The Honda Motor Company was first and primarily known for their motor cycles. They are the largest manufacturer of motor cycles in the world, as well as the largest make of internal combustion engines. In 2001 Honda became the second largest Japanese automobile manufacturer, surpassing Nissan in 2001.
In 1986, Honda became the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to enter into the luxury vehicle market. Hondas luxury line was introduced as the Acura to the North American market. Honda doesn’t just make cars, trucks and motorcycles; they also produce marine engines, garden equipment, power generators and personal watercraft vehicle.
Honda has many vehicles that make up their global market like the Civic, Accord, Insight, S2000, Fit and the CR-V. They were one of the first Japanese car makers to start producing vehicles for all sorts of the different needs of their customers. One of their latest examples of this line of developing new innovative vehicles was the Ridgeline. It was Hondas fist attempt at a light duty pickup truck. The Ridgeline along with the Acura TL were both designed and manufactured in North America. They are also sold exclusively in the North American market place.
Perhaps the most famous of the cars that Honda has produced is the Civic line. These were some of the original compact cars released into the market. The Civic is the second longest continuously running brand from a Japanese manufacturer. Along with the Civic, the Accord and the Prelude were the main vehicles that comprised Hondas line up in the North American market. Each have gone through numerous changes, always being updated and improved with some of the newest technologies of any of the Japanese car manufacturers.
In September of 2008, Honda increased its global production to meet the ever increasing demand for compact cars. As the price of oil and gas keeps rising, so does the demand for more fuel efficient cars and trucks rise as well. Honda, being the number 2 Japanese car maker, they have always relied heavily on their design and engineering teams to come up with the newest technologies and see them right through to production. This is evident with Hondas ever increasing global market share, and the development and release of their brand new truck vehicle lineup. In 2006, the Honda Ridgeline won the Truck of the Year given out by Motor Trend magazine. In that same year, the redesigned Civic won the Car of the Year from the same magazine.
One of Hondas newer projects is the Insight. Its very affordable hybrid vehicle that they have designed and produced to compete with the Toyota Prius. Only time will tell how successful this new venture will be, but Honda is constantly reengineering all the designs and models to give the consumer the best possible product for their money.
There’s a good reason why Honda has become one of the biggest, most successful Japanese car companies, and one of the most trusted around the world. They truly desire to give the end user the best car, truck, SUV, Minivan, motorcycle, or even lawnmowers the best they can be. Not only do they have a strong desire to provide consumers with the highest quality products, but they also have the engineering capabilities to make it happen. When you’re going to choose your next vehicle, be sure to have a look at the entire lineup that Honda has to offer. They also have one of the highest resale values of any cars being manufactured to day. So although you will pay a little more for a used Honda, you’ll still be getting one of the best built vehicles in the world.