Americans can be a stubborn group of folks that aren't very fond of change, or at least that's what the rest of the world has been conditioned into believing. It's a stereotype as reinforced as much by their preference for huge automobiles with huge, inefficient engines just as much as any of their Hollywood movies, or their reality TV shows.

The only trouble with this line of thinking, as funny as it may seem at face value, is that it wasn't always the case. If the abundance of Japanese cars on American roads today isn't a big enough indicator, Americans did eventually warm up to the idea of small, fuel-efficient cars.

For many Americans, their introduction to this new type of car was the Honda N600. The N600 did so much more than introduce Americans to the idea of smaller vehicles, it also introduced them to a brand that they'd go on to have a love affair with.

Let's take a look at the story behind the cute little econobox car that brought Honda to America, never to leave.

Related: A Detailed Look Back At The Fuel-Efficient 1999 Honda Insight

An American Fuel Crisis Solved By Japanese Ingenuity

Malaise era

Something truly remarkable happened in America at the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 70s. For the first time since the end of World War Two, the American dream of limitless excess where auto manufacturers largely made up their own rules for how to build their cars was for the first time put in grave jeopardy.

The process of keeping typically massive American cars of this period required gargantuan amounts of petroleum to keep going, petroleum that largely came from a small conglomerate group of international oil-producing nations called OAPEC.

Many of these nations were in the Middle East, whose nations were at odds at the time with one of America's premier allies, that being Israel. In response to the American backing of the other Israelis in the Yom Kippur war, middle eastern OAPEC nations like Saudi Arabia established an embargo on all gasoline and petroleum products shipped to America.

By the end of the embargo in 1974, the price of gas had nearly tripled since the end of the 1960s. This left millions of Americans waiting on lines miles long to fill their fuel thirst V8-powered family cars. Such conditions made the opportunity ripe for Japanese companies like Honda and their N600 to arrive and show the Americans a world where cars aren't enormous and thirsty was possible.

Before The Civic, There Was The N600

Courtesy Auto Trader

The N600 has its origins predictably, in Japan. There, it started life as the Honda N360, a little car that was innovative in its own right. Being one of the first Japanese "Kei" microcars to have international appeal. The N360 was powered by a tiny air-cooled two-cylinder engine that complied with Japanese laws which gave special tax cuts for smaller vehicles. A larger 600cc air-cooled two-cylinder engine was fitted to the larger N600 for use in North America and Europe.

Curiously, the very first automobile imported to the United States was initially limited to just the Island of Hawaii, where Honda could monitor the car's American appeal in a self-contained environment. it wasn't long before N600's found their way to the US mainland west coast.

n600
via Motorious

These first-ever American buyers of Honda vehicles had much to like about their new Japanese rides. Even with an engine that made between 30 and 40 horsepower, the N600's buzzy engine had a forged aluminum block and revved to 9000 RPM, a quality that would go on to define the Honda brand through their V-tec systems of the 90s and 2000s.

Further delights for Americans tired of being ruined financially at the gas pumps were to be had with the N600's superb fuel economy, with 30-plus mpg being capable very easily with such a small engine and lightweight body. About 25,000 N600s were sold in America between 1967 and 1972. A spinoff sportier fastback version called the Honda Z600 was produced until 1974 and sold a further 20,000 or so units.

Related: 9 Things We Love And 1 Thing We Hate About The Honda E

The N600 Walked So The Civic Could Run

A classic photo of the Honda Civic
Via: Honda

The N600 wasn't an overwhelming sales hit like other notable cars throughout history, but it did just well enough for its successor, the Civic to become one of the biggest success stories in automotive history. First released in 1972, the Civic was the direct replacement to the N600, and to date has sold over 20 million Civics. Cementing Honda as one of the premieres manufacturers of affordable economy cars.

2020 Honda Civic Coupe Si
Via: Honda

In 1976, the Accord mid-size sedan would join the Civic to create a stalwart duo of the American car industry that's been the backbone of Honda in America for over 35 years. None of it would have been possible had the N600 made the giant leap for Hondas everywhere.