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The Honda Vamos is a leisure vehicle originally produced by Japanese automaker Honda from 1970 to 1973, and reintroduced again as a trim level of the Honda Acty microvan starting in 1999. Its name, "Vamos", is Spanish language for "let's go".
| Honda Vamos | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Honda |
| Production | 1970–1973 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Kei truck |
| Body style | 2-door jeep |
| Layout | Front-mid engine, rear-wheel-drive |
| Related | |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 354 cc I2 |
| Transmission | 4-speed manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 1,780 mm (70.1 in) |
| Length | 2,995 mm (117.9 in) |
| Width | 1,295 mm (51.0 in) |
| Height | 1,655 mm (65.2 in) |
| Curb weight | 520 kg (1,146.4 lb) |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | Honda TN-7 |
Available as a kei truck, it was based on the Honda TN360. The Vamos used a 354 cc 2-cylinder, mid mounted, air-cooled, overhead camshaft gasoline engine shared with the Honda TN360, N360, and the Z360. The Vamos was a competitor at the time to the Suzuki Jimny and the Daihatsu Fellow buggy. According to the article for this vehicle at Japanese Wikipedia, only 2,500 were sold. Honda had hoped the popularity of the Honda Dax minibike with its off-road image would be associated with the Vamos. Because of the installation of the spare tire on the front of the vehicle and the sound from the air-cooled engine, it had a Volkswagen Type 2 reputation but because of the open cabin design, it wasn't very popular due to a lack of four-wheel drive.
The Vamos was available with an optional and removable rear seat, whereas the Vamos was known as the Vamos 2 or the Vamos 4, for its ability of passenger capacity. It was also available with lap only seat belts for all passengers. The convertible top was easily and quickly removed as needed. Due to the open cab configuration, all instrumentation and switches were both water- and dust proof. It used a MacPherson strut front suspension and a De Dion tube with half leaf springs in the back.
| Honda Vamos | |
|---|---|
 Pre-facelift (turbo) | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Honda |
| Also called | Vamos Hobio |
| Production | 1999–2018 |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Microvan |
| Body style | 5-door van |
| Layout | Front-mid engine, rear-wheel-drive/four-wheel-drive |
| Related | Honda Acty microvan (third generation) Mooku Reve [1] |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | |
| Transmission | |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2,420 mm (95.3 in) |
| Length | 3,395 mm (133.7 in) |
| Width | 1,475 mm (58.1 in) |
| Height | 1,775 mm (69.9 in) |
| Curb weight | 1,070 kg (2,358.9 lb) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Honda Street trim level |
| Successor | Honda N-Van Honda N-Box |
The Honda Vamos name was reintroduced in June 1999, and was joined by its twin, the Honda Vamos Hobio in April 2003. Both are microvans with 659 cc straight-3 SOHC E07Z gasoline engines and are upper trim level versions of the Honda Acty van. Four-wheel drive is optional, using Honda's Full Time 4WD system that utilizes a viscous coupling. It features independent suspension with front coil springs and rear leaf springs. The engine is also available with a turbocharger with the maximum horsepower being limited to 64 PS (47 kW).
The Vamos is marketed more for personal use whereas the Acty van and truck are geared more towards commercial and industrial uses, and as delivery vehicles. The Vamos has a redesigned rear end, with vertical rather than horizontal taillights and a smaller rear gate. Most of the luxury equipment offered on the Vamos is not available on the Acty. The Vamos competes with the Suzuki Every van, the Subaru Sambar van and the Daihatsu Atrai van in Japan. The 2003 Vamos Hobio is a "recreational" vehicle, meant to be used as part of an active lifestyle. It has a roof which is 105 mm (4.1 in) taller and has the Acty Van's bigger tailgate and low-mounted taillights. The interior features numerous hooks and mounting points on the floor and walls and has water proof trim. The Vamos Hobio also has a different front design with a more prominent, trapezoidal grille.
