Several readers suggested that I document some early compact crossover SUVs my junkyard travels, pointing out that these small truck-inspired machines pushed most small hatchbacks and sedans out of showrooms and thus are historic. Junkyard Gems is, of course, about automotive history, so I decided to shoot interesting examples of the early Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V in their last parking spots (a first-gen Ford Escape appeared in this series a few years ago). Here is a first generation CR-V one an impressive final number shows his odometer, which was recently found in a Northern California boneyard.
Most other American-market Honda and Acura models switched to electronic odometers by the time this car was built, but the 1997-2001 CR-V has an old-fashioned mechanical unit that reads without it. turns on the car’s ECU. It’s the sixth scrapped Honda to exceed 400,000 miles in its lifetime, joining a list that includes a 1983 Accord, a 1988 agreementanother 1988 agreement, a 1991 agreement and a 1996 Civic. I probably walked past it many more such carsbut it wasn’t until 1981 that Honda started using a six-digit odometer here.
The first-generation CR-V was sold here for model years from 1997 to 2001, and its chassis was derived from the sixth-generation Civic. This is an entry level 2WD LX with front wheel drive.
It’s a tall Civic, a successor to the Civic Wagovans of the 1980s. The list price was $18,750, or about $32,321 in 2023 dollars.
As with most extreme high-mileage vehicles found in car graveyards, this one looks pretty good on the inside.
Under the hood is a B20 DOHC straight-four engine with 146 horsepower and 133 pound-feet of torque. Speed-crazed Civic owners often grab these engines for a cheap performance boost, though most junkyard buyers would think twice about buying one after glancing at the odometer.
An automatic transmission was standard on the 2001 CR-V 2WD LX, while the 4WD LX and 4WD EX trim levels got a five-speed manual (the automatic was $800 extra for the two, about $1,379 today). The top-of-the-range 4WD SE received a slushbox at no extra cost.
A clever feature of the early CR-V was this cargo cover that folds down into a picnic table. Someone bought it from today’s Junkyard Gem by the time I arrived, but I already have one that I bought from another junk CR-V.
Why did it end up in such a place after 22 reliable years of many kilometers? It appears that it broke down on the freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area and was towed the Bay Area Freeway Service Patrol. Perhaps the engine or transmission finally gave up on the trip around 16+ Earth’s equators and the owner couldn’t or didn’t want to pay for the repairs.
Just the car you need for Mars. JDM ads for the early CR-V Copyrighted music by Billy Joel or Elton John is included and therefore cannot be embedded here.
