Honda

t was in 1959 when a little known Japanese manufacturer first began to sell small motorcycles (motorized bikes) in the US. That humble but auspicious beginning, which preceded the sale of its first cars here in 1970, began to turn the tide in the way that Americans viewed the auto industry. As time went by, Honda expanded and modified its vehicle offering and now provides a full fleet of passenger vehicles under both the Honda and Acura brands.

Thanks to a pair of debilitating gas crises in the US in the 1970s, Honda was able to ride the American driver’s desire for economical and fuel efficient transportation by watching sales of its subcompact double and eventually quadruple within a few years time. In addition, the brand’s flagship Accord soon became the defining mid-size car for America, battling the Toyota Camry for supremacy while Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge continued to stumble and lose favor with the American consumer.

The First Japanese Auto Plant In America

By 1982, Honda became the first Japanese automaker to open a plant in the US in Marysville, OH, just a few years after Volkswagen opened its Pennsylvania facility. While the VW facility is long gone, Marysville soldiers on and is now one of sixteen Honda owned plants in the US. Those plants build Honda and Acura automobiles as well as motorcycles, all terrain bikes, personal watercraft, lawnmowers and other power equipment. To date, Honda has built nearly $11 billion in manufacturing facilities and currently employs 35,000 workers.

Honda managed to grow despite usually trailing in two important categories – style and performance. American built cars have long been considered to be flashier and faster, but Honda quality and price usually trumped the best of what America built. That advantage Honda soon exploited as consumers tired of buying cars whose quality levels were average at best and whose performance in the area of pricing was considered to be inferior.

Design Improves While Quality Remains High

Today, not many analysts will give Honda credit for design, although the most recent editions of the Accord and Civic have added some pizazz to the brand. The Odyssey is one of the best built minivans in America, while Acura has the best resale value of any luxury car line. Clearly, there is a good reason why Honda is now one of the best selling manufacturers in America, a tribute to the automaker’s relentless drive to innovate while maintaining industry leading quality.

What will the next fifty years hold for Honda in America? Likely, continued growth and improvement, perhaps becoming the first company to mass produce a hydrogen powered car. As far as that innovation goes, the FCX Clarity is its prototype hydrogen car one currently being tested in Japan and Southern California for eventual production.

Matthew C. Keegan is a freelance writer who resides in North Carolina. Matt is a contributing writer for Andy’s Auto Sport an aftermarket supplier of quality parts including Nissan 350z body kits and Mitsubishi Eclipse body kits.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/50-years-later-honda-ranks-up-there-974790.html

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