Yahoo Autos Junkyard Gem: 2001 Honda CR-V with 403,757 miles
Several readers have suggested that I document some early compact crossover SUVs during my junkyard travels, making the point that these little truck-influenced machines went on to squeeze most small hatchbacks and sedans out of the showrooms and are thus historically significant. Junkyard Gems are all about automotive history, of course, so I set out to shoot some interesting examples of the early Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V in their final parking spots (a first-gen Ford Escape appeared in this series a few years back). Here's a first-gen CR-V with an impressive final number showing on its odometer, found in a Northern California boneyard recently.
Most other U.S.-market Honda and Acura models had gone to electronic odometers by the time this car was built, but the 1997-2001 CR-V has an old-fashioned mechanical unit that can be read without powering up the car's ECU. This is the sixth discarded Honda I've found that traveled better than 400,000 miles during its life, joining a list that includes a 1983 Accord, a 1988 Accord, another 1988 Accord, a 1991 Accord and a 1996 Civic. I've probably walked right by many more such cars, but Honda only started using six-digit odometers here in 1981.
The first-generation CR-V was sold here for the 1997 through 2001 model years, and its chassis was derived from that of the sixth-generation Civic. This one is an entry-level 2WD LX, with front-wheel drive.
It's a tall Civic at heart, the successor to the Civic Wagovans of the 1980s. The list price was $18,750, or about $32,321 in 2023 dollars.
As is the case with most extreme-high-mile vehicles I find in car graveyards, the interior in this one looks pretty good.
