The multinational corporation Honda goes by several other names: Honda Motor Company Limited, Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushikigaisha, and Honda Technology Research Institute Company Limited. Whichever name you choose to use, it will still refer to the largest engine manufacturer in the world with its main headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.
Honda was founded on September 24, 1948 by Soichiro Honda who had once worked at Art Shokai. Inspired by his experience there, Honda decided to come out with a design for piston rings in 1938. This, he offered to Toyota. After a couple of years, he entered a contract with Toyota, leading him to build a new facility so he could efficiently and consistently be able to cope with the demands of Toyota for piston rings. Unfortunately, all its piston manufacturing facilities did not survive the second world war.
Left with practically nothing, Soichiro Honda was undaunted. While Japan suffered from economic crisis following the war, the public’s need for transportation was still apparent, and Honda capitalized much on this. Using an engine, a bicycle, and all his ingenuity, Honda was able to create a cheap, but nevertheless efficient mode of transportation. Soon after this, the Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, which in English means Honda Research Institute Company Ltd., was born. While the company’s name sounded sophisticated, the facility on which it stood was anything but. In fact, Honda and his associates worked in a simply-constructed wooden shed.
Soon after this, Honda scooters and motorcycles appeared in the market. The first motorcycle to hit the market was the 1947 A-type, although the first full-fledged Honda motorcycle was the 1959 Dream D-type. This 1959 Dream D-type model had a 98cc engine that was able to produce around 2.2 kW or 3 horsepower.
In the early 1960s, Honda started coming up with road car models. The 1963 T360 became Honda’s first production vehicle. This small pick-up truck had a 22kW engine and a variety of body styles that included a panel van and a traditional truck bed. A couple of months after, the S500, the first production automobile of Honda, came into the picture. The S500 had a 492 cc engine that was able to produce 33 kW and a 9,500 RPM redline.
Honda existed in the United States, too. Despite this, however, and despite, too, of its involvement in international motorsports, Honda had a hard time selling its small cars in the United States. That all chanced in 1972 when Honda launched the Honda Civic. The Honda Civil was a bit larger than its previous cars, but smaller still in comparison to the American car. In 1975, the Civic began using the Compound Vortex-Controlled Combustion engine, thus meeting emission standards and achieving the lowest fuel consumption rating ever. This ultimately gave Honda an edge, attaining customer satisfaction.
In 1978, Honda started producing motorcycles in Ohio. Four years later, it constructed car facilities in the United States, earning the reputation of being the third foreign car manufacturer, behind Volkswagen and Rolls Royce. The Honda Accord was the first car to have been produced in the United States. Larger than the Honda Civic, the Honda Accord was a best-seller in the United States, gaining immediate popularity because it was economical and comfortable to drive around with.
Honda also had a luxury line to add to its existing products, the Acura. Produced in 1986, the Acura line is actually composed of different, improved versions of certain Honda vehicles. The first model of the Acura line was the Acura Legend, equipped with a 2.5 liter engine that was able to produce 113 kW, and an SRS airbag.
In 1987, Honda came out with its first passenger vehicle, the Honda Prelude using the four-wheel steering technology. Then, in 1989, the VTEC variable valve timing system was launched. This system was used in Honda’s production car engines, significantly improving efficiency and performance.
The first hybrid vehicle to appear in the market was Insight, and this happened in 1999. Insight obtained its power from the 1.0L 3-cylinder gasoline engine and an NiMH battery pack. This combination was controlled by a computer, thus efficiently coming up with significantly low fuel consumption without considerable effect on its performance. Honda hopes to produce lower-priced hybrids and be able to use advance diesel technology in the coming years.
Automobiles, trucks, motorcycles and scooters, and jets and jet engines, are some of the main products of Honda. Aside from all these, Honda also produces electrical generators, equipment for garden and lawn, and even robots. Honda’s famed robot is called Asimo. Asimo resembles an astronaut. Able to walk on two feet, Asimo is the only robot in the world that can use the stairs.
Not long ago, Honda started producing mountain and racing bikes, too. One particular racing bike is the Honda RN-01, noted for having a gearbox instead of the standard Derailleur that is usually seen in other bikes.
Aside from being the largest engine-maker in the world, Honda also takes pride in being the first engine ever to meet the 1970 US Clean Air Act with its 1975 CVCC. Also, its 1978 Legend was the first Japanese luxury car, while its 2006 Gold Wing Bike was the first motorcycle to have an airbag. Another first for Honda was its mid-sized pickup truck, the 2006 Ridgeline, the first pick up truck with independent rear suspension.
There is at least one Honda company existing in many parts of the world, too. There’s the 1958-founded American Honda Co., for one, based in Torrance, California. This company introduced the 1959 Honda C100 Super Cub, the first Honda model in the United States. Besides being the first model to be seen in the US, the Honda Cub also takes pride in being the best-selling vehicle in history, with over 50 million units sold already. There are two Honda companies in Canada. The first is Honda Canada, Inc. too, that is located in Toronto, Canada, and the other is Honda of Canada Manufacturing, located in Ontario. In India is situated the largest manufacturer of two-wheeler in the world, Hero Honda.
