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Honda — All Car History Volume 13

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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 2door 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 CRV Civic FRV 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 lowpriced 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 TypeR is a widely respected hot hatch while the Civic IMA is a hybrid with an electric motor and petrol engine

HONDA CRV public demand for a sportutility vehicle from Honda led to the creation of this compact crossover SUV in 1996

HONDA FRV a clever six seat MPV which features three seats in the front and three in the back

HONDA JAZZ a fivedoor 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 twoseat 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 bestselling 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 fourwheel 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.

About the writer: Auto Trader World of Cars