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Honda series follows restoration of its first car in the US

We all have to start somewhere, and for Honda's automotive business in the US the beginning was a green N600. The company brought a handful of the hatchbacks into the US to test the waters. Now, N600 expert Tim Mings has started restoring that special Honda for a weekly documentary series. Mings reckons he has worked on a 1,000 or more N600s and Z600s, but none of them have been as special as this car. He owned it for several years before cleaning off the serial number, which showed this was the very first example in the US. According to Mings, of the first 50 N600s that Honda brought to the US, only three still survive. The N600 boasted a 600cc two-cylinder engine that could rev to 9,000 rpm. Today, you can see a modern interpretation of its boxy design in Honda's N-One Kei-class car in Japan. Honda's documentary series will follow every step of the restoration process, and the completed N600 will go to the company's museum. We can't wait to see how the car looks after Mings brings it back to life. Related Video: HONDA CELEBRATES AUTOMOTIVE HERITAGE AND HISTORY IN THE U.S. IN NEW ONLINE SERIES LAUNCHING ON SOCIAL MEDIA "Serial One," new online documentary series features the painstaking restoration of the very first Honda N600 in the U.S Fans can follow the journey as acclaimed N600 mechanic Tim Mings brings the vehicle back to life Mar 16, 2016 - TORRANCE, Calif. -- The story of American Honda's first N600 vehicle in the United States in 1969 unfolds through the eyes of a determined mechanic, taking viewers on a journey to restore the first American Honda VIN, "Serial One." Launching today on Honda's social channels and at serialone.com, Honda's new weekly online content series pays homage to the company's roots in America and reflects the challenging spirit of Honda by featuring an in-depth look at the step-by-step restoration of the N600 by Los Angeles-based mechanic Tim Mings. In 1969, after a decade of growth that led to Honda becoming the top-selling motorcycle manufacturer in America and the world, Honda embarked on a new mission to sell cars in the United States. Honda entered the U.S. market with the Honda N600, which was just 122 inches in length and could actually fit between the wheels of some full size vehicles in America, which measured up to 225 inches in length and weighed nearly twice as much as the NSX. The N600 had an all-alloy engine that could achieve 9000 rpm and reach speeds of 81 miles per hour.

Best compact SUVs of 2023 and 2024

Compact SUVs are now the go-to choice for family transportation. Actually, considering how popular they are, they have clearly moved beyond only family duty. With such popularity, though, comes an awful lot of competitors, and it can be difficult to figure out which one might be the best compact SUV for you.  It's important to note that by "compact SUV" we're talking about a specific segment. As we describe in our more comprehensive "Best small SUVs" list, there are also subcompact SUVs that vary widely in size amongst themselves, but are clearly smaller than the SUVs below. Frankly, today's segment of compact SUVs isn't exactly compact — some have more cargo space than vehicles that are considered midsize based on their exterior dimensions. They've all grown considerably over the years. While many lists out there just rattle off every vehicle available in a segment, we thought we'd be a bit more helpful and curate your shopping a bit with the top-recommended choices reviewed by Autoblog. We've included both mainstream and compact luxury SUV choices. Best compact SUVs of 2023 and 2024 2024 Honda CR-V Why it stands out: Best-in-class space; excellent hybrid powertrain; sharp interior style; Honda dependabilityCould be better: No lower-price base trim levels; no sporty or off-road niche models; no plug-in hybrid Read our full 2024 Honda CR-V Review Consider the CR-V the baseline for any compact SUV search, and look extra closely at the superb CR-V Hybrid option. Objectively speaking, it's tough to beat due to its massive cargo capacity, voluminous back seat, strong-yet-efficient engines, well-balanced driving dynamics, competitive pricing and features,  and well-regarded reliability. It's easy to see why it continues to be such a best-seller: for the vast majority of compact SUV buyers, and especially families, it checks every box. That's been the case for many years now, however. The all-new 2023 Honda CR-V changes things up by adding a bit more style and character, particularly in terms of its interior design and how surprisingly enjoyable the Sport and Sport Touring hybrid trim levels are to drive.

Consumer Reports' first motorcycle reliability report finds Japanese brands ahead

Consumer Reports has released its first ever study of motorcycle reliability, and students of its ratings on cars might notice a suspicious similarity - Japanese brands require fewer repairs than the leading American or German brands.
The study analyzed the reliability of 4,680 bikes owned by CR subscribers and found that Yamaha had the best ratings, with just one in ten bikes built between 2009 and 2012 requiring a repair over a four-year period. The makers of the R1 and R6 sport bikes were closely followed by Kawasaki and Honda, while one out of every four of the rumbling bikes from Harley-Davidson experienced an issue. BMW had the worst rating of the brands represented, with one in three bikes having problems.
According to CR, neither Suzuki nor Triumph owners provided enough information for a reliable rating. Based on the responses received, though, Suzuki would have finished with the other Japanese brands and Triumph, being English, would have been one of the less reliable makes.