You Meet The Nicest People On A Honda

By: Jason Petrina



You meet the nicest people on a Honda. That was the slogan in the 1960’s in America when Honda began to transform the image of the motorcycle. Previously most people thought of motorbikes as big Harley Davidson or Indian Hogs, or the BMW’s of Germany. Images of leather jackets and biker gangs were common. Honda changes all that by popularizing the idea of a small, fun, motorcycle that the family could enjoy.

Honda was founded by a man named Soichiro Honda who began to work in an auto mechanics shop I Tokyo in 1922. He was fifteen at the time. When he discovered that he would be babysitting the owner’s kids instead of learning mechanics he left the job, but they called him back six months later when they really needed the help. When an earthquake devastated Tokyo Honda was one of the few mechanics left in town. He gained experience and became interested in auto racing, building his own racer with a V8 engine previously used in a fighter aircraft..

After the war, in October of 1946, Honda established the Honda Technical Research Institute in Hamamatsu, Japan. His goal was to develop and produce small two cycle motorcycle engines. Two years later he created the Honda Motor Company and in 1959 Honda opened the first US location in Los Angeles. Today Honda is the largest maker of engines in the world. They manufacture cars, trucks, motorcycles, go kart motors, ATV’s, water craft, electric generators, boat engines, lawn mowers and garden equipment. In fact, Honda manufacturers over 14 million engines per year. In 2004 Honda began to make diesel motors as well. Like many Japanese auto makers Honda has a reputation for quality production and quality control. In fact there are many stories told by happy Honda owners of the cars running for decades without needing a single repair, making some people think that Honda cars can last forever. And they are still one of the major makers of motorcycles today.

The high end line of Honda cars are the Acura in North America. These cars compete directly against and well with Lexus, Cadillac, Lincoln and Mercedes. Honda was in fact the first Japanese auto maker to introduce a separate line of luxury vehicles. Honda is also well known today for the hybrid vehicles they produce, using a very small gasoline powered engine to power generator for electricity and a larger electric motor to power the hybrid car. Quite a feet for a company that began with a would be mechanic. Honda’s rapid growth after World War II came because Soichiro Honda saw that Japan had a need for cheap transportation. With the country decimated, Honda attached an engine to a bicycle, creating a cheap but efficient transportation method that caught on. He quickly began to make a complete line of motor scooters and motorcycles. By the 1970’s Honda had become the largest maker of motorcycles in the world.

When Honda began to produce automobiles in 1960 the intention was to build them for the Japanese market. Honda at first had trouble selling their cars in America, but in 1972 the Honda Civic, a bit larger than their previous cars but still smaller than most American cars, really caught on because it was introduced during the early 1970’s energy crunch when people were looking for fuel efficient cars. Today Honda’s reputation is second to none. They compete head to head with Nissan and Toyota and in the United States have a very large share of the automobile market with many happy and loyal drivers.



Jason Petrina is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - www.articleclick.com