The Honda Civic is a line of compact cars manufactured by Honda. Originally a subcompact, the Civic has gone through several generational changes, becoming both larger and more upmarket. It currently falls between the Honda Fit and Honda Accord.The first Civic was introduced in July 1972 as a two-door model, followed by a three-door hatchback that September. With an 1169 cc transverse engine and front-wheel drive like the British Mini, the car provided good interior space despite overall small dimensions. Initially gaining a reputation for being fuel-efficient, reliable, and environmentally friendly, later iterations have become known for performance and sportiness, especially the Civic Type R, Civic VTi, Civic GTi and Civic SiR/Si.
The Civic has been repeatedly rebadged for international markets, and served as the basis for the Honda CR-X, the Honda CR-X del Sol, the Honda Concerto, the first generation Honda Prelude, the Honda Civic Shuttle (later to become the Honda Orthia), and the Honda CR-V.
As of 2006, a total of 16.5 million Civics had been sold worldwide. With 7.3 million bought in the United States, it has been a top seller both there and in Canada, where it had placed #1 for 14 years through 2012.
In Japan, as customers increasingly shifted to minivans and compact cars like Honda Fit, production of non-hybrid Civic ended in August 2010 when it no longer complied with Japanese Government dimension regulations in the width category. However, production of Civic and Civic hybrid for export markets continued
