( ) is a Japanese multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.
Honda was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a
dedicated luxury brand,
Acura in 1986. Aside
from their core automobile and motorcycle businesses, Honda also
manufactures garden equipment, marine engines, personal watercraft
and power generators, amongst others. Since 1986, Honda has been
involved with artificial intelligence/robotics research and
released their
ASIMO robot in 2000. They have
also ventured into aerospace with the establishment of
GE Honda Aero Engines in 2004 and the
Honda HA-420 HondaJet,
scheduled to be released in 2011. Honda spends about 5% of its
revenues into R&D.
Honda is the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles as well as
the world's largest manufacturer of
internal combustion engines
measured by volume, producing more than 14 million internal
combustion engines each year. Honda surpassed
Nissan in 2001 to become the second-largest
Japanese automobile manufacturer. , Honda surpassed
Chrysler as the fourth largest automobile
manufacturer in the United States. Honda is the sixth largest
automobile manufacturer in the world.
History
From a young age (7),
Soichiro Honda
(本田 宗一郎,
Honda Sōichirō) had a great interest in
automobiles. He worked as a mechanic at a Japanese tuning shop, Art
Shokai, where he tuned cars and entered them in races. A
self-taught engineer, he later worked on a piston design which he
hoped to sell to
Toyota. The first drafts of
his design were rejected, and Soichiro worked painstakingly to
perfect the design, even going back to school and pawning his
wife's jewelry for collateral. Eventually, he won a contract with
Toyota and built a factory to construct pistons for them, which was
destroyed in an earthquake. Due to a gas shortage during
World War II, Honda was unable to use his car,
and his novel idea of attaching a small engine to his bicycle
attracted much curiosity. He then established the Honda Technical
Research Institute in
Hamamatsu, Japan, to
develop and produce small 2-cycle motorbike engines. Calling upon
18,000 bicycle shop owners across Japan to take part in
revitalizing a nation torn apart by war, Soichiro received enough
capital to engineer his first motorcycle, the Honda Cub. This
marked the beginning of Honda Motor Company, who would grow a short
time later to be the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles by
1964.
The first production automobile from Honda was the
T360 mini pick-up truck. Powered by a small 356
cc straight-4 gasoline engine, it was classified under the cheaper
Kei car tax bracket.
The first production car from Honda was the
S500 sports car. Its chain driven rear wheels
point to Honda's motorcycle origins.
With high fuel prices and a weak US economy in June 2008, Honda
reported a 1% sales increase while its rivals, including the
Detroit Big Three
and
Toyota, have reported double-digit
losses. Honda's sales were up almost 20 percent from the same month
last year. The
Civic and the
Accord were in the top five list of sales.
Analysts have attributed this to two main factors. First, Honda's
product lineup consists of mostly small to mid-size, highly
fuel-efficient vehicles. Secondly, over the last ten years, Honda
has designed its factories to be flexible, in that they can be
easily retooled to produce any Honda model that may be in-demand at
the moment.
Nonetheless, Honda,
Nissan, and
Toyota, three of the strongest vehicle companies in
the world, were still not immune to the
global financial crisis of
2008, as these companies reduced their profitability forecasts.
The economic crisis has been spreading to other important players
in the vehicle related industries as well. In November 2009 the
Nihon Keizai Shinbun reported
that Honda Motor exports have fallen 64.1%.
[1727]
Corporate Profile and Divisions
Honda is headquartered in
Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
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 district of Toronto
, Ontario
, and is
building new corporate headquarters in Markham, Ontario
, scheduled to relocate in 2008; their manufacturing
division, Honda of Canada
Manufacturing, is based in Alliston, Ontario
. Honda has also created joint ventures
around the world, such as
Honda
Siel Cars and
Hero Honda Motorcycles
in India,
Guangzhou
Honda and
Dongfeng Honda in
China, and
Honda Atlas in
Pakistan.
At the 2008 Beijing Auto Show, Honda presented the Li Nian
("concept" or "idea") 5-door hatchback and announced that they were
looking to developed an entry-level brand exclusively for the
Chinese market similar to Toyota's
Scion brand in the USA. The brand would
be developed by a 50-50 joint-venture established in 2007 with
Guangzhou Automobile
Industry Group.
Leadership
- 1948–1973 — Soichiro Honda
- 1973–1983 — Kiyoshi Kawashima
- 1983–1990 — Tadashi Kume
- 1990–1998 — Nobuhiko Kawamoto
- 1998–2004 — Hiroyuki Yoshino
- 2004–2009 — Takeo Fukui
- since 2009 — Takanobu Ito
Products
Motorcycles
During the 1960s, when it was a small manufacturer, Honda broke out
of the Japanese motorcycle
market and began
exporting to the US. Taking Honda’s story as an archetype of the
smaller manufacturer entering a new market already occupied by
highly dominant competitors, the story of their market entry, and
their subsequent huge success in the US and around the world, has
been the subject of some academic controversy. Competing
explanations have been advanced to explain Honda’s strategy and the
reasons for their success.
The first of these explanations was put forward when, in 1975,
Boston Consulting Group
(BCG) was commissioned by the UK government to write a report
explaining why and how the British motorcycle industry had been
out-competed by its Japanese competitors. The report concluded that
the Japanese firms, including Honda, had sought a very high scale
of production (they had made a large number of motorbikes) in order
to benefit from
economies of
scale and
learning curve effects.
It blamed the decline of the British motorcycle industry on the
failure of British managers to invest enough in their businesses to
profit from economies of scale and
scope.
