1971 Honda 600 Sedan Commercial

Friends in high school kept trading a orange one from one to another. I managed to sit in the front seat. It was a cute and cool car. Would love to have one. My 87 turbo Chevy Sprint is fun and small to, plus much quicker with similar MPG.

Be that as it may, it was a premonition of things to come...I remember sitting in line with my parents waiting for gas for our '68 Ford Galaxie 500...the Japanese seemed to have predicted this way before it happened..probably why the Japanese are still outselling us today..

Not really a prediction but a matter of having the right product for the right time. Fuel and space were more valuable commodities in Japan, so small cars made sense there. When the oil crisis hit, Japanese automakers already had cars that would work. Plus they had many years experience building these kinds of cars because, again, that's what their own market demanded.

Actually, at the time we were going through a fuel crunch..and no matter how well built the American cars were..they were sucking us dry..similar to what we are going through now, don't you think?

yeah , and no us carmaker can make a decent 4 cyl still , m a y b e ford...but...

There was no "fuel crunch" when the 600,commonly known as "the Honda car" was introduced. Gas was readily available for under 35 cents per gallon. The fuel shortage began in 1973.

That is a crucial point that people don't seem to be aware of. The move toward subcompacts in the US began around '71, with the introductions of the Ford Pinto, Chevrolet Vega, AMC Gremlin, Plymouth Cricket, etc. As you note, a couple of years before the "fuel crunch" and motivated largely by environmental considerations. An even earlier wave of popular US compact introductions was in the early 60s, with cars like the Ford Falcon, Plymouth Valiant, and Chevrolet Corvair, among many other models.

baysadaye is right. The wave of US subcompacts began in 1971, following on the late 60s success of Volkswagens, Datsuns, and Toyotas. The Honda here was part of that. There doesn't have to be a crisis for people, even rich people, to be motivated by efficiency.

i think this and the cvcc (civic eventually) were the first 2 imported . sold a few too

The CVCC was strictly an engine technology, short for Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion. The Civic was introduced after the Z600.