Saying "It is just a 35k Civic at the end of the day" . . . Makes me so mad

It is a really well-engineered vehicle. I spent years looking for a car that does everything I wanted. My budget was well above the ~35k. I wanted a car that had great performance and would work well as a daily driver. It had to have reliability and low maintenance costs. There are not a lot of options available. I think the only other vehicle that checked most of the boxes is the Golf R. I considered BMWs, Audis, Camaros, Corvettes, Cayman S, Mustang GT350, etc. I did have to tell myself to get used to the exterior, although I am over that now.
I love telling my colleagues that I drive a Civic. I leave it at that, no further explanation. Most have not seen my car so have no idea what it really is. My colleagues typically drive BMWs, Audis.... You get the point.

I also don't get all that hung up on what others say about the performance. I do, however, like to think back to driving my first competition in this car earlier this month where I blew away the vast majority of the field. Nothing felt better than raw-timing most other cars, including a couple of 911 GT3s. That is what brings me satisfaction.

Harlaquin said:

"It is just a 35K Civic at the end of the day" has to be one of the most ignorant statements anyone makes.

How about this then,
The Ford Shelby GT500 is just a Mustang at the end of the day!
The Hellcat is just a Challenger at the end of the day!
The Camaro ZL1 is just a Camaro at the end of the day!
… and so on.

Look every cars base model is crap for performance and is sold to people who want the style but might not be able to afford the high end goodies. Comparing any cars high end to its low end is just stupid. And anyone who dismisses any performance car in this manor is simply ignorant of cars and should probably be driving an I Phone..er I mean tesla or Ecar.

Its just a civic... LOL... Why not ask the dipshit who pulled up to me last night in his louder then hell fancy Camaro, all revving and wanting to race with his Dale JR race team stickers. Well when I left him in the dust at a rolling race on the interstate I guess all that off the line power didn't mean shit now did it? So I guess he was back there going, "Whatever its just a civic" while crying over some Hank Williams and stroking his dash bobble head of Dale Jr.

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Just ignore the ignorant

When people ask me what kind of car is mine. I just limit myself to "Is a Lancer".
Im not going to waste my time explaining what really is.... a chimera of leftover parts between an EVO 10 and 9.

I get kicks whenever someone says it's just a Civic. I've been asked what kind of car it is before and I always reply with something different. I told someone it was a spaceship the other day, they gave me this weird look and I just smiled and went on my way. I will say hands down the best part of this car is when someone spots you in the rear view mirror and you make eye contact with them, then for the split second you smirk and then just gun it. Then when you've left them in the dust, they realize it's not just a Civic, it's a Type R.

With All the thumbs up I get everyday nobody is gonna make me believe it’s just another Civic???
Of course If I could afford a 20k oil change i would drive a Bugatti Veyron but i don’t think I would have as much fun as with my Type R

JayeGee said:

hmm and a sti-ra is just an Impreza

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Fixed

caspar21 said:

it may just be a 35k civic.. but its my 35k civic. and i got what i wanted without spending 110k.

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^ this. Coming from a family that loves the hell out of Honda I have a lot of pride in my car. Not just because it's a Honda but because it is the first car I bought on my own. I think I did pretty damn good for this being my first purchase. I'll take the heat since I was one of those who removed the civic emblem from the back; not because it's civic but because I like how it looked afterwards. To each their own. Granted I could have painted it a different color to get the look I wanted but taking it off doesn't mean I'm trying to hide the fact it's a civic even though I KNOW people will see it that way. When people ask me what it is I say exactly this, "it's a Civic Type R." People will like what they like and we can argue all day about it and it will get us nowhere. But we can agree that this is one sweet car. As for the sports car aspect, I don't know enough about cars to classify it and I won't input where I know I don't have enough knowledge. It's a hell of a lot sportier than what I used to have is what I do know.

BurgerSlayer said:

I get kicks whenever someone says it's just a Civic. I've been asked what kind of car it is before and I always reply with something different. I told someone it was a spaceship the other day, they gave me this weird look and I just smiled and went on my way. I will say hands down the best part of this car is when someone spots you in the rear view mirror and you make eye contact with them, then for the split second you smirk and then just gun it. Then when you've left them in the dust, they realize it's not just a Civic, it's a Type R.

