Since we went with a monstrously huge '78 Eldorado for yesterday's DOTS car, let's find an example of the other extreme of the Malaise Era automotive size spectrum (sorry, haven't found a '79 Midget on Alameda's streets yet, and the Honda 600 is pre-Malaise). This '76 Civic parks only a few blocks away from the Eldo... which means the Cad would probably burn half a tank of gas driving over to crush the Honda.
Much like the '78 Civic we saw in this series a while back, this little Honda is pretty rough. Since few consider these cars worth restoring, when one of them develops an expensive problem it usually means a trip straight to The Crusher.
Considering these things were once as common as yellowjackets on a half-gnawed hot dog in the dirt at a picnic, it's a sad state of affairs that they're so rare today.
What's even more sad is how freaking huge- and relatively soulless- the Civics of recent years have been. It's the Curse of the CRX- ditch the beloved two-seater CRX version of the Civic for the fake-perky Del Sol and the car goes straight to hell. Or maybe it was Soichiro's death. Hmmm... the timing of those two events seems suspicious...
There's nothing wrong with the engines of the current crop of Civics, though; all they need is a quick transplant into one of the early models. Hey, check out all the cool hood scoops on this car!
But we could go on all day with grumbling about the Death of Japanese Car Soul these days... and we will! Every day! It's a tragedy, I tell ya!