Honda Fans Can Visit the Automaker's New Museum at Its California HQ

Chris Teague
by Chris Teague

Believe it or not, Honda’s been around in the U.S. for decades, and to Celebrate, the automaker opened the American Honda Collection Hall to show some of its most iconic models. The display will be open during regular "Cars and Coffee" events starting in October.


Honda established its first American presence in 1959, also its first business presence outside of Japan. The automaker now sells hundreds of thousands of vehicles here each year, moving more than 980,000 last year. Its headquarters in Torrance, CA, is joined by a manufacturing facility in Ohio, and the company is gearing up to release new American-market EVs in the coming years. 

The American Honda Collection Hall will house several historic models during the exhibition, including the 1070 Honda N600 Coupe, the first Honda sold in the United States, and a 1986 Acura Legend, the car that launched the brand in this country. Visitors will also see the 1997 CR-V, Honda’s first in-house SUV, and a 2006 Honda Insight, the country’s first mass-produced hybrid car. 

Of course, Honda makes all manner of motorized vehicles, so the display will also include a variety of motorcycles, power equipment, and race cars. The 1962 Honda 50/Super Cub, 1969 Honda CB750A, and 1981 Honda CBX1000 will be displayed, along with a handful of other iconic bikes. Honda will show a marine outboard motor and generator on the power equipment side and three racing cars from the 199s, including the record-breaking 1997 Acura Integra Realtime.


[Images: Honda]


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Chris Teague
Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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  • Lou_BC Lou_BC on Sep 13, 2023

    Does Honda make anything cool enough to warrant being in a museum that doesn't sport an Acura badge?

    1st generation Civic?

    • Theflyersfan Theflyersfan on Sep 14, 2023

      Yup. And the NSX is a Honda everywhere else in the world. I wish the del sol SiR was sold in the US. (the site is now throwing a fit with uploading pictures...oh well...)



  • IH_Fever IH_Fever on Sep 14, 2023

    I'm actually kind of shocked California allows this museum to exist as a shrine to carbon emissions spewing, planet killing, death machines. :)

    • Lou_BC Lou_BC on Sep 14, 2023

      I guess it's ok when they are parked and hermetically sealed.


  • Mike-NB2 This is a mostly uninformed vote, but I'll go with the Mazda 3 too.I haven't driven a new Civic, so I can't say anything about it, but two weeks ago I had a 2023 Corolla as a rental. While I can understand why so many people buy these, I was surprised at how bad the CVT is. Many rentals I've driven have a CVT and while I know it has one and can tell, they aren't usually too bad. I'd never own a car with a CVT, but I can live with one as a rental. But the Corolla's CVT was terrible. It was like it screamed "CVT!" the whole time. On the highway with cruise control on, I could feel it adjusting to track the set speed. Passing on the highway (two-lane) was risky. The engine isn't under-powered, but the CVT makes it seem that way.A minor complaint is about the steering. It's waaaay over-assisted. At low speeds, it's like a 70s LTD with one-finger effort. Maybe that's deliberate though, given the Corolla's demographic.
  • Mike-NB2 2019 Ranger - 30,000 miles / 50,000 km. Nothing but oil changes. Original tires are being replaced a week from Wednesday. (Not all that mileage is on the original A/S tires. I put dedicated winter rims/tires on it every winter.)2024 - Golf R - 1700 miles / 2800 km. Not really broken in yet. Nothing but gas in the tank.
  • SaulTigh I've got a 2014 F150 with 87K on the clock and have spent exactly $4,180.77 in maintenance and repairs in that time. That's pretty hard to beat.Hard to say on my 2019 Mercedes, because I prepaid for three years of service (B,A,B) and am getting the last of those at the end of the month. Did just drop $1,700 on new Michelins for it at Tire Rack. Tires for the F150 late last year were under $700, so I'd say the Benz is roughly 2 to 3 times as pricy for anything over the Ford.I have the F150 serviced at a large independent shop, the Benz at the dealership.
  • Bike Rather have a union negotiating my pay rises with inflation at the moment.
  • Bike Poor Redapple won't be sitting down for a while after opening that can of Whiparse
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