Honda Motor Company: Motorcycles to the Civic and Accord
Soichiro Honda
Soichiro Honda opened his own auto repair shop after working for years as a mechanic. He eventually perfected and sold a piston ring design, and began selling motorcycle engines. This earned him enough money to found the Honda Motor Company on September 24th, 1948 in Hamamatsu, Japan.
The Dream D Motorcycle
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In August 1949, Honda entered the saturated Japanese market by producing its first motorcycle: the Dream D. With the success of this and other models, the company became known for producing lightweight motorcycles with small but effective engines.
A Leader in Motorcycles Thanks to the Super Cub
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Exports began in 1952, and within three years Honda became the leading motorcycle manufacturer in Japan. Just a few years later, it was one of the world’s leading motorcycle companies on the strength of its popular Super Cub model. Also around that time, Honda began competing at the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races.
The American Honda Motor Company
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Towards the end of the ‘50s, Honda considered entering the automotive market. In 1959, the American Honda Motor Company was established. Sales in that market began to rise four years later due to an ad campaign that targeted typical Americans.
The First Honda Cars
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1963 was also the year Honda produced its first automobiles. Just one year later the company began competing in Formula 1, and remained involved in that sport in a variety of capacities on and off in the years that followed.
The Civic
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However, it wasn’t until the early ‘70s that Honda really made a splash in the auto market with the introduction of the Civic in 1972. This model proved to be one of the company’s biggest successes, and evolved from a basic model to a more upscale ride. It also became one of the best-selling cars in North America. This helped the company build a solid reputation based on the reliability, affordability and fuel economy of its cars.
The Accord
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Honda earned more admirers in 1976 when the company released the Accord. That model was first introduced during an oil crisis, and was designed to be fuel efficient and low on emissions. The Accord was the best-selling Japanese car in America between 1982 and 1997.
Still a Motorcycle Company
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However, the company did not forget its roots: Honda’s motorcycle segment reached its peak in 1982 when approximately three million bikes were produced.
Acura
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By 1986, Honda unveiled Acura as the first Japanese luxury car brand. Two years later, Honda’s production numbers reached 15 million, and that number doubled by 1995. At that point, Honda had already overtaken Chrysler to become the third-largest auto seller in the U.S.
Environmentally-Friendly Solutions
However, by the mid-‘90s, Honda increasingly felt pressure in the over-saturated car market. This led to a great deal of research and development, particularly with regard to environmentally-friendly solutions.
Hybrid Vehicles
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Honda’s first attempt at a hybrid electric vehicle came in 1999 with the introduction of the Insight. Shortly thereafter, a hybrid Civic was released, and this was even more fuel efficient than the original. These moves helped Honda rebound.
Aviation and Robotics
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Aside from its successes with cars and motorcycles, Honda became involved in various other industries. For example, the company joined the aviation industry with the Honda Aircraft Company. In addition, Honda developed a robotics program, and produced a humanoid robot referred to as ASIMO.
An Automotive Innovator
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Honda was one of the first car companies to cater to specific markets when designing its automobiles. Thanks to this, and its technological advances, Honda has become an important member of the automotive industry, and will continue to be a leader in motorcycle manufacturing for years to come.
