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Hi there folks!

(editing the post as I was unable to post with pictures)

I've found out this forum while searching for info on 17" rims with 215/45 tyres on a 2002 Civic.

Let me introduce myself. I'm from Brasilia, capital of Brazil, and I am in my second Civic.

The first was a '93 (5G) Japanese LSi HB. The LSi version, made in Japan and not sold in the US, features a D15B2 engine. I loved that car, and I regret selling it three years ago.

Recently, I had a chance to put my hands on another Civ. Now I purchased a LX Sedan, year/model 2002, auto transmission. I was intending to leave it stock, but I finally admited that in my hands, it is impossible... hehe. It is still stock, except for some minor visual mods which don't show up in the picture yet (see my profile).

I never modified any of my cars engine, as I never wanted to. I leave engine mods for the others... hehe. I'm more interested in basic visual mods, such as rims, lights... no exagerated mods.

I'm here more to learn from you guys, since Civics in US are more common than here in Brazil. Here , differently from the US where the Civic is an entry-level car, the Civic is considered a luxury car , inaccessible to most of the population. I am, fortunately, one of those able to have one.

Anyway, sorry for my poor English. C ya!

Bira

 
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hello and welcome to the site i'm fairly new here to but i had to comment and say that its weird about you saying these are luxury cars over their in brasil. i was curious as to what would be considered of a ferrari or something of that nature over their in brasil?

 
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welcome

 
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let´s say that are less than 100 Ferraris in Brazil. Even a Mercedes or Audi is too expensive for the average consumer.

Brazil follows European standards (not American standards) for automotive market. So, the cheaper cars are small cars, just like Europe, with one difference: the majority has 1.0L engines...

Of course the Civics around here are considered mid-size vehicles, but larger cars are often imported, such as the Accord or the Chevrolet Omega (which is in fact an Aussie Holden Commodore).

Let´s say it is not a car that everyone here can afford...

Another curious fact is that the Civic here is sold only in the sedan version (there was a time when the HB and coupé were imported, but since they began manufacturing the Civic in Brazil, in 1998, only sedans). They claim that it is a car oriented to the older buyers (over 40 years). THe fact is that there are very few people under 30 with financial conditions to buy a R$ 50,000.00 car (aproximately US$ 18,000.00). Mine, as used, costed me R$ 37,000.00 (US$ 12,000.00 approximately). Interest rates are extremely high around here, which is another impeditive to population access to such vehicles.

competition to the Civic in Brazil CHevrolet Vectra, Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus (sedan), Fiat Marea (a great car, 2.4 liter engine, 160hp, however only auto transmission), VW Jetta/Bora (sells poorly, imported from Mexico).

Have you ever been to Mexico? A lot of Brazilian cars are sold there. The VW Gol, one of the most popular around here, is sold there as VW Pointer. That is Brazilian automotive standards, what the majority of the population can afford.

 
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its pretty interesting on how you have to import the hb and coupes from other places. Is it expensive to import a car their? Are their strict as to what you can import over their as far as a type of car or getting it legalized or a smog requirement or is their no smog requirements over their?

 
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Welcome, your english is as good or better than mine!

 
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about your inquiry:

here in Brazil imported cars are subject to the same laws as "indigenous" cars... including noise and smoke emission levels (which are rather serious for new cars, but there is no inspection routine for cars already on the streets - the implementation of the yearly inspections is stuck in the Congress for over 10 years).

The majority of the imported cars here in Brazil are sold on what we call "official imports", that is, they are imported by factories established in the country (for example, the first Hondas to come here were imported by Honda of Brazil, which manufactured only motorcycles that time, it was in 1992), or dealers authorized by the manufacturer (example: Ferrari has an credentiated dealer in São Paulo, which sells Bentleys and Aston Martins as well - Ferrari is from the Fiat group, but the Ferrari commerce in Brazil has **nothing** to do with the Fiat dealers). There are some cars which are imported by independent dealers as well. All are subject to Brazilian laws, and the import tax varies with the government policy. Currently the import tax is about 30%, but it has already been 70%. With an import tax of 30%, plus transport expenses, it is not viable to bring a coupé or HB to here. It would cost more than an official import Accord (it is brought from Mexico, which has an arrangement with Brazilian government to exempt cars from both countries from import taxes).

And there is a fourth category of imported cars: cars imported by diplomatic missions. They are exempt from ANY taxes while in the property of the diplomats.

My former HB was imported by Honda in 1993, I bought it in 2002. I kept that car until 2003, then I sold it and got another car (a VW Gol/Pointer) just for convenience (insurance for my old HB was far too expensive).

There is another important thing: we are prohibited from importing used cars. We can import only NEW cars. That´s too bad, because I cannot bring a '84 Trans-Am to here... :P

Another curious thing is that from 1976 to 1991, car imports where prohibited in Brazilian law. Only diplomatic missions could import cars in that period.

Although I like the hatch and the coupé and although I´m only 27, I feel that I am too old for sport cars... I´m happy with my "old man car" (as the Civic sedan is called around here). The curious thing is that as long as my father (who is 61 years old) drives an Focus HB (5-door, the 3-door is not sold here) with manual tranny, I drive a sedan Civic auto... hahaha

I´ve put some pictures of my sedan on the international civics gallery. It´s just like the American LX sedan, not a single difference.

[s]

Bira

 
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thanx man

 
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welcome fellow south american lol

 
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HI, welcome to the site.. Enjoy your stay!

 
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hi. wsup im new too.

 
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thanx to you all!

 
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Im new too