It’s a good time to be a Honda owner. They’re at the forefront of the electric vehicle and hybrid wave, with the 2023 Accord drawing favorable praise in the press over the Toyota Prius. And in addition to being the world’s number one motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, they’ve become the eighth largest automobile manufacturer in the world.
Today, Avalon Honda takes a look back to see how we got here with a brief trip through Honda’s illustrious history.
The Birth of Honda
The story of Honda is one born from passion. Soichiro Honda, born in 1906, was seemingly interested in automobiles from the cradle. He spent his early life as a mechanic, tuning cars and entering them in races.
In 1937, Honda founded Tokai Seiki, which translates to the Eastern Sea Precision Machine Company. This initial venture would face innumerable challenges throughout its infancy, as the piston rings Tokai Seiki supplied to Toyota as part of a contract were rejected by the established company’s quality control process. Soichiro Honda would require a stint at engineering school and a tour of Japan’s auto factories before his mass-produced piston rings were deemed acceptable by Toyota in 1941.
Dealings and Destruction During Wartime
The start of World War II proved to be a transitory period for Soichiro Honda. Toyota demoted him from president to managing director after taking a 40% stake in Tokai Seiki, and the company was put under the control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
During the war, Honda aided Japan by assisting other countries in automating the production of military aircraft propellers. Behind the scenes, Honda was forging pivotal relationships with personnel at Toyota, Nakajima Aircraft Company, and the Imperial Japanese Navy.
When a US B-29 bomber attack derailed Honda’s plans by destroying a Tokai Seiki plant in 1944 (an earthquake shortly thereafter would also demolish their Itwa plant), Soichiro Honda hurriedly saved face. He sold off the remains of his company to Toyota, and then funneled that money into the Honda Technical Research Institute in 1946.
A Bicycle Built For You
Appropriately enough for a brand that would become synonymous with their motorcycles, the Honda Technical Research Institute also began with two wheels. Specifically, they built and sold motorized bicycles, which included attachable generator engines. Thus, the Honda A-Type was born.
In 1949, the Honda Technical Research Institute was liquidated and the Honda Motor Company was born. At the same time, Soichiro Honda met Takeo Fujiawa, who would prove to be the company’s business and marketing guru. He complimented Honda’s technical acumen so well that the two would continue working together the proceeding 24 years, until both stepped down together in 1973.
But at the start, motorcycles were the central vision. The D-Type, also named the Dream, was introduced in 1949; just 15 years later, Honda became the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles – a title they still hold today.
Restlessly, the company continued to branch out. Their first production automobile was the T360 mini pick-up truck, an eclectic vehicle that went on the market in the summer of 1963. Over the ensuing decades, Honda continued to expand both its product line and its dealing with other countries. They would even become the first Japanese company to launch their own luxury brand, the Acura, in 1986.
Drive a Honda into Tomorrow
Honda has continued to weather the trials and tribulations of the past few decades, but its storied history still has blank pages waiting to be filled with additional acclaim.
Become part of the company’s story by putting yourself behind the wheel of a new or used Honda today. Cape May County’s most reliable Honda dealership has a full inventory of enviable vehicles, including the 2023 Accord and 2023 CR-V. And our Collision Center is here to handle everything from windshield repair to bumper refinishing, ensuring a smooth ride regardless of what road history takes us down next.
