The Honda Civic Coupe lives on borrowed time, as it will be discontinued for the 2021 model year.
While the two-door was responsible for just six percent of Civic’s sales in the United States, it was the last conventional front-wheel drive coupe in the United States. As a result, his death is tragic and marks the end of an era.
While there are still sports cars and the Subaru BRZ / Toyota 86 twins, front-wheel-drive coupes like the Civic were affordable and more mainstream. In particular, the 2020 Civic Coupe starts at $ 21,050, making it much more affordable than rear-wheel drive coupes, which generally start at around $ 27,000.
Also read: Honda silently kills the Accord Coupe
Of course, the death of major coupes began a long time ago and declining sales have claimed a number of models in the past two decades.
GM was one of the most prolific manufacturers of front-wheel drive coupes and offered a variety of models, including the Buick Riviera, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Oldsmobile Alero, Pontiac G6, and Pontiac Grand Prix, to name a few. Chrysler also released slightly more sporty versions of the Sebring and Dodge Stratus.
Japanese automakers were quite active in the segment and offered the Honda Accord Coupe, Nissan Altima Coupe, and Toyota Solara. Of course, there was also the Scion tC and the not-so-conventional Acura Integra / RSX.
All of these models have come and gone when the Solara died in 2008 and the Altima Coupe did the same in 2013. The Accord Coupe managed to stay in 2017, while the Scion tC, which once helped define the brand, died in 2016 afterward. almost a decade of sales decline.
While these models weren’t sports cars or necessarily that good, they were fun and relatively affordable. Unfortunately, they were doomed by declining sales and declining interest. A revival also seems unlikely as the sedans these coupes were once based on struggle to stay relevant in the crossover era.
