Radical Engine Redesign Would Reduce Pollution, Oil Consumption

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Do you know why they stopped making the VX? Or is it because all the newer Honda's have the V-Tec (variable valve engines)?

As far as the weight gain...what I've noticed is the increased size in the Civics.

Yep, they keep getting bigger and gaining weight. The Honda Fit is bigger than the original Civic, and I think today's Civic is bigger than the original Accord.

I don't know why they quit making the VX. Maybe to spur demand for their hybrids. The VX had a VTEC-E engine, which isn't the same as the other VTECs. All the VTEC engines use variable timing, but for slightly different purposes. The VTEC-E was specifically designed for fuel economy. It shut off one intake valve below 2500 RPM. There was virtually no torque available below 2500 RPM. Performance was pathetic at low RPMs, but as you accellerated above 2500 RPM, you'd feel the extra valve kick in, and from 2600RPM to redline, performance was reasonably peppy and normal for a 1.6L four cylinder engine.

Gearing was set so that it would cruise at 75mph and still stay below the magic 2500 RPM for nice efficiency. If you wanted pep, you'd avoid fourth and fifth (and usually third) gears.

I think Toyota has done some similar with their valve timing.

Here's something interesting I found when reading about Honda Civic VX's...

Low Rolling Resistant tires...

I bought my '95 Civic VX new in the fall of 1995 and have 206,000 miles on it now.

...

But I'm most impressed with its fuel economy. For the first 45,000 miles on the original set of tires (which were lousy handing, but very low rolling resistant Dunlops), I regularly averaged 55 - 57 mpg (and this is a CA emissions car). In the winter, the mileage dropped about 10 - 15%. When I replaced the original tires at 45k miles, the same tires weren't available. The originals were lousy (handling-wise) Dunlop SP4N* or something like that. I bought a set of different Dunlops to replace them and found the mileage dropped to 45 mpg under the identical driving conditions. Luckily, I bought the tires at a place that had a "1000 mile or 30 day satisfaction" guarantee so I was able to return the first set and try another set of tires without paying for the original set. I am a conservation freak, so a 9-12 mpg (up to 20%) drop in fuel economy was not acceptable. I proceeded to try 4 more different sets of tires with the same results... lousy gas mileage. I finally did my own research on the internet and found that Nokian makes a tire for the VX (correct size 165/70R13) called the NRT2 that is specifically advertised as a low rolling resistance tire.

....

http://www.carsurvey.org/review_81422.html

He ended up having to switch to a different tire after Nokian discontinued theirs, but the savings in fuel economy is significant.