Honda is a Japanese automotive manufacturing division of the Honda Motor Company, which also owns the
Acura luxury brand and does a great deal of business with
motorcycle models.
Soichiro Honda founded Tōkai Seiki (the Eastern Sea Precision Machine Company) in 1937 to manufacture piston rings. After many initial failures, the company acquired a contract with
Toyota. After World War II, Honda began motorized bicycle production in 1946, which led to the first Honda A-Type model. With fantastic success in the market, Honda became the largest motorcycle manufacturer by 1964.
The first automobile from Honda was the T360 mini
pickup truck in 1963, later followed by the S500 (a predecessor to the
S2000) sports car. As the company expanded to overseas markets, Honda launched the Acura brand in 1986 and created the famous
NSX supercar in 1991. After a period of financial turmoil in the 1990s due to a sole focus on cars (almost being taken over by the growth of
Mitsubishi), Honda changed course and began creating
SUVs and
minivans, such as the
CR-V and
Odyssey, which still exist as profitable nameplates today.
Featured Vehicle: Accord
All Honda Vehicles:
Civic: A compact sedan, also sold in hatchback, coupe, sporty (Civic Si), and performance (Civic Type R) variants
Insight: A hybrid compact sedan, available as a hatchback in previous generations
Clarity: A lineup of experimental alternative fuel vehicles, including electric, hydrogen fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models
Accord: A midsize sedan, also previously sold as a hatchback, coupe, or wagon, and available as a hybrid model
HR-V: A subcompact SUV, also sold as the Vezel
CR-V: A compact SUV, also sold as a hybrid model
Passport: A midsize adventure off-road SUV that was originally a rebadged Isuzu Rodeo
Pilot: A three-row full-size SUV that replaced the original Passport
Odyssey: A minivan meant for city and carpool transport
Ridgeline: A unibody build midsize pickup truck
Recently Discontinued Vehicles
Crosstour: A midsize liftback that was replaced by the Passport
CR-Z: A hybrid compact sports car coupe that replaced and then was replaced by the Insight
Element: A boxy compact SUV with a configurable interior that was replaced by the HR-V
Fit: A subcompact hatchback also sold as the Jazz that was replaced by the City
Prelude: A compact sports car coupe that was replaced by the Integra
S2000: A convertible sports car/roadster
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