Various trim packages and unique options have been offered on the Vamos and Vamos Hobio, with almost yearly cosmetic changes to items like grille, tail lights and color combinations. The interior seats are configurable into multiple positions to maximize its load-carrying and passenger accommodation. From May until October 2003 Honda also accepted orders for the Vamos Hobio "Travel Dog Package," especially designed to accommodate dogs. This offered water-repellant and deodorant upholstery, pet mats, and other special equipment. In May 2007 a Travel Dog Package was again offered, this time on the regular Vamos. This package remained available to order until the end of January 2008. [2]
Aftermarket appearance kits are available in Japan.
Production of the Vamos and Vamos Hobio was discontinued on May 21, 2018 as the car could not meet new crash safety standards without extensive reengineering. The Vamos was replaced by the N-Van, although scattered examples of existing stock continued to be sold until the final Vamos Hobio Pro was sold in October 2019. [3]
Kei car, known variously outside Japan as Japanese city car or Japanese microcar, is the Japanese vehicle category for the smallest highway-legal passenger cars with restricted dimensions and engine capacity. Similar Japanese categories exist for microvans, and kei trucks. These vehicles are most often the Japanese equivalent of the EU A-segment.
The Subaru Rex, also known as Ace, Viki, Sherpa, 500/600/700, Mini Jumbo, Mini Subaru or M60/M70/M80 in various export markets, is a kei class automobile produced from 1972 to 1992 mainly for sale in Japan by Subaru, although it was also sold in Europe, South America, Australia and the Caribbean. The Rex superseded the R-2 as Subaru's kei car, and has been available in commercial use versions as well as in a passenger car version. It underwent major changes in 1976, in fall 1981, and again in late 1986. The second generation Rex (1981–1986) also formed the basis for the larger Subaru Justy.
The Daihatsu Fellow Max is a small Japanese automobile in the Kei car class. Originally introduced as the Daihatsu Fellow, the name was partially retained for the Max Cuore (1977) and then again for the 2000 Daihatsu Max.
The Mitsubishi Minica is a kei car produced by Mitsubishi Motors mainly for the Japanese domestic market from 1962 to 2011. It was first built by Shin Mitsubishi Heavy-Industries, one of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' three regional automotive companies until they were merged in 1964, and as such predates MMC itself. In Japan, it was sold at a specific retail chain called Galant Shop. In 2007 and 2011, the car was replaced with the Mitsubishi eK and the Mitsubishi i.
The Honda Today is a kei car produced by Japanese automaker Honda beginning in 1985. It was replaced by the Honda Life in 1998.
The Honda Z is a two-door hatchback kei car/city car manufactured and marketed by the Honda Motor Company, from 1970 until 1974. Exports mostly ended after 1972, when the domestic market models received redesigned pillarless bodywork.
The Suzuki Fronte is an automobile that was first introduced in March 1962 as a sedan version of the Suzulight Van. The nameplate remained in use for Suzuki's Kei car sedans as well as some commercial-use derivatives until it was replaced by the Alto name in September 1988. The word "fronte" alludes to the fact that the car is front-wheel-drive, although during the years when the Fronte was rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive, Suzuki stated that it referred to the car being at the front of the Kei class.
The Daihatsu Hijet is a cab over microvan and kei truck produced and sold by the Japanese automaker Daihatsu since 1960. Despite the similarities between the Hijet name and Toyota's naming scheme for its trucks and vans, the name "Hijet" has been in use for Daihatsu's kei trucks and microvans since 1960, over two decades before Toyota took control. "Hijet", when transliterated into Japanese, is very similar to "Midget", one of Daihatsu's other mini-trucks. According to Daihatsu, the name "Hijet" was created to imply that the vehicle offers higher performance than the Midget. The Hijet competes in Japan with the Honda Acty, Mitsubishi Minicab, Nissan Clipper, Subaru Sambar and Suzuki Carry.
The Honda Acty is a series of cabover microvans and kei trucks produced by the Japanese automaker Honda from 1977 to 2021, designed for the Japanese domestic market (JDM). "Acty" is short for "Activity".