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Man, this thread is still going? In my own observation, the folks who just say "it's just a civic" are those that have never heard of Honda's Type R variants and think that driving a much more expensive car makes them much superior. Simply put, they're not car guys. They have big pockets that they use to stroke their egos. None of my friends who drive cars like MB AMG and Porsche that actually track their cars call it "just a civic."

Nath said:

For Father's Day, my wife (OMG how'd I get so lucky!) got me this Porsche Package at a racetrack here in Vegas, I got to drive 3 different Porsche 911's with an instructor for a total of about 20 laps around the Vegas Speed track. After the first 5 laps I have to say I wasn't so impressed, I told the instructor my Type R actually has much better brakes AND to tell the honest truth: better handling! The 6 cyl 911 is faster accelerating down the straight-away, but with weaker brakes than the lighter Type R I had to start braking way before I would have with the Type R--which more than negated the Porsche's HP advantage. I left the track with a new appreciation for my awesome Type R.

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Exactly what I was saying in an earlier post...Type R = more fun!

My takes from this thread and just my general opinion:
1. "Sports car" is a subjective term with different meanings to different people. No one size fits all!
2. You won't change people's minds that think this is "just a $35k Civic" and there's no need to. The people that describe it that way as a negative have likely never been in one nor understand the engineering behind it. I just laugh at their ignorance (but understand there is certainly some truth to that statement).
3. This isn't just a $35k Civic, it's more than that (to me at least)...but the underlying fact it's a Civic is what makes it such a great daily driver!
4. This car will have more than it's fair share of "garage queens" because of what it is and the history behind the Type R models. There aren't many other cars out there that cost $35k that someone with a Lambo for example will also buy. It's a unique car for this price point. I've been in a few different car communities and have never seen so many people with the deep pockets that some Type R owners have, yet my previous car cost only a few grand less when I bought it used.

Love it for what it is, accept it for what it isn't...and don't give a shit about what anyone else thinks!

For being "just a Civic" there probably ins't a more polarizing car out there.

Random guy at gas station: Nice car, what body kit is that?
Me: stock
Random guy:

Random guy in Lowe's parking lot: What wheels are those?
Me: stock
Random guy:

Random woman at car meet: Why would anyone do that to a Civic?
Random woman's son: I think it's awesome!
Random woman:
Me:

While it's true I bought the car for my enjoyment, the reactions are equally as entertaining.

Nath said:

The 6 cyl 911 is faster accelerating down the straight-away, but with weaker brakes than the lighter Type R I had to start braking way before I would have with the Type R

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Uhh that's typically how these things work... A faster car is carrying more speed and has to get on the brake's earlier than with the slower car.

*Not a knock at the CTR.

We are indoctrinated by media to believe that the whole is the sum of it's parts. What do I mean?
Take cars for example: the more precious/shiny/advanced features you add to a car the greater the car gets(see German ones). Apparently. In reality, I had a Bmw 4 series and while it was better than the average car, it felt by no means special.
Same with Type R. Don't judge it as the sum of some parts(cheap Civic base + tuning parts). This car was thoroughly developed and the elements synergy makes it outstanding. You don't need a gazillion of entzy schmentzy named systems/parts/options to make this car worth.

As an analogy take partners for instance: taken by body features, singular traits may be average, however the person can have charisma, sex-appeal. On the contrary persons supposed to be attractive (by individual traits) are lackluster at best.

Shall we talk about those big expensive tacky houses that abound in expensive stuff? And are nothing but kitsch...

@Nath
The Porshe thing is the consequence of extreme mercantilism. They let the good parts optional for lots of $$$. To milk the owners as much as possible. I'd feel betrayed if I were their customer.
See now with 718 GT4/Spyder when they put the 6 cyl. After they milked their customers with countless 4cyl 718 editions so far.

[USER=18439 said:

@Nath[/USER]
The Porshe thing is the consequence of extreme mercantilism. They let the good parts optional for lots of $$$. To milk the owners as much as possible. I'd feel betrayed if I were their customer.
See now with 718 GT4/Spyder when they put the 6 inline. After they milked their customers with countless 4cyl 718 editions so far.

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Don't necessarily disagree, but for clarification the new Porsche 718 GT4/Spyder does indeed have a 6 cylinder NA engine, however, it is still a flat(opposed) engine not an inline 6. The base 718/S/GTS still have the turbocharged flat 4 cylinder engine. The GT4/Spyder are different breeds of cats.