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The Honda Life is a name that is being used on various kei car/citycars produced by Honda: passenger cars, microvans, and kei trucks. The first series of the nameplate was built between 1971 and 1974, with the name being revived in 1997. The Honda Life has rarely been marketed outside of Japan. ==First generation (1971-1974) == The original Life range was offered as a two-door or four-door hatchback and in a three-door wagon model (also sold as a commercial van), replacing the Honda NIII360. Compared with the previous Honda minicar series, passenger comfort was improved to make this a better family car - indeed, Honda's target was to make a ''kei'' which was as habitable as a period 1-liter car. The wheelbase, at , was eight cm longer than that of the predecessor. The entire Life range had a water-cooled Honda EA 356 cc engine, usually producing at 8,000 rpm. which began as the air-cooled engine borrowed from the Honda CB450 motorcycle. Top speed of a sedan is 105 km/h. The sprint to 100 km/h came up in 34.9 seconds in a period test.〔 In the test, the Life narrowly beat out the Daihatsu Max 360, Honda N600, and Mini Clubman (in that order).〕 In September 1972, the tall and curiously shaped "Life Step Van" was introduced, with either three or five doors. A pickup version of this was later added to the lineup, but had minimal impact on the market. The engine was also installed with a balance shaft to reduce vibration. The engine was called "refined" in period tests, and was considered to be as quiet and smooth as some four-cylinder engines.〔 The change to a water-cooled engine also eliminated the smell in the heating system commonly associated with air-cooled engines that drew the heated air into the passenger compartment. Another improvement was that the gearbox was separate from the engine, unlike in the N-series where the gearbox was in the sump (as for the original Mini).〔''Wheels'', January 1973, p. 38〕 Production of the Life coincided with the larger Honda Civic with both vehicles having introduced a timing belt (rather than chain) for the operation of the overhead cam. This version of the Life was exported to a few markets such as Australia, where the four-door version (same specs as in the Japanese version) entered the market in the middle of 1972. The two-door N360/600 continued on sale alongside.〔 The Life was only produced for four years, as the Civic proved to be much more popular both in Japan and internationally, and when the decision was made to cancel the Life, it ended Honda's production of a passenger ''kei'' car until 1985, with the introduction of the Honda Today. At the time, the Life was ¥350,000, and the Civic was ¥400,000. The Civic also had an advantage of size, making the car safer in a collision. ;Development *1971, June 1 The Life emerged as the successor to the Honda NIII360. It was fitted with a series of newly designed two-cylinder 356 cc SOHC, liquid-cooled four-stroke engines equipped with a balancer shaft. For strictly urban use, a lower-revving engine with a lower compression (8.0:1, as opposed to 8.8:1 for the higher powered version) was installed in the "Life Town". For this version, which was a no-cost option across the range, the engine output was dropped to a lowly at 6,500 rpm - as opposed to 8,000 rpm for the high-compression unit. It also received a three-speed transmission, meaning that top speed was limited to 90 km/h. *1971, July 20 An all-new, three-speed, fully automatic transmission was made available. Unlike the manual, the automatic's shifter was column-mounted. *1971, September 6 A three-door commercial-use "Van" was added, with unique bodywork from the B-pillars back. Slightly taller than its sedan counterparts, like them the Life Van was also available with the full automatic transmission.〔 *1971 October 25 A private-use version of the Life Van (called "Wagon", chassis code WA) was added, priced mid-way between the two- and four-door sedans. This could also be equipped with the three-speed automatic.〔''Nippon Kei Car Memorial'', p. 82〕 The Van can be told from a wagon by its tattletale luggage rails visible through the rear windows. *1972, May 1 A sporty engine with twin constant velocity carburettors was added, for the new "Touring" range. The all two-door lineup consisted of the SS, SL, and the GS on top. Power was up to at 9,000 rpm, and the top-of-the-line GS received a dogleg five-speed gearbox to take full advantage of the peakier engine. The Touring GS could reach a top speed of 120 km/h. On June 15 of the same year, the Life received a minor facelift with redesigned grilles,〔''Nippon Kei Car Memorial'', pp. 85-86〕 and in September four-door versions of the Touring range appeared. Production of the lower-powered "Town" engine also came to an end during 1972.〔 *1972, September 20 The Life Step Van was launched, the packaging of which embodies the tall wagon style so popular for current ''kei''s. *1973, August 21 The Life Pickup was released.〔''360cc: Light Commercial Truck 1950-1975'', p. 98〕 At the same time, the sedan lineup underwent a minor facelift (another new grille) and the lineup was reshuffled. The automatic option was now only available on one two-door and one four-door model.〔''Nippon Kei Car Memorial'', p. 89〕 *1974, October In the face of an ever-contracting Kei class combined with ever more stringent emissions standards, manufacture of the Life series, along with the Z360/600, came to an end. This ended Honda ''kei'' passenger car participation, until the 1985 arrival of the Today. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Honda Life」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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