Honda History:
Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda was a mechanic who, after working at Art Shokai, developed his own design for piston rings in 1938. He attempted to sell them to Toyota. He constructed a new facility to supply Toyota, but soon after, during World War II, the Honda piston manufacturing facilities were almost completely destroyed. Honda, utilizing his manufacturing facilities, attached an engine to a bicycle which created a cheap and efficient method of transport. He gave his company the name Honda Giken Kogyo. Kabushiki Kaisha, which translates to Honda Research Institute Company Ltd. Despite its grandiose name, the first facility bearing that name was a simple wooden shack where Mr. Honda and his associates would fit the engines to bicycles. The official Japanese name for Honda Motor Company Ltd. remains the same in honor of Soichiro Hondasefforts. On 24 September, 1948 the Honda Motor Co. was officially founded in Japan. Honda began to produce a range of scooters and motorcycles and Soichiro Honda quickly recovered from the losses incurred during the war. Hondasfirst motorcycle to be put on sale was the 1947 A-Type. However, Hondasfirst full-fledged motorcycle on the market was the 1949 Dream D-Type. It was equipped with a 98cc engine producing around 3 horsepower. This was followed by other highly popular scooters throughout the 1950s.In 1958, the American Honda Company was founded and one year later, Honda introduced its first model in the United States, the 1959 Honda C100 Super Cub. The Honda Cub holds the title of being the best-selling vehicle in history, with around 50 million units sold around the world. By the 1970s, Honda became the largest producer of motorcycles in the world, and remains so as of 2007.

Honda Overview:
Honda Technology Research Institute Company, Limited) listen (helpinfo) (TYO: 7267 , NYSE: HMC), or simply called Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, engine manufacturer and engineering corporation. The company manufactures automobiles and motorcycles, and has passed Nissan to become the second largest seller of autos in Japan. Honda also produces a long list of other products: trucks, scooters, robots, jets and jet engines, ATV, water craft, electrical generators, marine engines, lawn and garden equipment, and aeronautical and other mobile technologies. Hondasline of luxury cars are branded Acura in North America and China. More recently they have ventured into mountain bikes.

Other Honda Details:
Honda is headquartered in Tokyo. Their shares trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, as well as exchanges in Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kyoto, Fukuoka, London, Paris and Switzerland. American Honda Motor Co. is based in Torrance, California. Honda Canada Inc. is headquartered in the Scarborough, Ontario district of Toronto, Ontario, and is building new corporate headquarters in Richmond Hill, Ontario, scheduled to relocate in 2008. Honda of Canada Manufacturing is based in Alliston, Ontario. Honda has also created joint ventures around the world, such as Honda Siel Cars India Ltd , Hero Honda Motorcycles India Ltd, Dongfeng Honda Automobile Company in China and Honda Atlas Cars Pakistan.