How many VXs made/surviving?

[mad pup]

Apologies if this has been answered before. I tried to do a search but came up short. Do you guys know how many VXs Honda made from '92 to '95? And how many of those survive? (obviously this one would have to be a guess - I would exclude the "B18 swapped" VXs)

Are we talking thousands? Tens of thousands? Hundreds?

[DRW]

Everytime I scan Craigslist for a VX I rarely find one unmodified. Just about every VX has been swapped, riced, or hacked by some deluded kid who thought he had a racecar. When I do find a completely unmodified VX in good condition the owner is asking way too much for it. Add the high theft rate for Hondas and I'll pass.

[R.I.D.E.]

I read that about 5% of the 91-95 Civics were VXs, probably 90% of them destroyed.

Mine was totalled in 1995 and repaired in 2008, with 27,472 miles on the odometer. It was like a time capsule.

You will probably never see another one like it-----ever.

regards
gary

[SCoupe]

Everytime I scan Craigslist for a VX I rarely find one unmodified. Just about every VX has been swapped, riced, or hacked by some deluded kid who thought he had a racecar. When I do find a completely unmodified VX in good condition the owner is asking way too much for it. Add the high theft rate for Hondas and I'll pass.Patience DRW, and persistence. Speaking from my Bay Area Craiglist experience, they are out there and they do show up, maybe once a month and then only for a few hours before the owners get so bombarded with emails they shut down the ad. Know that nice, priced to sell VXs may appear on craigslist as a "shooting star", they just flash through vs. hanging out unsold.

These fairly priced VXs are posted by sellers who don't bother to be up to date with the trend and price them at KBB or Edmunds pricing. Those VX's go very quickly and the ones you see left hanging around are the ones frustrating you. Know you aren't the only one looking and that you may need a few months to find it.

In my case, the first one I thought I was on my way to buy lasted exactly 30 minutes as someone in the same damn subdivision got there before me, I needed 45 minutes to make the drive to Susiun. 140,000 miles, with A/C, flawless and stock, $2,750. I was shocked as I pulled into the driveway to see a 20 year old kid getting the signed pink slip. The prick seller said cash talks, this after I phoned him in transit and said I would be there in minutes.

I was able to get the second one I went to look at (Martinez). $2000, original owner, A/C, all records, perfectly stock, 214,000. Needed a tranny and clutch and CV joint, put in ~$750, so I came out about the same, the other had better paint.

BTW, "deluded kid who thought he had a racecar", granted many do get screwed up, but enough have gotten into hands of highly skilled tuners who crave the 2,030 pound base weight and the ability to drop in 190 hp Integra engines and create stealth missles out of them that will bury an M3, not to be taken lightly.

[BIBI]

Since I have my VX, I have been lookin upon the market to watch prices and maybe THE one owner 100k perfect VX, but didnt find one (yes but it was 4000$). Anyway, the are becoming harder and harder to find. But there are some. I'm in Quebec, QC, so much far away, and my observation is that there are more VX available on the market during the summer, and in the winter you see one occasionaly.

[StorminMatt]

BTW, "deluded kid who thought he had a racecar", granted many do get screwed up, but enough have gotten into hands of highly skilled tuners who crave the 2,030 pound base weight and the ability to drop in 190 hp Integra engines and create stealth missles out of them that will bury an M3, not to be taken lightly.

And these 'stealth missiles' STILL get over 30MPG on the freeway!

[R.I.D.E.]

Personally I don't see 30 MPG on a Freeway as much of an accomplishment.

40 years ago I had a 63 Valiant that got 28.5 MPG.

An 84 Honda that got 44MPG.

An 84 Nissan Pickup truck that got 30 MPG.

Austin Healey Sprite, several old VW's, Ford pinto, BMW 2002, etc etc.

Now dont misunderstand my statement. Its not a judgement passeddon those who need to drive vehicles that won't get 30. I just don't see 30 as that much of a great accomplishment.

Instead, imagine what a VX could do today, if they had dedicated the last 15 years to refining the aerodynamics, and all other systems related to improving the efficiency. You would be talking about 60 MPG average today as the yardstick others would have to measure to call their models efficient.

regards
gary

[Jay2TheRescue]

Personally I don't see 30 MPG on a Freeway as much of an accomplishment.



