The very first Civic Si was a dressed-up version of the second-edition Civic. I knew it well because I bought one, new. It was no faster than a stock Civic but the Si had charm and it was fun. That car set the tone for Civic Si's from then on, though some of us were disappointed when the series migrated from a hatchback to a coupe.

But whichever way the Si went over the years, the label was never fixed to a Civic sedan. Until now. What you are looking at is a Civic Si sedan concept being displayed at the Chicago Auto Show. As Edmunds.com states in a special report, "from its black-painted hood to its big-but-not-too-big rear wing, it's done up just like the Si coupe concept that came to Chicago last year, save for the center-mounted exhaust." Honda assures us it is intended for production in late fall. Says Chris Naughton, Honda PR spokesman, "you will see all the production Si coupe's hardware on the sedan version, including the limited-slip differential, optional 17-inch Michelin summer tires and fiery 197-horsepower, 1.8-liter engine."

The idea of an Si with four doors sounds like a good one to me. As fellow auto journalist Jim Kenzie has often said regarding the choice of coupe or sedan, "there should be a door for every seat." Anyone who has ever shoe-horned themselves into the back seats of most coupes will no doubt agree.