The Honda N600E was the first car Honda exported to the United States.





A few months before Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, another pioneer event occurred that received less fanfare and required less horsepower, but for a small automobile company it was a landmark moment.

The N600E (“E” stood for export) was the first Honda to be sold in the United States and it made quite a splash. In some ways, the impact of that first Honda is still being felt in America today.

“That car changed a lot of the rules for imports and it turned on a lot of people,” says Paul Diderot of Westchester County, New York. Diderot owns three Honda N600’s and he’s always on the prowl for more.

“The Honda N600 is an icon to foreign car guys like me and for lovers of Honda, “Diderot says. “I love everything about it, from the custom headlamps to the windshield wipers to the underrated and surprising power it packed under that tiny little hood.”

About 450 Honda N600’s are still on the road in the U.S., the car having been sold from 1969-1973. At first Honda tried to introduced the ”Kei Car” to America, but the first model they hoped to export — the N360 — was too small for the U.S. market, which was demanding a powerful car. So, engineers threw a larger engine in and extended the body.

The N600 topped out at 80-85 MPH and according to one driving test it went from zero to 60 MPH in a whopping 19 seconds. Most impressively, the N600 got 36 miles per gallon, much more than most cars on the road in the U.S. It was quite advanced for its time: the alloy engine was revolutionary and it burned down the road at 9000 rpm. It was also extremely light: only about 1,100 pounds.

Car aficionados at the time really loved the bright colors that were available: mustard, bright yellow, turquoise, robin’s egg blue, and of course, “Honda” red. In an era when many car makers were still churning out white and black and silver cars, the N600 brightened the roads in this country.

This Honda N600 illustrates the vibrant color the automobile brought to the roads in the early 1970s. (Photo courtesy Ratko Vatavuk)

“I’ve restored six of them so far for different reasons,” Mark Draper says. “I love getting the paint job just right, making sure it’s true to the history of this car.” Draper owns a bright yellow N600 that has the original paint job and was purchased in 1972 by a family friend. He’s taken his family on road trips with his Honda N600 and even been on camping trips with it in his native South Carolina, despite a small trunk size.

“Planning a long trip takes some careful prep, it means you have to decide what you need or really don’t need, but when I cruise on the road [I] always get a lot of smiles, people love to see this car.”

There are about 400 people devoted to a Facebook group called “Honda N600” and the discussion is often centered around performance, restoration, and finding parts. There’s even a garage in California that specializes in early era Honda automobiles.

In the tight-knit Honda community the little Honda N600 is a legendary automobile and for good reason — it’s the Honda that got it all started in America.

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