Or various full size Fords that have been in my family over the years.

1986 Lincoln Town Car (great aunt)

1989 Mercury Grand Marquis (grandfather)

1992 Mercury Grand Marquis (grandfather)

2002 Mercury Grand Marquis (grandfather)

2005 Mercury Grand Marquis (grandfather)

All of these were fuel injected V8's with overdrive transmissions. All of them got between 27 and 30 on the highway, and all were land barges.

We used to have a 1981 AMC Spirit that used to be my grandmother's commuter car. Very stripped down car. Had a Pontiac 151 4 cyl engine with a Pontiac 4 speed manual transmission. It was nothing to put 600 or 700 miles on a tank of gas, and the very rare times we drove it on trips (No a/c) it would do ~800 miles on a tank (~ 20 gallons) We would have kept it longer if it had a/c.

-Jay

[djenyc]

SCoupe - I had the same experience looking for VX in north-east. They go fast! I saw a lot of them get sold within hours of posting. Doesn't make for a good shopping experience, but they could be had. Just need to keep looking, may be a couple months and 300-400 miles range, and $2-3K I'd say is a reasonable range for VX in running condition that needs some minor body work, and a few things done mechanically. Probably $4-5K if it's mint.

[bowtieguy]

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/searchresults.jsp?num_records=25&search_lang=en&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&search_type=used&distance=0&address=34769&marketZipError=false&style_flag=1&make=HONDA&model=CIVIC&make2=&start_year=1981&end_year=2009&min_price=&max_price=&seller_type=b&transmission=&engine=&drive=&doors=&fuel=&max_mileage=&color=&keywordsrep=118120&keywordsfyc=__dng%2C__&keywords_display=vx&sort_type=priceDESC&body_code=0&certified=&advanced=y&highlightFirstMakeModel=&showZipError=n&default_sort=priceDESC&awsp=false&keywordsrep=&keywordsfyc=&systime=

[JESSE69]

Old cars simply die away. Like I rarely see Mazda Mx6's on the road nowadays too.

[StorminMatt]

Personally I don't see 30 MPG on a Freeway as much of an accomplishment.

That depends on how you want to look at it. Yes, your old Dodge Dart might only get/have gotten a few less MPG on the freeway than my JDM ITR powered CRX. But can it do this while screaming down the freeway all day long at 80MPH, with no need to go easy on the gas or hypermile? Can it virtually leap over mountain ranges in a single bound, and without even having to think about downshifting (granted, my fifth gear is quite short, but still)? Can it badly embarass that snob in a Mustang GT or BMW M3 who thought they had the fastest car on the road? I am willing to be that it could not do any of these things. The same goes for a Pinto, BMW 2002, or old Bug. 1984 Nissan truck? I actually had a 1985. That thing could not touch 30MPG on the freeway when driven like a typical California driver. And it had virtually NO power - especially compared to a B18C5 CRX.

Of course, maybe you don't care about how much 'get up and go' your car has. And if this is the case, then more power to you (no pun intended). But if performance is important to you, then I think 30-33 REAL MPG (as opposed to some optimistic EPA rating) under real-world driving conditions (no hypermiling, driving like everyone else, and NOT driving like Grandma) is actually quite good.

Old cars simply die away. Like I rarely see Mazda Mx6's on the road nowadays too.

Yes, but some cars die faster than others. In the case of the Mazda MX6, not many were sold. This means there were not many to begin with. It also means a lack of cheap, used parts available to keep them running. They also didn't really offer too much in the way of endearing qualities. So when they required a major repair, people simply didn't see enough in them that they liked to consider repairing vs junking. This last factor is particularly important, and is probably THE reason why you see SO many more older Civics on the road than, say, older Tercels or Sentras. The ability to hot-rod Civics has certainly played a role in keeping older Civics on the road, as is the availability of high fuel economy models like the HF and VX. So yes, there will one day be next to no VX models (or ANY older Civics) on the road. But it will take longer for this to happen with Civics than most other cars.

