--- title: "50 Years of Honda Civic Sketches Show How Car Design Has Evolved" description: "Honda is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Civic by releasing these awesome sketch panels, illustrating all 11 generations." date: "2022-07-18" modified: "2022-07-18" authors: - name: "Nico DeMattia" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/nico-demattia" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/50-years-of-honda-civic-sketches-show-how-car-design-has-evolved" categories: - "Honda News" - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Trucks" tags: - "Civic" - "compact" - "honda" --- # 50 Years of Honda Civic Sketches Show How Car Design Has Evolved ![]() *1st Civic Sketch Panel M* This month marks the [50th birthday of the Honda Civic](). The car that's become one of the world's most popular first launched in Japan in July 1972, and since then, Honda has sold more than 30 million Civics globally across 11 (eleven!) generations. To celebrate, Honda released these killer sketch panels, illustrating the designs that carried the Civic from a plucky economy car to the automotive staple it is today. It’s difficult to overstate just how impactful the Honda Civic has been to the American car industry, specifically over the past 50 years. Despite its low price tag, it's always been well-built, reliable, good-looking, and—most importantly—fun to drive. It’s been part of *Car and Driver*’s 10Best eight times, it was a *Motor Trend* Car of the Year, and it has won North American Car of the Year three times, including in 2022. ![]() *1st Civic Sketch Panel M* ![]() *2nd Civic Sketch Panel 2 M* ![]() *3rd Civic Sketch Panel M* ![]() *4th Civic Sketch Panel M* ![]() *5th Civic Sketch Panel 2 M* ![]() *6th Civic Sketch Panel M* ![]() *7th Civic Sketch Panel 2 M* ![]() *8th Civic Sketch Panel M* ![]() *9th Civic Sketch Panel M* ![]() *10th Civic Sketch Panel 2 M* ![]() *11th Civic Sketch Panel 2 M* These sketch panels offer a look into the history of such an iconic car and how its design has evolved over five decades. The[ first-gen Civic]() might be the best-looking Civic of all, and looking at its sketches, I even see a little bit of Giugiaro’s [Mk1 Volkswagen Golf](). Ironic, as both were designed around the same time on different sides of the world. Pretty much every generation of Civic has looked good, too. Sure, the seventh-gen was a bit boring and the [10th-gen]() was a bit extreme, but no Civic generation has ever really been *bad*. And at least one of these designs has likely touched most of our lives, especially millennials and younger. So many of our parents or friends’ parents had Civics, which meant a lot of us spent considerable chunks of our childhoods in the back seats of one. The Civic also met many first-time drivers, took countless teenagers on first dates, was the car in the driveway of many first homes, and saw countless other big moments in people's lives. These designs might not be groundbreaking, and few kids had Civic posters on their walls. But it was one of the cars that helped shape American culture and these designs were a big part of the reason why. *Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: nico.demattia@thedrive.com* ## Author Nico is a writer and reviewer from New Jersey who probably thinks he’s a lot funnier than he actually is. His love of cars began when he was just a kid playing Gran Turismo 3, grinding out enough race wins with a Mazda Miata to save up for an in-game RUF 911. That passion for small, lightweight sports cars drove his desire to learn more about the industry, get his hands on as many cars as he could, and bring those experiences to life on the page. He cut his teeth writing about BMWs, Volkswagens, and Audis, mostly, and has owned far too many of each. He’s on his fourth 3 Series sedan, but all of his old, cheap German cars have forced him to learn more about car maintenance than his mechanical capability can handle. Too many late nights have been spent scrambling to get a car running by morning so he could get to work. For some reason, he never seems to learn that old Bimmers probably aren’t the best daily drivers. But he loves more than just old German cars. He’ll gladly drive and discuss anything with four (or even three) wheels. Cars aren’t his only passions, though. Nico is also a big nerd and loves movies, video games, comic books, and cares far too much about the New York Giants. So don’t be surprised if you see football references or dumb, obscure movie quotes in any of his car reviews. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()