Honda Motor Company Review & Brief History
The Honda Motor Company is a Japanese company that was founded by its namesake Soichiro Honda in 1948. The main focus of the newly formed company was producing motor bikes that consisted of bicycles that had motors mounted on them. Japan wasn’t exactly enjoying a crest of prosperity at the time and disposable income along with fuel was not abundant after World War II. Honda’s niche was building motorbikes because the public needed cheap and fuel efficient transportation and a bicycle with a motor was about as cheap as you can get without being pedal powered.
It didn’t take long for Honda to step it up and soon their motorbikes become well engineered vehicles. Honda introduced the D-Type in 1949 that was equipped with front and rear suspension on a steel frame. The D-Type could hit a speed of 50 miles per hour. Then in the 1950s Honda built the Juno scooter which became very popular and later in the 50 they introduced the C100 Super Cub which was a great success and popular with women because it did not have a crossbar. In 1959 Honda set its sights on the U.S. market and set up the American Honda Company and started selling the C100 Super Cub in the states.
Honda started building automobiles for the Japanese market in the early 1960s and in 1970 they entered the U.S. car market with the N600 which was a small 2 door car that was fuel efficient, but not a big hit with the American car buyer. Then in 1973 Honda brought out the Civic, yes the Civic we know today. It was great timing because the United States was experiencing gas shortages, waiting lines at the pumps and rising fuel prices. The Civic was a smaller car than anything the U.S. manufacturers offered, but it was very fuel efficient. The Civic was a hit with the American car buyers and it was soon joined by the slightly bigger Honda Accord in 1976 which like the Civic is still being built today.
In 1982 Honda set up manufacturing facilities in the United States where the Accord was built. The Honda Civic and Accord was becoming more and more popular and in 1989 it was said to be America’s most popular car and they also launched the Acura line of more luxurious vehicles built by Honda.
Honda has earned the reputation of building quality automobiles and has a very large following of devoted customers. They continued to improve and expand their line of quality automobiles over the while growing a very loyal customer base.
The Honda automobile line-up still includes the Civic and Accord which continues to evolve and improve while making up the bulk of the American Honda Company’s sales. The Honda line now includes the Odyssey Minivan, Pilot SUV, CR-V compact SUV, Ridgeline pick up truck and the Fit which is smaller and more fuel efficient than the Civic. The newest introductions include the Insight Hybrid and the CR-Z Hybrid sports car. You can see how the Honda Motor Company’s focus has been on fuel efficiency right from the beginning starting with motorbikes.
Honda Auto Reviews
Regular Car Guy Opinion: When we talk about Honda the first thing that comes to mind is a quality automobile and the last thing is a luxurious vehicle. Whether you are talking about a new Honda automobile or one that is 15 years old it probably runs great. The older Honda cars are well know to be dependable and long lasting and one of the few cars that still commands a higher than the average resale price regardless of it’s age (Toyota too). Someone that is looking for good solid used car for cheap typically can’t go wrong when they buy an old Civic or Accord. My review of a Honda may be a bit slanted because I see so many used cars with over 100,000 miles that sell for thousands more than a comparable domestic car.
I am certainly not the only person that thinks or believe that most Honda cars can take beating and still run great. I am a fanatic about maintaining all automobiles, but the Honda can be used and abused and still come out on top.
I recently spent some time driving, reviewing and examining some of the new Honda vehicles and frankly I think they need to start paying attention to what the American car buyer wants in a vehicle. There is no question the engineering, safety and quality is important to the Honda automobile buyer, but if you are going to spend $26, 000 or more to get a nicer Honda vehicle I would expect to get some of the creature comforts that the other auto manufacturer’s include in their similar models.
Just my Opinion by Kenny a Regular Car Guy
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*Note-This is a new section so please be patient as we complete the list of car reviews by a “Regular Car Guy”
2010 Honda Model Reviews2010 Honda Accord 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour 2010 Honda CR-V 2010 Honda CR-Z 2010 Honda Civic 2010 Honda Element 2010 Honda Fit 2010 Honda Insight 2010 Honda Odyssey 2010 Honda Pilot 2010 Honda Ridgeline |
2011 Honda Model Reviews2011 Honda Accord 2011 Honda Accord Crosstour 2011 Honda CR-V 2011 Honda CR-Z 2011 Honda Civic 2011 Honda Element 2011 Honda Fit 2011 Honda Insight 2011 Honda Odyssey 2011 Honda Pilot 2011 Honda Ridgeline |
Past Honda Model Reviews
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 Honda N600 |
 1970s Honda Civic |
 2011 Honda CR-Z |
 2008 Honda Odyssey |
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