70’s

1970-72 Honda N600

Posted by The Professor

It’s hard to believe that this tiny little car was the genesis of Honda’s road to profitability in the United States. Though a few examples of the earlier S500 and S600 roadsters made their ways stateside through third-party importers, the N600 was the first Honda officially imported to America. And boy, was it small. At just 118 inches long and 51 inches wide, it was more diminutive than the original Mini in both aspects, and its 1,200-lb curb weight was barely more than a Steinway grand piano. And it had a modest price to boot: just $1,300 ($8,700 adjusted), which was significantly less than most of its American “competition” at the time (I say “competition” because Detroit’s idea of a compact car at the time was the 179-inch-long Ford Maverick).

The original engine in the Japanese-market N360 was, aptly, a 360-cc four-stroke mill with just two cylinders. But Honda deemed that engine’s 31 horsepower too paltry for the export market, and upgraded the N600 to a healthy 42 HP.  The N600 sprinted to 60 in 22.2 seconds, and reached a blistering top speed of 77 MPH, both from a November 1970 Motor Trend test. The cheapest 2019 model in Honda’s stable (the Fit) has improved on those marks somewhat, reaching 60 in 8.2 seconds and topping out at 118. I suppose 50 years of progress does account for some of that difference. Some 35,000 N600s found buyers from 1970 to 1972, before emissions regulations and the vastly superior Honda Civic killed them off. Today, there aren’t too many left.

Glendale, CA

Photographed December 2017

1979 Honda Civic CVCC

Posted by The Professor

This is a final-year first-generation Civic, the car that really cemented Honda’s place in the US market. The Civic first came to our shores in 1973, three years after Honda officially entered the market with the N600 and later Z600: both of which were too small to be successful in an American market still saturated with hulking land yachts. The Civic’s success largely stemmed from its fortuitous timing: it arrived just as the 1973 oil crisis began to take foot, prompting an increased demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, both qualities possessed by the new Civic.

Honda’s subsequent climb in sales was quite striking: starting from just 4,195 US sales in 1970, they crested the 100,000 per year mark in 1976 and by the time this Civic came around in 1979, Honda was selling over 350,000 cars in the US per year. And to think it was this little car that started it all.

Atwater Village, Los Angeles, CA

Photographed August 2017

1974 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

Posted by The Professor

The license-plate frame on this Corvette says it’s a ’74 model, and I’m inclined to believe it, but the rear bumper is definitely from a ’75 [EDIT: it’s actually a ’76-’77 bumper, as pointed out by a helpful commenter] Corvette. 1974 Corvettes were the first year of the urethane-molded rear bumper assembly, but the first year had a split bumper with a visible seam running down the middle (which isn’t visible on this car’s bumper). The presence of rear bumper guards also pegs this as a later model. But the front bumper is definitely from a ’74: otherwise it would have bumper guards of its own. So my best guess is that this is indeed a ’74 Corvette, but one that got rear-ended at some point and reassembled by a less-than-fastidious repairer.

Sawtelle, Los Angeles, CA

Photographed June 2015

1970-73 Volkswagen 1600 Squareback

Posted by The Professor

Looking back through the archives, it seems I hadn’t yet posted a 1600 Squareback. Which is surprising, really, since this is one of no fewer than 8(!) that I’ve shot over the years.

Squarebacks are sort of on that weird frontier of being too common to stop and take a picture of and too old to not stop and take the picture. I also think that outside of California (and maybe the PNW) they’re not nearly as common: I imagine rust has claimed quite a few of them by now. Still, in Los Angeles at least, there are still quite a few rear-engined Volkswagen fans for whom a Beetle will simply not do. Or maybe they just want something a bit more practical.

(Side note: if anybody knows how to narrow these down by year for the ’70-’73 models, please let me know: I have absolutely no clue of any distinguishing features between the years.)

Santa Monica, CA

Photographed August 2017