Alexander Cardona & Jorge Ramos' Civic Wagons
Few wake up in the morning thinking to themselves that they ought to go buy a slightly rusted, dinged-up, 20-year-old station wagon with worn seat cushions and blown shocks. Even fewer will utter as much in public. Alexander Cardona didn't. Civic hatchbacks-not wagons-danced around inside his noggin for some time-something of the '92-'95 variety, if you must know. And his cousin, Jorge Ramos, had no such predilection toward box-like station wagons either. To be sure, Jorge's ideal next-car candidate was a fourth-generation Accord. But despite all of this, both Alexander and Jorge ended up with Civic Wagons of their own, and the society of late-'80s Japanese family car owners is better for it.
The story begins with two cousins, two cousins who wanted to be different. But what's required to stand out among the Honda populous is often subjective. For some, it's in the minutiae, like off-colored lug nuts or improper wheel and tire fitment. Others ensure originality by starting with a canvas that is, in and of itself, against the norm. Make no mistake, Honda's '88-'91 Civic station wagon is against the norm.
Alexander Cardona's '91 Honda Civic Dx Wagon
You've no doubt heard the stories-the ones about the little old lady down the street who's got her late husband's mint-condition, mid-'60s Shelby something or other Mustang tucked away in her garage, unaware of its value or even its historical significance, only to find out what it's worth once posted on Craigslist. The scenario isn't all that different from the time Alexander Cardona's cousin, Jorge Ramos, went wagon hunting for him and happened upon just about the cleanest '91 Civic family ride you've ever seen. "You don't know what you bought there," the old lady's neighbor says to Jorge. "My neighbor took very good care of this car." But it wasn't just the neighbor's nod of affirmation that made Alexander feel as though he'd made the right decision; the seller was even kind enough to turn away another prospective buyer as she waited for him to secure his loan. All too often we hear of automotive endeavors that begin horribly. Such journeys are synonymous with blown engines, theft, delays, and worse. To be clear, this is not one of those stories.
Alexander's former Honda roster is predictable, and is made up of the kinds of Civics and Accords you'd expect, like a '95 and a '94, respectively. Indeed, both the Civic and the Accord served as fine modes of transportation for the longtime Honda fan, but both are exactly what Alexander wanted to avoid-predictable. To be fair, no matter what kind of wheels you put on your '95 hatchback and no matter what color you paint its engine bay, it'll always be a '95 hatchback-the same car tens of thousands of other enthusiasts are modifying at this very moment. Honda's '88-'91 Civic station wagon is many things, but predictable isn't one of them.
Alexander put his Wagon through its daily driver paces for some time before reinventing it. Eventually, though, the car became his canvas. "I started with a goal that my cousin and I shared-to be different," he says. "We both loved the other Civics, but we wanted to change the Honda scene." And change it they have. Alexander's Wagon mutation begins with its exterior, where it retains its original color, only freshly applied by the folks at MDS Auto Body. The good people at MDS also fitted the Wagon with an EF9 Civic front bumper, a custom-fit CRV rear spoiler, and an EF9 Cervini mid-wing, none of which necessarily belong on Honda's beloved American-spec Wagon but all of which make it that much better.
Unfortunately, no matter how good Alexander's Wagon looked, it was slow from any angle. As such, a JDM B18C engine swap was sourced and dropped into place along with bolt-ons, like a GReddy header, a Skunk2 intake manifold, and an AEM cold-air intake. Of course, neither the brakes or suspension were overlooked thanks to bits from Tokico, Ground Control, and Spoon.
For some, being different lies in the details. For Alexander, the details aren't good enough.