Being an automotive journalist is pretty cool. I get to travel the world, drive all the new cars, and eat as much free shrimp as I can stuff into my face hole. The bonus is that I often learn a bit of history as well.
On a recent Honda-sponsored press trip to Japan, the PR folks let me loose in the Honda Collection Hall at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Tochigi, outside of Tokyo. I knew Honda had been around for a long time, but I didn’t quite realize just where the company started, and where the heck it wants to go.
It turns out Honda’s first engine was motivated by love. Inspired by leftover engines originally used to power wireless radios during World War II, founder Soichiro Honda built an engine for his wife’s bicycle so she could ride into town quicker and easier. The Honda Motor Co., Ltd. was incorporated in 1948 and quickly found its niche in the two-wheeled world.
Honda developed motorcycles and scooters for the next 15 years, emphasizing the “friendly” aspect of two-wheeled transportation to beat back customer concerns of motorcycles being for a more wild crowd. The Super Cub and Monkey Bike came from this era, as well as plenty of racing motorcycles.
In 1963, Honda moved up in the world, producing its first four-wheeled vehicles: the T360 mini truck and the gorgeous S500 sports car. The 1970s saw the introduction of the fuel-sipping CVCC while the ’80s were privy to the sporty CRX and Civic hatchback. Honda really came into the sports car world with the stunning NSX in the 1990s while the Civic Type R reared its head a few years later.
There must have been some big discussions in the boardroom at Honda in the late 1990s and early 2000s as this is when things took a bit of a turn. The robot Asimo took his first steps in 2000 and the Honda Jet went on its maiden voyage in 2003. Yes, a car company developed a bipedal humanoid robot and then dropped a whole bunch of coin developing a plane.
If I could have taken a photo of everything I saw in the Collection Hall I would have, but I think these photos capture the essence of Honda’s timeline from bicycle engines to fancy-pants jets. Enjoy!
Friendly Honda Motorcycles
Honda wanted to rebrand the motorcycle, offering it not as transportation for the rebellious, but rather for the everyday nice person. I love every single one of these little motos.
Sport And Utility: The S500 And T360
Sorry not sorry, but this 1963 Honda S500 is the best-looking car in the whole collection hall. The car featured a rear-wheel chain drive usually found on motorcycles and the four-cylinder, four-carburetor engine only produced 44 horsepower. Don’t care. It’s gorgeous and I want one.
1963 marked Honda’s first mass-produced four-wheel vehicle with this T360. While the company called it a “sports truck,” it only produced 30 horsepower.
Air-Cooled Innovation
This 1969 Honda 1300 features Duo Dyna Air Cooling, utilizing tech from the era’s air-cooled F1 engines. Here the cooling was achieved by both forced air and natural air flow. This 1.3-liter inline four-cylinder engine produced a mere 100 horsepower, but the 1300 was a lightweight at about 1,900 pounds. [Editor’s Note: I think 100 hp from 1.3 liters back in 1969 is pretty fantastic! – JT]
The Original Off-Road Weirdo
Looking like it took a cue from the Volkswagen Thing is this air-cooled light truck, the Vamos. This is the original off-road weirdo truck. It’s fun and practical! With under 30 horsepower, it wasn’t quick, but it only weighed 1,200 pounds.
Breakthrough Engine Tech: CVCC
The 1.5-liter inline four-cylinder engine in this little Civic CVCC passed American emission standards without using a catalytic converter thanks to Honda’s Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion technology (That’s where CVCC comes from). The engine was good for 62 horsepower and achieved 40-50mpg, important for buyers in the fuel-starved 70s.
Hot Hatches Hatching
This one takes me back to high school. My bestgood pal drove one that we named Chuck. What the hell were we thinking? The hatch will forever live in my mind as the only Civic hatch worth anything.
Ah, the CR-X. My cousin had one of these and we got into So Much Trouble driving way too fast on curvy roads. While the CR-X only produced 108 horsepower, it weighed under 1,800 pounds and was a ton of fun!
A City Slicker With A Secret
As the name implies, the Honda City was designed for drivers commuting to city jobs. Or at least close to their city jobs, as they may need to park quite a distance from the office. And so, the City could deploy a folding scooter to transport busy execs from the parking garage to the boardroom under 2-stroke power astride the adorable Motocompo. Today, we have the all-electric Motocompacto city scooter, but it all started with the Motocompo.
NSXcellence
The NSX was the first mass-produced car made with an aluminum monocoque body and was developed with feedback from Aryton Senna and other skilled racing drivers. The 3.0-liter V6 mid-engine in this 1990 model produced 276 horsepower and weighed just under 3,000 pounds. It’s always a treat to see one of these in real life.
Behold The Aerodeck
Wouldn’t it be cool to get an Accord shooting brake? Well, the 3rd generation Accord was available as this slick hatchback with four doors. Bring it back, Honda! This is a 1995 Accord Aerodeck packs 128 horsepower and weighs about 2,400 pounds.
