Honda -- All Car History Volume 13

Honda is the world's largest engine maker, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines every year. Honda's began building motorbikes but the S500 2-door roadster featuring a 492cc engine saw the company move into car production in an innovative way in the 1960s. 

The highly acclaimed Civic and Accord saw Honda make rapid international progress. Today, the company makes everything from cars and motorbikes, robots, jets and jet engines, to lawn and garden equipment. Honda's current crop of cars includes the Accord, CR-V, Civic, FR-V, Jazz, Legend and S2000.

HONDA HISTORY

In 1948 Honda's founder, Soichiro Honda, started a new company: Honda Motor Co. They soon came up with the "batabata", a motorised bicycle named after the sound the engine made which became a huge hit across Japan. Later, Honda's most popular model, the Dream, could be spotted all over the Japanese islands. 

Honda introduced its first car in 1957, the N360. In 1958, the American Honda Company was created. In 1972 Honda entered the American market with the small fuel efficient Civic - just as the energy crisis was hitting economies. In 1986 Honda introduced a luxury line of cars and in 2007 Honda announced plans to launch low-priced hybrids.

HONDA FACTS

 

• Type:  Public company

 

• Founded:   September 24, 1948

 

• Headquarters:   Tokyo, Japan

 

• Key People:  Soichiro Honda, Founder. Takeo Fukui, CEO

 

• Industry:  Automobile & Truck manufacturer & Motorcycle

 

• Products:  cars, trucks, motorcycles, scooters, ATVs, electrical generators, robotics, marine equipment, jets and jet engines, and lawn and garden equipment, Acura vehicles.

 

FEATURED MODELS 

• HONDA ACCORD - manufactured since 1976, first as a compact hatchback and then evolving into a premium large family estate and saloon car
• HONDA CIVIC  - a compact car first manufactured in 1972 and now in its eighth generation. The Civic Type-R is a widely respected hot hatch, while the Civic IMA is a hybrid with an electric motor and petrol engine
• HONDA CR-V  - public demand for a sport-utility vehicle from Honda led to the creation of this compact crossover SUV in 1996
• HONDA FR-V  - a clever six seat MPV, which features three seats in the front and three in the back
• HONDA JAZZ  - a five-door hatchback car first produced in 2001. It rivals the Ford Fiesta and Toyota Yaris and is known as the Fit in Japan, China, and America
• HONDA S2000  - a two-seat roadster created to celebrate Honda's 50th anniversary and launched in April 1999
• HONDA LEGEND  - a large luxury car which is currently in its fourth generation

DID YOU KNOW?

• The Honda Cub motorcycle is the best-selling vehicle in history, with around 50 million sold worldwide
• Soichiro Honda was president of the Honda Motor Company until retiring in 1973. He was labeled "the Japanese Henry Ford" by People magazine in 1980
• The first passenger vehicle in the world to have four-wheel steering technology was the Honda Prelude in 1987
• In 1964, Honda entered Formula One racing for the first time, recording its first victory the following year. It's current F1 campaign is headed by British racer, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello from Brazil
• In 1991, Honda posted its 10th consecutive win in the Isle of Man TT.