Photos: American Honda Hosts All-Inclusive Car Meet at Massive SoCal Campus
Honda’s Torrance, California, campus hosts all makes and models morning gathering.
The impact of Honda (and Acura) on the import performance community over the last three-and-a-half decades is undeniable. At a street level, first time car owners and potential enthusiasts flocked to the affordable, modification-friendly chassis in droves in the communities earliest days and that's remained a constant over the years.
The brand itself flirted with support of the burgeoning import performance movement by offering models to U.S. buyers that touted performance-minded bonuses, like the del Sol VTEC and EM1 Civic Si, both of which were powered by an era-defining 1.6L DOHC VTEC engine. They also supported a very costly race program with import drag racing legend Adam Saruwatari and his carbon fiber bodied, tube chassis NSX. After a series of Si models and the arrival and departure of the Integra Type R, the automaker finally brought the Civic Type R to North America.
Some of that enthusiast support was expected given their fan base but in modern times, beyond trying to sell specialty models to a niche market, Honda has taken to hosting a series of car meets, or Cars, Bikes, & Coffee as they're known, right from their massive Torrance, Ca., headquarters. Open to all makes and models, the majority of attendees are of course piloting Honda and Acura of every generation, some being completely stock, and others heavily modified.
The handful of events, which have occurred sporadically since last year, have also included select vendors that bring demo cars and highlight Honda-related products for visitors to check out.
