| Honda
Honda Motor Company, Limited was founded in Japan on September 24, 1948. Honda is a Japanese multinational corporation, engine manufacturer and engineering corporation. Honda manufactures motorcycles, automobiles, trucks & equipment, and has become Japan's second largest auto maker. Honda is the largest engine-maker in the world, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines a year. After great success in the motorcycle market, Honda began designing road car prototypes in the early 1960s, intended for the Japanese market. The first Honda production vehicle was the tiny 1963 T360 pickup truck with a 360cc, 30hp engine, featuring 4 different body styles (including a traditional truck bed and a panel van). Two months later, Honda produced their first automobile, the S500, a 2 door roadster featuring a 492cc engine capable of 44 hp with a high 9,500 RPM redline, a 4 speed and chain drive. Honda introduced its first car to the American market in Hawaii in 1969 and mainland America in 1970, but the tiny cars did not do well until Honda introduced the larger Civic in 1972 and American automakers refused to address the oil crisis of 1973 and build more fule efficeint models. In 1976 Honda introduced the larger Accord which has been the best selling car in America, evolving into today's large mid-size model. Honda was the first Japanese manufacturer to build auto manufacturing plants in America in 1982 and has built quite a few more since then. In 1986, Honda became the first Japanese automaker to introduce a separate luxury line of vehicles, the Acura.
http://automobiles.honda.com/
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