[DRW]

You've touched on the reason I'm *sort of* looking for a VX, but not really looking hard. I'd be giving up quite a bit of power, and the gain in FE is unknown. I'm sure I could do great things if I got one, but it's a gamble. What if I just take the money and mod my current ride? What if I got one and it turned out to sacrifice a lot of HP for only a slight gain in FE? My current ride is getting 46mpg, weighs 2650 pounds and puts out around 275HP. Stealth missle? Stealth long range ICBM! :)

[StorminMatt]

You've touched on the reason I'm *sort of* looking for a VX, but not really looking hard. I'd be giving up quite a bit of power, and the gain in FE is unknown. I'm sure I could do great things if I got one, but it's a gamble. What if I just take the money and mod my current ride? What if I got one and it turned out to sacrifice a lot of HP for only a slight gain in FE? My current ride is getting 46mpg, weighs 2650 pounds and puts out around 275HP. Stealth missle? Stealth long range ICBM! :)

And what kind of ride might this be?

In any case, I would just keep what you have, and either buy a VX on the side OR do a VX swap into a 1988-1991 Civic/CRX. That is precisely what I am doing. I am not going to sell the CRX. But when my brother gave me his 1989 Civic HB in exchange for changing the transmission in his 240SX, this gave me a GREAT opportunity to try a D15Z1 swap. I have actually not done much with the car recently. But I am now making a big push to finish it. If it ends up getting good gas mileage, then GREAT. If not, then it's not like I spent big bucks on it.

By the way, I personally would swap rather than buy a VX. VX motors can be had for next to nothing (unlike an actual VX). And if you play your cards right, you can end up with a lighter car that will give you better mileage than a VX.

[Jay2TheRescue]

I just saw one on CraigsList for $3,500. No mention of mileage but sounds like a decent car...

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/859050595.html

EDIT: This one for $3,200 doesn't seem bad either...

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/863019050.html

One for $2,100
http://wichita.craigslist.org/cto/865376076.html

$2,700
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/871039870.html

This one needs minor body work, but for $1,800...
http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/cto/873144294.html

$1,000
http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/cto/864108383.html

$2,800 / 83,000 miles
http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/cto/873336976.html

Ok, I'm bored now... Anyway the cars are out there. This listing shows everything on Craigslist that's decently priced in the eastern half of the country. I excluded all cars over $4,000 and any car that had mentioned that the engine was swapped or heavily modded (one guy was advertising a VX w/ an integra engine as a "28 MPG CAR". If he only knew that 28 was half of what the car was capable of originally.

-Jay

[Nden]

dibs on the KY car lol

[Jay2TheRescue]

Go ahead and give them a call, if its still there, buy it.

BTW, I used www.crazedlist.com to search multiple cities at once.

-Jay

[VetteOwner]

Personally I don't see 30 MPG on a Freeway as much of an accomplishment.

40 years ago I had a 63 Valiant that got 28.5 MPG.

An 84 Honda that got 44MPG.

An 84 Nissan Pickup truck that got 30 MPG.

Austin Healey Sprite, several old VW's, Ford pinto, BMW 2002, etc etc.

Now dont misunderstand my statement. Its not a judgement passeddon those who need to drive vehicles that won't get 30. I just don't see 30 as that much of a great accomplishment.

Instead, imagine what a VX could do today, if they had dedicated the last 15 years to refining the aerodynamics, and all other systems related to improving the efficiency. You would be talking about 60 MPG average today as the yardstick others would have to measure to call their models efficient.

regards
gary

my thoughts exactly...i HATe all these car ads saying so many of our cars get 30 mpg or better, its like wait a minute u guys were doing that 30-40 years ago with cars that are as aerodymanic as a barn door:mad: cars that weighed 3 tons, rwd, haul around 8 people + all suitcases, fully carbed engines!

car companies are already making cars that get 60 + today, thier just not sold in the US....:mad:

[opelgt73]

Mine was totalled in 1995 and repaired in 2008, with 27,472 miles on the odometer. It was like a time capsule.

You will probably never see another one like it-----ever.


You'd be surprised what is out there. I have been into Opel GT's for about 15 years and every 2-3 years a O (ZERO) mileage car will pop up. And a few times a year a car with under 25K will pop up.