The Honda Life is an automobile nameplate that was used on various kei car/city cars produced by Honda: passenger cars, microvans, and kei trucks. The first series of the nameplate was built between 1971 and 1974, with the nameplate revived in 1997 and used until 2014. The Japanese-market Life has rarely been marketed outside Japan.
The Honda N360 is a small front-engine, front-wheel drive, two-door, four-passenger car manufactured and marketed by Honda from March 1967 through 1970 in Japan's highly regulated kei class — as both a two-door sedan and three-door wagon.
The Subaru Sambar is a cabover truck and microvan manufactured and marketed by Subaru as Japan's first truck compliant with the country's strict Keitora (軽トラ) or Kei vehicle tax class. Introduced in 1961 in microvan and Kei pickup configurations, the Sambar remains in production, now in its eighth generation — beginning with the sixth generation as a rebadged Daihatsu Hijet.
The Mitsubishi Minicab is the kei truck and microvan, built and sold in Japan by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors since 1966. In Japan, it was sold at a specific retail chain called Galant Shop. An all-electric model of the Minicab, called the Minicab MiEV, is sold in the Japanese market since December 2011. It was also sold by China Motor Corporation (CMC) in Taiwan as the CMC Verica, starting in 1985. Since February 2014, the Mitsubishi Minicab is a rebadged Suzuki Carry.
The Toyota LiteAce and TownAce are a line of light commercial and derivative passenger vans produced by the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota. These vehicles originally utilized the cab-over-engine configuration, although since 1996 a semi-cab-over arrangement has featured instead. The LiteAce launched in 1970 as light-duty truck, with commercial and van/wagon body variants added in 1971. In 1976, Toyota released the larger TownAce van/wagon that derived from the LiteAce; a TownAce truck arrived later in 1978. Between 1982 and 1992, the series accommodated the MasterAce Surf—an upscale TownAce passenger wagon.
A microvan is a van or minivan which is within the Japanese kei car classification or similar, and is smaller than a mini MPV. In China, these vehicles are nicknamed mian bao che because of their shape. Similarly, in several Hispanic American countries, these vehicles are called pan de molde, which means "bread loaf". In Indonesia, it is commonly called a minibus due to their tall roof, perceived as resembling a miniature bus; the term is also used generally to refer to any type of three-row MPVs.
The Subaru R-2 is a kei car manufactured by Subaru from 1969 to 1972. The R-2 was a full model change of the popular Subaru 360, but with an updated appearance and increased interior space. The R-2 appeared approximately one year before the Honda Life, Daihatsu Fellow Max and Suzuki Fronte kei cars, however, it continued to use the powertrain setup from the Subaru 360, which was the EK33 air-cooled 2-cylinder engine installed in the back, which is the inspiration for the name of the vehicle. It appeared around the same time as the second generation Mitsubishi Minica.
A kei truck, kei-class truck, or Japanese mini truck is a mini truck, a tiny but practical pickup truck available in rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive versions, built to satisfy the Japanese keijidōsha statutory class. They are known as keitora in Japan alongside the microvan.
Suzulight was the brand used for kei cars built by the Suzuki Motor Corporation from 1955 to 1969. They were Suzuki's first entry into automotive manufacturing, having previously only produced motorcycles. The Suzulight sedans and light vans all had transversely mounted engines and front-wheel drive. The Suzulight Carry trucks and vans were the first to use the Carry label, still around today.
The TN360 and its successors in the long running TN series is a cab over pickup truck from Honda, which replaced the T360 in November 1967.
The Honda N-Van is a microvan produced by Honda for the Japanese market. The origin for the vehicle's name expresses "next generation light van" proposed by N series as see in the N-One, N-Box, and N-WGN: it is part of a renewed lineup of Kei class city cars. The use of the letter "N" in the name was used by Honda for the late 1960s and 1970s Honda N360.
