, the Civic is the small car GM couldn’t duplicate for any price. They spent several billion on the first Saturn only to produce a car with the biggest panel gaps in history and an engine that sounded like a blender digesting a Swiss Army knife. It wasn’t much different than when the best small car was the Accord and GM spent many times Honda’s development budget on what would be the Cavalier and Cimarron.
This CSX isn’t particularly distinct from a Civic, but it’s better to be the Cadillac Cimarron of Civics than it is to be the Cadillac Cimarron of Cadillacs. At least Civics are good cars.
I think the ILX replaced the CSX in Canada as well.
Good catch though I have yet to see a Shelby CSX or an Acura CSX in real life. I have seen a 1990 Pontiac Tempest and a 2005 Pontiac Sunbird Sedan though as well as some Nissan X-Trails. Back when I lived on the East Coast I found it amusing to see dirty cars from Canada driving around Dixie since they stick out like a sore thumb.
Without knowing that much about these cars I guess I shouldn’t comment. However, having owned 3 Civics, and having driven and ridden in several others, and as a former 2nd generation Integra owner I feel compelled to address a few earlier comments.
I may be wrong, but while the Acura el (and for that matter the CSX) looked like “a regular Civic”, they usually had the most powerful engine that Honda put in a Civic and all the luxury “goodies” that a Civic EX had. You paid a bit more for that, obviously, just as a Civic EX was more expensive than a DX.
If you want to call this Honda’s Cimarron…..I think it might be more apt to say this is Honda’s Firebird or Cougar.
I always wondered why the 2006-2011 had almost no meaningful “facelift” over it’s run, but now I see one reason is that with this CSX Honda had no where to go to make it’s usual front and rear “makeover” during that model’s run.
There are a lot of factors that speak to why the EL was a success in Canada and the CSX wasn’t.
-Canadian civics are downmarket compared to American models, the EL was the only way to get leather in a Civic among other options.
-Compact cars are the best selling segment in Canada, more choice makes more sense.
-the EL basically had the low price compact luxury market to itself at the time.
-the newer Civic and CSX are mid sized cars
-the CSX has competition
I think they’re both good cars and both have better styling than their Civic companions.
I’m surprised at the criticism. These are now sold in the US as the Acura ILX and seem quite popular here. As so often seems the case (eg content-sharing among GM brands in the ’60’s) Canada was just ahead of us here in the States. Maybe not just automotively either (I’ll leave it at that). I think I’ve only seen one of that generation CSX here in California and also recall the Hybrid wheels. Was the Civic Hybrid sold in Canada? The wheels were so distinctive so it seems odd if they were shared between a hybrid Honda and non-hybrid Acura.
Unlike the EL which had some cosmetic changes done on it(such as a longer front end) to make it look a bit different then the Civic, the CSX looked like they just slapped an Acura grill on the front and Acura badging all and different tail lights on a Civic.
The ILX hides its Civic looks well and thus sell well.
Of course to me it is a crime Acura killed off the Integra.
Maybe you saw the same car in California. The Civic Hybrid wheels weren’t available on the CSX as original equipment. They’re only 15 inches in diameter, while even the base Civic LX came with 16 inch wheels. The Hybrids came with 15s and skinny tires to reduce aerodynamic drag and rolling resistance. The CSX would have had either 16s or 17s.
Here’s a far-from-home Canadian Acura sighting. I’ve seen this EL several times at my office parking lot near Los Angeles! I did a similar double-take the first time I saw it. Something was a bit different about that Civic. Also, the license plate sequence shows it’s been in California since it was fairly new.
One more showing the wheels. I think it’s a classy looking car.
I would imagine these are fairly uncommon in Canada. I see a lot of visiting Canadian cars here in Maine and I have only seen a very small number of CSXen.
Not sure about the East Coast, but there’s are fairly popular out here in Vancouver. I believe they were Acura’s best selling model in Canada, despite it not selling in the same sort of volume as the EL. I suspect that Canadian buyers might have opted for a CSX rather than the Civic EX-L because of the longer warranty and lower insurance premiums. Base models got the DOHC K20 engine from the base RSX (similar to the base engine in the new Civic). Naturally there was also a sportier Type S model based on the Civic Si which is very hard to find in the used market.
Aside from climate control and mirror turn signals (both of which were not available in the non-Hybrid 8G Civic), the tech package also gave you niceties like Navigation and HID lights.
Source: I own a ’10 model as a daily driver.
To paraphrase a politician – I can see one in my front yard! This is a stick/sunroof/leather car that parks in front of our building and it’s a nice example – currently has its snowies on due to the harsh Vancouver winter (!). The CSX is differentiated in its own right by having a bigger base engine 2.0 155hp, availability of premium options like automatic climate control, HID lights. There was an SiR equivalent too that is quite luxurious compared to the Civic SiR. The CSX in Brendan’s photo has Civic wheels that were not available in the CSX. Being a car from Quebec, where snow tires are mandatory, someone got a set of rims off a Civic for their ‘pneus neige ‘.