It depends on how hard you look. I find the best place to get a clean low mileage car is from retired folk. And the best way to find those is put a wanted ad in a local newspaper (not just online but in the printed paper). What you find is that people in their 70's don't drive much, keep their cars garaged and eventually want to get an automatic as they age. What they typically do is trade in the car (for next to nothing) for a Cadillac or something similar. The trick is, you usually have to find them (hence the wanted ad).

Back when I was 16 my great aunt wanted to get a car with power steering, she went to the dealer and they offered her $1500 for her 8 year old 17K mi VW Golf. She offered it to me for the same price and I tried like heck to get my parents to spot me the money for it but they had already "gifted" me their 13 year old 245K mi civic. My mom now admits that was a mistake!!!!

[R.I.D.E.]

Most of the cars of the late 60s and early 70s that were put away were due to high insurance premiums, sometimes more per year than the car itself cost.

Not surprized at all by that.

Most Civic VXs were bought by people who drive a fair amount of miles per year, in some cases 20,000 plus a year.

You are right, I would be surprised, in fact very surprised, to ever see another VX with under 100 K miles on the odometer. If another is around the chances are the owner knows what they have and it will not sell cheap.

Another major factor, regardless of the odometer reading is environmental conditions. In many areas of the country the mileage is secondary to the amount of rust and the cost of repairing the rust can easily exceed the cost of mechanical repairs.

regards
gary

[friz]

Everytime I scan Craigslist for a VX I rarely find one unmodified. Just about every VX has been swapped, riced, or hacked by some deluded kid who thought he had a racecar. When I do find a completely unmodified VX in good condition the owner is asking way too much for it. Add the high theft rate for Hondas and I'll pass.

The problem is that a VX makes a really good race car.

[suspendedhatch]

Well, you can buy a VX that has over 200k miles, needs a new motor and a new O2 sensor anyway, or you can buy a clean DX, CX, or even a coupe, get a low mileage JDM VTEC-E engine for cheap, get the rest of the stuff on ebay and have yourself a reliable car.

When I got my VX I was disappointed that it didn't have tilt wheel and had only 2 speed wipers. I ended up swapping that over from my auto DX before I sold it. Then I swapped the rear brakes for discs. The reason why I went out of my way to get a VX (really wasn't that difficult, although I had to take a train to get there) was for the lightweight engine mount, lightweight alternator pulley, lack of a rear wiper, VTEC-E valve cover, lack of road dampening material, and cuz it already had a tach. Looking back now after having done some serious modifications to it, I might as well have just found another DX with a manual trans.

On top of that I came across a junked VX just a few weeks later. I could have swapped all the VX-exclusive parts over at that point. Oh well, I brought an ailing VX back to life and to a much higher state than when it was new.

[StorminMatt]

my thoughts exactly...i HATe all these car ads saying so many of our cars get 30 mpg or better, its like wait a minute u guys were doing that 30-40 years ago with cars that are as aerodymanic as a barn door:mad: cars that weighed 3 tons, rwd, haul around 8 people + all suitcases, fully carbed engines!

No car built 30 years ago with the aerodynamics of a barn door, weight of three tons, RWD, carburetor, and ability to haul 8 people with suitcases could ever HOPE to get 30MPG. Your typical 70s land yacht got more like 12-15MPG. Thats why the old land yachts of the 70s were downsized first, and axed later as a result of the energy crisis. Hell, my parent's old 1977 Dodge Colt was lucky to get 28-30MPG on the freeway! And that was a small car. You just can't take the numbers given then at face value. Because they were pretty much NEVER reached unless you were REALLY careful. And here's another thing to consider: MPG numbers given even 10 years ago (before changes were made a couple of years ago) were FAR more realistic than those given back in the 70s.

[SCoupe]

MPG numbers given even 10 years ago (before changes were made a couple of years ago) were FAR more realistic than those given back in the 70s.Is it the exception or the rule to get 48mpg city and 53mpg Highway on the VX ?? Most of us rarely see those numbers, settling for under 45 mixxed.

