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Best Engineered Car of the 20th Century
1970 - 1979: 1974 Honda Civic CVCC
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1974 Honda Civic CVCC, Japanese model. Photo courtesy Honda Motor Co.
Skeleton view of Honda Civic CVCC. Photo courtesy Honda Motor Co.
Combustion chamber of Honda Civic CVCC. Photo courtesy Honda Motor Co.
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In 1970, the U.S. passed
the Clean Air Act of 1970,
which set the scene for emissions standards and emissions control equipment such as the catalytic converter. In Japan Soichiro Honda of Honda Motor Co. introduced the CVCC stratified-charge engine, which not only met the U.S. emission standards without a catalytic converter but also met the stringent Japanese emission standards.
In 1975 Honda exported the Honda Civic CVCC 1500 to the U.S. The four-door vehicle had a wheelbase of 2280 mm (90 in) with a front track of 1300 mm (51 in) and rear track of 1280 mm (50 in). It had a curb weight of 730 kg (1610 lb).
The engine was an inline four cylinder mounted transversely with a 15° incline forward. The 1.5-L engine had a bore of 74 mm (2.91 in), stroke of 86.6 m (3.41 in), and a compression ratio of 8.1:1. Five main bearings supported the one-piece forged crankshaft. A single belt drove the overhead camshaft that operated three valves per cylinder. In the stratified-charge engine there was a tiny auxiliary chamber atop the main combustion chamber. Thus there is one valve for the auxiliary chamber and one for the intake and exhaust for a total of three valves per cylinder.
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