dun think honda boring la...i think it is the most progressive
of japanese car companies, bar none, in terms of technology and
design. in a recent survey in usa, honda took something like 6 of
the top 10 cars american consumer like in the various categories.
and crv lost by a whisker to subaru's forrester in compact suv
category.
check mugen site for souped up civic, or for the rest of the
honda's for the matter,
http://www.mugen-power.com/street/civic/
or honda's own modulo's site
http://www.honda.co.jp/ACCESS/modulo_top/
i dun have a civic but i think it's a very nice car... 
for jap brands, i agree toyota and nissan are boring, mazda(design
only) and subaru more progressive like honda. mitsubishi
neither...imo
