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honda Civic

Honda’s game-changing EB1 Civic

31 October, 2025

Japanese cars, and Hondas in particular, were about to flourish in New Zealand. This was the crux of the conversation I was having with Russell Moller, sitting in his Greenlane, Auckland, motor dealership early in 1973. Russell was particularly excited about the new Civic EB1 small car that had been unveiled in Japan the previous year.
I was about to leave on an extended stay in Britain. When I returned more than two years later, it was apparent Russell had called it right. Norton and Russell Moller had gained the licence to import fully built up Hondas, and formed Honda Pacific. A few highly prized Civics arrived before the New Zealand Motor Corporation (NZMC) assumed the franchise from the Moller Group. The corporation’s plans included building the EB1 at NZMC’s plant at Petone, near Wellington, and the first CKD (completely knocked down) Civic, a bright yellow example, rolled off the local assembly line in March 1976.

NZ Classic Car magazine, January/February 2025 issue 397, on sale now

8 December, 2024

Having dominated the world motorcycle championships of the 1960s, Honda had a crucial decision to make in 1969. Would Soichiro Honda heed his engineer’s pivotal advice?
“Very few examples of the early Civic, a car that set Honda onto the path to becoming a giant of the car world, remain road registered in New Zealand.
Retired Tauranga owner of this example, Graham Inglis is thrilled with his classic little Honda Civic, the first of eleven generations built so far by the company. The Civic became a household name.
“It’s quite amazing the number of people who not only wave, but come up to me in the street and tell me how much they like the little Honda and its colour, and then they want to start talking about it. A guy in our vintage car club wants to buy it and he has been pushing me a bit. It’s not for sale,” he laughs.
Graham bought his 1977 Honda Civic from Wellington enthusiast Julian Foster, who was the instigator of its restoration.”