Tag Archives: n600

GALLERIES: The Petersen Automotive Museum opens an unprecedented exhibit honoring Japanese cars

Perhaps it is only fitting that the Petersen Automotive Museum is now located in what was once the only Seibu department store in the US. Where rows of Japanese home goods resided in 1962, today in 2018 stands this hemisphere’s most comprehensive museum … Continue reading

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PROFILES: The first Honda built for the US market, restored

One of the reasons JCCS was so special this year was the special debuts that carmakers had in store. Perhaps the most significant of them all was Honda’s unveiling of the newly restored Serial One N600, the first Honda automobile built for … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2016 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 01 — Movin’ On Up

We’ve been going to the Japanese Classic Car Show for over a decade, but this year was undoubtedly the best one yet. In its twelfth year, the JCCS, which took place this weekend at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, has grown … Continue reading

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JCCS Preview: First US-market Honda to debut

Last year at JCCS we highlighted an old, neglected Honda N600 with peeling, non-original paint. Why? Because it was the first Honda automobile ever built for the US market. One year later, it’s been completely restored and is ready for its debut this Saturday. The … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Honda Serial One’s engine is alive!

When it’s done, this might just be the best restored Honda N600 on planet Earth. But then again, it’s a special car, the first Honda ever built for US import. Our friend Tim Mings — who we believe is planning a … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Honda Serial One N600 update

Honda has been serving up a steady stream of videos documenting the restoration of the Serial One N600, the first Honda car built for the US market. The good news is that the videos have been getting longer, so we can … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Live tour of the American Honda Collection

On Thursday Ben and I were in Torrance at the American Honda Collection working on an upcoming story. Before we left, though, we experimented with the newfangled Facebook Live feature and did a walkthrough of the private museum. Here’s the … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Man removes engine of first US-market Honda

“I’ve never had one kick my ass like that before,” says Tim Mings of the Serial One Honda N600. It’s the latest installment of Honda’s video series documenting the restoration of the first Honda built for the US market. 

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VIDEO: A brief history of the Honda Serial One N600

Honda has released the second installment of its video series documenting the restoration of the first car it built for the US market. If you’ve been keeping up with the story, the extremely brief video is unlikely to shed any new light on the … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2014 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 03 — The Sixties

The Sixties were a time of rapid growth and optimism for Japan. Automakers just built whatever they felt like with no cares given to what western markets would bear, and before the companies themselves settled into a comfortable pattern of four-year lifecycles. There is probably no … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2014 Nostalgic2Days, Part 01

Every year Nostalgic Hero magazine holds one of the very best classic car shows in all the lands, Nostalgic2Days. This is the sixth time they’ve held the event and for the past 4 years I’ve made the pilgrimage to Yokohama what … Continue reading

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ART CORNER: Build a classic Honda N360 and life-sized N-One kei car out of paper

Those familiar with Japanese culture have likely encountered the art of papercraft. You may have even built a paper car or truck yourself. But we know you’re secretly wondering what would happen if some insane origami craftsmen built an entire full-size car … Continue reading

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ART CORNER: Makoto Komori’s children’s book illustrations

Makoto Komori is a Japanese children’s book illustrator, and one of his favorite subjects happens to be 1960s nostalgic cars. He often incorporates them into his whimsical stories in which the vehicles, with eyes for headlights, find themselves on brilliantly … Continue reading

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NEXT VERSION: Test driving the 2013 Honda N-One kei car

We love it when automakers dip into their bag o’ heritage for a little inspiration. Such is the case with the Honda N-One kei car. It is, sadly, not sold outside Japan. Guest writer David Lovett, however, is in Japan, and … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2012 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 06: Wagons & Hatchbacks

It’s no secret that many of us on the JNC team are certifiably nutty about wagons, yours truly included (There are a couple that aren’t, and they look at us as if we’re the weird ones when it’s clearly the … Continue reading

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Friday Video: Tim Mings’ collection of Honda 600s

Tim “Merciless” Mings has been driving, collecting and restoring 600cc Hondas since he could drive. Over the years, he’s amassed an astounding collection both cars and parts and has become America’s go-to guy for anything Honda N600 and Z600. Part of his collection includes the … Continue reading

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New Honda N360/N600-styled retro kei car leaked

Renderings of a small Honda city car have been leaked on to the Intarwebs, one that looks suspiciously like the 1967 N360 and its sibling the US-market N600.

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Early Japanese classics among top emerging collectibles says Hagerty

With all the automotive madness whipped up by the Arizona auctions week, let’s take a look at how it affects the nostalgic car scene. First, collector car insurance company Hagerty issued a press release identifying three “segments represent[ing] a group … Continue reading

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Hondas for Guys & Girls

Continuing on the theme of youthful, frolicking couples in nostalgic automotive ads, here’s a 1960s Honda print ad featuring products for “Guys & Girls” — a Honda N360 and E300 portable generator for camping families, and a Monkey Z50M on which you can … Continue reading

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Honda N Concept 4 is your retro N360 kei car

With all the hubbub surrounding the Toyota 86, another car banking on the nostalgia of its predecessor was largely overlooked at the Tokyo Motor Show. The Honda N Concept 4 is a near-production-ready evolution of the Honda EV-N from 2009. 

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