Comfortable Runabout Vehicle
“Don’t you mean ‘Compact Recreational Vehicle’?” Nope, it’s Comfortable Runabout says Honda (according to Wikipedia at least). If only Honda would offer the current CR-V in the purple color this 1995 model is wearing. This was Honda’s first rugged crossover – check out that rear-mounted spare! Power output was 128 ponies with a curb weight of just over 3,000 pounds.
Just My Type (R)
In 1997 the Civic Type R wasn’t quite so “Honda Boi” in its design. Sure, there was still a bit of a wing and a sporty red interior, but overall the look is more palatable. The 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder engine pushed out 134 horsepower and had a curb weight of about 2,400 pounds.
Going Electric
In 1999 the Insight hybrid returned the best fuel economy in the world. A few years later the FCX fuel cell came along, which could store enough electrons created with hydrogen for a range of 220 miles.
H, Robot
Asimo! What a cute little robot! His(?) descendants may come to kill us all one day, but still: awww. Honda started developing Asimo in 2000 but abandoned him in 2018 to focus on applying his tech to practical products. He might look friendly but I’m still petrified.
The Flying Honda
Yes, Honda makes a plane! It’s called the HondaJet (makes sense), seats six or seven folks, and features two GE Honda HF120 engines mounted on top of the wings, not below as is usual. The HondaJet has a cruising range of nearly 1,600 nautical miles.
[Mercedes’ Note: I’ve written a pretty detailed history about the HondaJet. Like Honda’s cars and motorcycles, the HondaJet is dripping with innovation, click here to read more! – MS]
Great article! Honda is awesome
The first gen Civic might be the most beautiful car in the world. It sings to my heart the song of the restomod
My 3rd car was a mint green 1980 Accord Hatch. The only thing I didn’t like about that car was the auto trans. Great vehicle.
I loved the Honda museum in Motegi when I visited in 1998. It has since added robots! At the time, Japanese university students were using the racetrack next door to test various internal combustion bicycles and small car-ish things to see who could go the furthest on a liter of gasoline. All of them were slow single cylinder “pop! pop!” things, but it was fascinating.
Re the 1997 Civic Type R: “The 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder engine pushed out 134 horsepower…”
It was 183bhp at 8,200rpm. Way more impressive.
Was gonna say, the d16y8 made close to that, in jdm trim, but the b16 hoofed alot more ponies
Honda still has a minivan in their lineup in the year of my lord 2025. This is the only metric that matters to me in ascerting if a manufacturer is any good 🙂
Mini Van = Substantial car Mfr. Interesting perspective. Wish you provided more thoughts.
Haha, thanks! I wish we could have reader spaces so I can write my tales of glory and woe with a VW transporter T1.5.
Long story short, minivans/MPVs are objectively more car by floor plan, and fitting seven persons between the four wheels with external measurements smaller than most SUVs should be cause for celebration, instead of ridicule.
Minivans are work horses that offer to carry our world in return for just a little love and respect. They do better and without fanfarre the U and V parts of SUV, and some even do the S part as well.
If SUVs and CUVs are purebreed show dogs, minivans are the lovable mongrel mutt rolling on the ground with our kids and taking in stride whatever abuse they can dish out.
Anyway, while of course I was joking in my comment, I’m happy that hk da still pump those out, and hopefully when the stain of “soccer parent” image move to S(C)UVs, they will serve as example for other manufacturers to bring back true utility vehicles.
Soichiro Honda is one of the historical figures I’d most like to be able to go back in time and talk to, except I’d have nothing intelligent to say, and he’d have no interest in meeting me.
My grandfather did meet him once in the early ’80s, briefly, he was doing business with Soichiro’s son’s company, and he briefly stopped in during a meeting for a quick handshake and pleasantries, probably just as a favor. Never heard anything about what his reaction was.
Not sure if its related, but grandpa was a Pacific theater veteran who once banned Japanese vehicles from parking in the main parking lot at the company office, but ultimately traded a diesel Oldsmobile 98 in on the first Acura Legend the local dealer got in stock.
from garbage to gold with that trade in
I miss when Honda goes deep into something.
S2000
NSX (original)
RC51
NR750
Would love to see that place in person. Honda had the sense to abandon humanoid robots as a dead end, just saying.
Oh, I imagine there is quite a market for more human than human humanoid robots.
> “Don’t you mean ‘Compact Recreational Vehicle’?” Nope, it’s Comfortable Runabout says Honda (according to Wikipedia at least).
Is on par with learning that DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disc.
Edit: those cooling fins on the 1300 are a thing of beauty *chef’s kiss*
Accessing the bolts for each individual tube on the header, on the other hand…
Vamos, mon amour.
Hey Emme Hall, glad to see you here now! I first saw you on Roadfly 😀
What’s the laundry basket rating on that Civic Type-R? 😛
I don’t see four doors on the AeroDeck. Did they make more than one version?
Amazing, but no link to the hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck-raising majesty that’s Honda’s Impossible Dream ad?? One of my all-time favorites.