While taking pictures of the 2020 Honda Civic Si, I was briefly stunned when I opened the hood. There was the engine, as it should have been. But it did not look like any modern engine. And it certainly did not look like any old Honda either, such as the B18C1 in my Acura Integra GS-R.
Open the hood of any new car and you won’t see an engine. You will see a fancy cover that goes over the engine, that usually looks like… an engine. Or it looks like how people who don’t know much about cars think an engine should look like. And then we, the enthusiasts and the automotive media complain that no one can see the engines in new cars anymore.
In the case of the 2020 Civic Si, Honda did not cover up the engine. It left the engine exposed. And looking at it, I cringed. There, in its nude and exposed state was the new-ish 1.5-liter engine. And around it, seemingly random, were hoses, pipes, ducts, cables, lines, tanks, and various other bits. The engine itself was covered with an unfinished-looking black plastic valve cover. Sticking out of the valve cover were four generic coil-packs. While industrial, this certainly is not aesthetic.
By comparison, the B18C engine has an aluminum valve cover. It painted in black crinkle paint or red on the iconic Type R model. The spark plug cables are covered in a middle by a neat silver piece that finishes everything off. Like in any other car, there are hoses, pipes, ducts, cables, lines, tanks, and various other bits. But in this case, they’re just not as pronounced; they’re not the first thing you see.
So I ask, what should have Honda done here? Cover it up? Leave it as they did? Put in an ounce of effort and make it prettier? I don’t know the right answer anymore.
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