[itjstagame]

You are right, I would be surprised, in fact very surprised, to ever see another VX with under 100 K miles on the odometer. If another is around the chances are the owner knows what they have and it will not sell cheap.



Jay just posted one above, 83k.

I really like the idea of looking for the older people, you can find some amazing deals. They're probably some of the few people left in the world that read the newspaper too (besides business types I mean).

Oh and I really hate 2 speed wipers too. That's what the Festiva has and I basically just manually on/off them, but it's a hassle. I'm planning to just rainx it soon enough.

[StorminMatt]

Is it the exception or the rule to get 48mpg city and 53mpg Highway on the VX ?? Most of us rarely see those numbers, settling for under 45 mixxed.

You may never see 53MPG on the freeway with a VX. But a VX would certainly come closer to 53MPG than my dad's old Plymouth Reliant K (with the 2.2 and a four on the floor) would EVER come to its EPA highway rating of 41MPG. That old POS was lucky to get 30MPG going downhill with a tailwind. And with a measly 84 ponies under the hood, it barely had the power to even do that.

[Jay2TheRescue]

...a VX would certainly come closer to 53MPG than my dad's old Plymouth Reliant K (with the 2.2 and a four on the floor) would EVER come to its EPA highway rating of 41MPG.

41 seems kinda high, even for a 4 speed. Checking on www.fueleconomy.gov, even the old ratings for that vehicle only show 33 highway.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorCompareSideBySidePopUp.jsp?column=1&id=511

-Jay

[DRW]

The problem is that a VX makes a really good race car.

Guess what else makes a good racecar? This car didn't do so good at this event.
Yes, a small and light vehicle makes a good racecar, but something about it just feels wrong.

[StorminMatt]

41 seems kinda high, even for a 4 speed. Checking on www.fueleconomy.gov, even the old ratings for that vehicle only show 33 highway.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorCompareSideBySidePopUp.jsp?column=1&id=511

-Jay

I agree that an EPA rating of 33MPG is probably MUCH more in line with what this car was actually capable of (which is still pathetic for an 84HP car). BUT, when the car was sold, it was billed as a car that could get 41MPG on the freeway. In fact, I have an old sales brochure somewhere from back when my dad bought his 1981 Reliant brand new. And this is EXACTLY what it said. But this illustrates VERY well the point I am trying to bring across. Specifically, fuel economy figures from the late 1970s/early 1980s were just WAYYYY out of line with what the vehicles were actually capable of. By the way, I also remember ads for Honda Civics around 1980 saying that it could get over 50MPG. This is just SO grossly above what those cars were capable of that I can't believe some people actually believe it is possible.

Guess what else makes a good racecar? This car didn't do so good at this event.
Yes, a small and light vehicle makes a good racecar, but something about it just feels wrong.

There is one little difference you might want to keep in mind between the Civic VX and Insight. Specifically, engine swaps are ridiculously easy with a VX. Hell, it even has all the wiring in place for VTEC if you want to drop that 200HP ITR motor in there. And the ITR drivetrain will drop right in as if the motor is stock! Furthermore, if you want to go H22A, it even has everything you need for the EGR. And although the H22A won't drop in like a stock motor, all you need is a mount kit. Hell, you can even buy a kit from Hasport these days that allows you to drop in one of the V6 motors, like the Odyssey or TL Type-S! But with an Insight, pretty much ANY swap you want to do is going to be a completely custom affair that will require LOTS of fab work. Not exactly the sort of thing your average Honda swapper is either willing or able to take on. Admittedly, a K20-powered Insight would be badass, and probably still get close to 40MPG. But it's just not the sort of thing the average person has either the skills or equipment to pull off.

[opelgt73]

Case in point

http://appleton.craigslist.org/cto/885202404.html

[1993CivicVX]

Everytime I scan Craigslist for a VX I rarely find one unmodified. Just about every VX has been swapped, riced, or hacked by some deluded kid who thought he had a racecar. When I do find a completely unmodified VX in good condition the owner is asking way too much for it. Add the high theft rate for Hondas and I'll pass.

The other day while I was driving I got asked by someone how much for my car. I told him it wasn't for sale. He said he only needed the shell; that he had some performance engine to put in it.