Short and brief article. Alles klar! I liked it. 🙂
We visited Toronto and Niagara Falls in the summer of 2010, and it seemed as though Acura ELs were quite popular – at least in Toronto and the surrounding suburbs. I don’t remember seeing quite as many CSXs.
We see lots of Ontario license plates, and a few from Quebec, coming down I-75 on the way to Florida…there will be some weird trim variations and once in a while we’ll see an Acura-ized Honda too.
CSX, to me, calls to mind locomotives. It’s the primary regional freight carrier in my part of the USA.
So, the question becomes, does it have locomotive-like torque to justify the name? Oh wait, it’s a Honda…..
Ironically, I remember seeing a commercial for the CSX railroad a while back, and the commercial began with a shot of a then-new Honda Civic. At first, I thought the US was finally getting the small Acura…
Does CSX ship for Honda’s Ohio plant?
UPRR got a supplier award from Toyota, according to their website. I assume it’s for shipping imports.
Those look like the tail lights used on the Civic here in Australia, I don’t think the US version was used here. Then again I don’t pay that much attention to Civics.
CSX makes me think of the Shelby Cobra chassis numbers…
I have actually seen these! I-77 through N.C. is a prime Canada to Southeast beach route. You can see multiple Quebec and Ontario plates 365 days a year.
The CC Effect (sort of) strikes again. I saw a later model EL with Ontario plates parked in a lot near St. Louis University this evening. Too dark for a photo but I can say it was in pretty decent shape for what was probably some college kid’s 10+ year old car.
Go Billikens!!! I graduated from the business school in 1989…seems like a century ago.
I’m a big fan of Pappy’s Smokehouse too, right around the corner from SLU’s campus.
The Acura was in the lot for an apartment building behind the Red Cross regional blood center. (Lindell/Sarah).
Back in the 80s, I lived in a horrible old apartment building at Lindell and Vandeventer, affectionately referred to by residents as the “Roach Motel”, on the same block as the old Playboy Club…
We see the occasional Mexican license plate too, but I haven’t noticed any oddball cars from Mexico, they all seem to be full size pickup trucks and SUVs.
I also see a late model Hyundai SUV sometimes with a white plate with 2 rows of black numbers and letters, I can’t identify where it’s from, but it almost looks like a US military plate of some sort…
This whole re-naming thing has me wondering. Why hasn’t Acura done something with their entry level and highest level cars, as they are our slowest sellers? At one time all Acura offered was the Integra and Legend and they sold great. Those were known established names with a following. To get rid of them was foolish.
The ILX (which should be renamed Integra and given a 6-speed tranny as an an option) is a great little car – honestly the customers that bought them all love them. It gets killed in the reviews as being a glorified Civic, which isn’t really fair as it is a lot more refined and luxurious than a Civic.
The RLX should still be called the Legend. Instead of getting thrown into the mix with every other alphanumeric name out there, the Legend name meant something. It had substance which a car that costs 55k+ should have. And the people that owned their Legends loved them. The new RLX is the Honda Legend in Japan and it sells well there, too. Owners of the new RLX rave about them. Wake up Acura!
During my years in Houston, Mexican plates were a regular, if not everyday sight. Saw my share of “can’t buy it here” cars, such as an occasional Ford Ka or Fiesta (before the Fiesta was reintroduced in the US), Nissan Tsuru, Chrysler-branded Neons and Spirits, and perhaps the most common, the Chevy Chevy (Opel Corsa).
Interestingly enough, the best places to see interesting cars with Mexican plates weren’t in predominantly-Latino neighborhoods. The hospital and clinic garages of the Texas Medical Center and The Galleria mall were always full of wealthy Mexicans in town for a doctor visit or shopping. In fact, the first ’02 retro Thunderbird I ever saw on the street in Houston had Tamaulipas plates.
Houston also saw its share of Canadian plates, either RVers passing through on their way to the Rio Grande Valley, or Albertans working for Houston-based oil companies on assignment to the home office.
Acura CSX aka JDM Honda Civic. Look it up, looks identical, save for LHD vs. RHD.
Honda has an assembly plant north of Toronto making Civics so making a Canadian price leader Acura was a no brainer. I’m in the aftemarket parts business and Honda and Volkswagen are notorious for selling cars in Canada that are just a little different than US ones to keep costs down. When 1st generation Integras started needing brakes we were baffled that parts books only showed 4wheel disc brakes but low end Integras had drums on the back. Many times the trim packages don’t match exactly because Canada needs a stripper model that isn’t sold down south (mostly Accords).
You used to see a lot of ELs, I’m sure buyers liked getting the Acura experience at a price they could afford. I do know the Civic has been the best selling car in Canada for years now.