The New York Times came out with their take on Honda’s 50 years in America recently. We disagree with the conclusion that they won’t be classics (the same thing was said about every Chevy, Ford and Dodge to come out of Detroit) but it’s a great read on the raw genius and unabashed ambition of Soichiro Honda and his motor company.

Accompanying the article are slideshows covering 50 years of American Honda and potentially collectible Hondas. Oddly, an S600 appears in the former even though it was never sold in the US and despite what the caption says, the T360 pickup was actually the first four-wheeled Honda product. Unfortunately, the Times also calls the cars “primitive” despite their advanced, high-revving engines and unique drivetrains.

Thanks to Brian Baker, who tipped us off to the article and actually owns the white S600 shown in the slideshow. Brian also informs us that the red S600 has an S800 motor and was purchased by ex-Honda F1 driver Jenson Button for a ridiculous price at Bonham’s auction.

Our bonus weekend coverage in celebraton of American Honda’s 50th anniversary continues.

If you followed last week’s Event Horizon to Middletown, New York, then you saw this awesome collection of Hondas and Acuras at the This Old Honda Honda & Acura show at Formula H Motorworks.

On the photo to the right there’s a 1964 Honda T500 pickup with a bed full of Honda Kick N Go scooters, an S800 Coupe, an S600 roadster, and a JDM Beat kei car. And in case you missed it, here is a gallery of minty fresh S800, CR-X and Accord goodness. Honestly speaking, this was a better showcase of vintage Hondas than the official American Honda event!

Thanks to Brian Baker of Formula H Motorworks, who hosted the show and sent us these great photos (a couple more after the jump). (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 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]

[Image: Honda]

Someone at Winding Road loves the Honda T-series.  We can’t really blame them.  What’s not to love about a 9000rpm kei-class truck that’s also historically significant for being Honda’s first four-wheeled vehicle?  Check out the catalog scan – in English! – and this classic commercial.

Of course, that just begs the question, what if instead of a Mad Max-like desert, what if the post apocalyptic wasteland is actually covered in snow?  Well, then you get the Snowler.

And for our own coverage of the only known example in the US, check out this article from our Profiles archive.

After a long week of showcasing its corporate master’s wares, the Honda Japanese website likes to shed the work duds and have some fun. Cometh each weekend, the home page transforms into a bizarre yet beautiful and rich world of the most mesmerizing pixel art we’ve seen.

To get to various sections of the site, users must now navigate a strange, isometric world of blocky gardens, futuristic labs and cubic canals populated by boxy denizens doing everyday activities as if inside a digital Where’s Waldo? page. Can you spot the scuba diver, the kid with the radio control Civic, the kangaroo? Naturally, Honda products both old and new, like ASIMO or the T360 truck (pictured), are part of the fun sprinkled throughout.

The whole effect is rather surreal and enchanting, and we’ve even discovered some mini-games hidden in the rectilinear universe – the golfer, the color-changing dog. And as the girl with the blue balloon hints, the site was created by the renowned pixel art team eBoy.

If this isn’t enough quadratic quirk for you, head on over to the Icon Museum, where you can download your very own pixellated Hondas, whether you fancy Step Van or NSX or anything in between. The icons will stay around 24/7, but come Monday, the main page puts the suit back on and returns for another week.

In our recent article on Brian Baker’s 1964 Honda T500F, we gushed ecstatic over the Snowler option, a factory Honda accessory that could transform your innocent little trucklet into a half-track with skis on the front wheels, perfect for tagging penguins, fetching Christmas trees or searching for the elusive Yeti. Despite looking like a something out of a Cold War propaganda film, we find the T-series just as cute as a button, no matter what Mad Maxery it dons. Anyway, we thought you might like to see this bad boy in action, so here’s a YouTube video of one doing what it does best.

Forget the Ridgeline, here’s Honda’s first pickup! [LINK]