When Honda introduced the CRX, they got an A for effort, but a D- for wind in your hair. Today, is giving a make-up exam, and thinks this time Honda might get a passing grade.

Called the definitive entry-level sports car by Car and Driver in 1984, the recalled such sports car alumni as the MG Midget and Triumph Spitfire in providing a low-cost car whose handling and driving experience was a notch above the ordinary. Honda followed the blueprint of those makers and based the CRX on a standard sedan's underpinnings - in this case the Civic. That made for greater economies of scale, keeping part costs down, as well as broadening the Civic's appeal by association- although the CRX would never talk to his dorky brother when they were at school.

One thing that the earlier British cars had that the CRX lacked was a fold-down roof- which is an odd omission for a car that seemed to have fully filled-in all the other correct bubbles with their #2 pencil on the sports car scantron. One person who realized that mistake, and knew he just the guy for some after-school tutoring, was . He had been doing impeccable convertible conversions on 365 Daytona Ferraris for a few years, as well as Avantis, so the Honda would have been like a pop-quiz in comparison.

Straman Coachworks sent 310 CRXs to the headless of the class, and today we have a rough '85 from the Old Dominion that's seeking a transfer to a new school. This red over silver two-seater has obviously had a few tough years, and maybe a suspension or two, but that doesn't mean it should go straight to the reform school crusher. That $2,500 asking price should leave enough to buy an apple for teacher, as well as the parts needed to get this roadworthy again so it doesn't get caught for truancy. Most of the missing parts are stock CRX, rather than the special parts made by Straman's faculty, making them just a junkyard away. Of course the road rot that's visible means there's probably some you can't see, and it looks like this car has spent too much time playing hooky, and not enough in class.

So, is $2,500 too high a tuition for this overachiever? Or, is that just right to make sure that no Civic gets left behind?

You Decide!

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