Here’s a bonus weekend post illustrating just how much Hondas have infused American culture. Ed “Big Daddy” Roth was creator of the Rat Fink and a legend in the hot rod and Kustom Kulture scene of the 60s. His custom choppers and show cars were among the most famous of their era. You may recall names like Road Agent, Mysterion, or Road Agent from your youth, and anyone who grew up playing with Hot Wheels knows the Beatnik Bandit. (more…)

On June 11, 1959, a tiny motorcycle company set up shop on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. It had only sprung to life in Japan eleven years earlier, but its founder, Soichiro Honda, was not known for taking the easy road. (more…)

On Sunday, June 7 This Old Honda will be hosting a Honda & Acura Car Show at Formula H Motorworks in Middletown, New York. It’ll be the perfect opportunity to check out classic S600s, JDM Beats, and more! Doors open at 10am. For more information visit the links above. Admission is free!

This backyard stash of J-tin was just sitting about on a quiet suburban side street. The owner of this trove may not want to be revealed so I won’t mention any names, but he did say that the majority of these cars will, one day, be restored. A few are too far gone, like the black S30 Crown and the blue Sports 800, but the rest should keep him busy for a while. Amazingly, he said that the neighbors don’t complain at all. Instead, they think it’s cool to see the old cars. Nobody tell them about HOAs.

More pics after the jump. (more…)

Honda’s new Insight hybrid went on sale in Japan earlier today, accompanied by a minisite covering the history of their ecologically-minded vehicles. Starting with the Super Cub motorcycle’s OHC four-stroke motor in 1958. The first car is the kei-class N360 of 1967, followed by the 1972 Honda Civic CVCC, which stands for Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion and made the Civic the first car to meet US 70s emission standards without a catalytic converter. Interestingly, there’s then a 27-year gap between that and the 1999 Insight. Surely they could have inserted a CR-X HF or something in between, right? The Insight goes on sale in the US on Earth Day, April 22.

This is a ways off, but we thought you Subaru 360, Honda N/Z/S and various kei-car owners might be interested in making plans for the World Micro/Mini Car meet. It’s the brainchild of Ken & Sylvia Weger, owners/curators of the Small Wonders Microcar Museum and will take place in downtown Crystal Lake, IL at the University Center, located at 100 S. Main Street, on August 21-22, 2010.

From the website:

This will be the first ever WORLD MEET of its kind. Microcar and Minicar owners and their cars, will gather from all over the world to share their enthusiasm for these small wonders. The Weger’s are expecting over 500 Micro and Mini cars. Those cars under 500cc are considered to be “Microcars”, and those between 500-1500cc are considered “Minicars”. Many marques are expected to fill the lush lawns surrounding the University Center. Vendors will provide food and beverages. Alongside the car show, workshops and classes/seminars are being planned.

[Edmunds]

Click the image above to see the show!

More T-shirts featuring old Japanese cars are popping up all over the place. Normally they’re all the popular models from Nissan and Toyota, leaving kei car fans a bit left out. But thanks to JNCer xemoto, here’s one of a Honda N600! It’s part of a series that also features a Subaru 360, BRE Datsun 510 leading an Alfa Romeo, and a whole host of other European microcars.

Hondas, if you please [LINK]

The Petersen Automotive Museum is one of the planet’s most famous galleries of motorized machinery. Established in 1994, its self-stated goal is to let visitors “explore the evolution of the Automobile and its impact on our culture.” Fittingly, its four-story building is located on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, the epicenter of car customizing culture in the US. As you read these words, the Petersen is holding a special exhibition called “Microcars: The Minimum in Motoring” that celebrates vehicles which are very, very small. Of course, some of the best examples of the genre are simultaneously Japanese, nostalgic, and cars, so here are some photos of the buggies from J-land.

The Honda N600 (left) and the Z600 both used the same air-cooled aluminum two-cylinder 598cc engine. Small but not simple, it boasted an overhead cam and yes, that thing had a hemi (-spherical combustion chamber). The N600 was Honda’s first official import to the US and while production ended in September 1970, the sportier Z began manufacture in October that same year. Achieving upwards of 40 miles per gallon came in handy when OPEC decided to withhold the barrels in ‘73.

Soichiro Honda was a visionary in Japan’s fledgling automotive industry. Few men would attempt a two-seat roadster like this 1965 S600 as his first salvo into the competitive automobile industry. However, in a rare lapse of judgment, Honda was convinced that air-cooled motors like the one in the 600s held the future. When his R&D team proved that water cooling provided greater potential for performance and better emissions controls, he was wise enough to relent control to the younger generation of engineers.

Honda’s 600cc motor may have seemed tiny, but in Japan an even smaller N360 was sold. As part of the kei class, these cars fulfilled a government mandate for automakers to provide a People’s Car for the unwashed masses. The rear-mounted dual-pot motor propelled the Subaru 360 (left) with just 25 horsepower, but drove the egg-shaped, bow-legged runabout to iconic status in Japan. The Mazda R360’s rear V-twin generated just 16hp and served as the company’s first venture into four-wheeled cars, following the manufacture of three-wheeled motorcycles with pickup beds and before that, corks.

If you’re in the city of angels, stop by and see these minuscule but mighty wonders for yourself, along with the rest of the Petersen’s vast collection. The microcars exhibit goes from June 23, 2007 to Feburary 3, 2008.