The second explanation was offered in 1984 by
Richard Pascale, who had interviewed the
Honda executives responsible for the firm’s entry into the US
market. As opposed to the tightly focused strategy of low cost and
high scale that BCG accredited to Honda, Pascale found that their
entry into the US market was a story of “miscalculation,
serendipity, and organizational learning” – in other words, Honda’s
success was due to the adaptability and hard work of its staff,
rather than any long term strategy. For example, Honda’s initial
plan on entering the US was to compete in large motorcycles, around
300 cc.
It was only when the team found that the
scooters they were using to get themselves around their US base of
San
Francisco
attracted
positive interest from consumers that they came up with the idea of
selling the Super Cub.
The most recent school of thought on Honda’s strategy was put
forward by
Gary Hamel and
C. K. Prahalad in 1989. Creating the concept of
core competencies with Honda as an
example, they argued that Honda’s success was due to its focus on
leadership in the technology of internal combustion engines. For
example, the high power-to-weight ratio engines Honda produced for
its racing bikes provided technology and expertise which was
transferable into mopeds.
Honda's entry into the US motorcycle market during the 1960s is
used as a
case study for teaching
introductory strategy at
business
schools worldwide.
It created the first luxury Japanese car (1985
Legend) and motorcycle (2006
Gold Wing bikes) equipped with an airbag, as
well as the first mid-size pickup truck with
independent rear suspension
(2006
Ridgeline).
Automobiles
Honda's global lineup consists of the
Fit,
Civic,
Accord,
Insight,
CR-V and
S2000. An early proponent of developing vehicles
to cater to different needs and markets worldwide, Honda's lineup
varies by country and may feature vehicles exclusive to that
region. A few examples are the latest
Acura
TL luxury sedan and the
Ridgeline, Honda's first light-duty pickup
truck. Both were engineered primarily in North America and are
exclusively produced and sold there.
The
Honda Civic is a line of
compact cars developed and manufactured by
Honda. In North America, the
Civic is
the second-longest continuously-running nameplate from a Japanese
manufacturer; only the
Toyota
Corolla, introduced in 1968, has been in production longer. The
Civic, along with the
Accord and
Prelude, comprised Honda's vehicles
sold in North America until the 1990s, when the model lineup was
expanded. Having gone through several generational changes, the
Civic has become larger and more
upmarket,
and it currently slots between the
Fit and
Accord.
Honda Automobiles is one of the
Big Asian
Four (with
Toyota,
Nissan and
Hyundai).
The 2006
Ridgeline was a reintroduction of
the concept of a Uni-Body truck. Earlierexamples of this concept
are the
Subaru Brat and
Baja,
Volkswagen
Rabbit pick-up, and
Dodge
Rampage/
Plymouth Scamp.
Honda increased global production in September 2008 to meet demand
for
small cars in the U.S. and emerging
markets. The company is shuffling U.S. production to keep factories
busy and boost car output, while building fewer
minivans and
sport
utility vehicles as
light truck
sales fall.
Honda produces the
Insight, an
affordable
hybrid electric
vehicle that competes with
Toyota
Prius
Its first entrance into the pickup segment, the lightduty
Ridgeline, won Truck of the Year from
Motor Trend magazine in 2006
(also in 2006, the redesigned Civic won
Car of the Year from the
magazine, giving Honda a rare double win of Motor Trend
honors).
Mountain bikes
Honda has also built a
Downhill racing bike, known as the
Honda RN-01. Honda has taken on several people to pilot the bike,
among them is
Greg Minnaar. The team is
known as Team G Cross Honda. The key feature of this bike is the
gearbox, which replaces the standard
Derailleur found on most bikes.
Engines
Honda is the largest engine maker in the world. Honda has a number
of firsts in many categories, including the first engine to meet
the 1970 US Clean Air Act (1975
CVCC).
Honda, despite being known as an engine company, has never built a
V8 for passenger vehicles. In the late 1990s, the
company resisted considerably pressure from its American dealers
for a V8 engine (which would have saw use in top-of-the-line Honda
SUVs and
Acuras), with American Honda
reportedly sending one dealer a shipment of
V8 beverage to silence them.
Robots
ASIMO is the part of Honda's
Research & Development robotics program. It is the
eleventh in a line of successive builds starting in 1986 with
Honda E0 moving through the ensuing
Honda E series and the
Honda P series. Weighing 54
kilograms and standing 130 centimeters tall, ASIMO
resembles a small
astronaut wearing a
backpack, and can walk on
two feet in a manner
resembling human
locomotion, at up to .
ASIMO is the world's only humanoid robot able to ascend and descend
stairs independently. However, human motions such as climbing
stairs are difficult to mimic with a machine, which ASIMO has
demonstrated by taking two plunges off a staircase.
Honda's robot
ASIMO (see below) as an R&D
project brings together expertise to create a robot that walks,
dances and navigates steps.
Aeroplanes
Honda has also pioneered new technology in its
HA-420 HondaJet that allows new levels
of reduced drag, increased aerodynamics and fuel efficiency thus
reducing operating costs.
Motorsports
Honda has been active in motorsports,like Motorcycle Grand Prix,
Superbike racing and others.
Automobile
Honda entered
Formula One as a
constructor for the first time in the
1964 season at the
German Grand Prix with
Ronnie Bucknum at the wheel.
1965 saw the addition of
Richie Ginther to the team, who scored
Honda's first point at the
Belgian Grand Prix, and Honda's
first win at the
Mexican Grand
Prix.
1967 saw their
next win at the
Italian Grand
Prix with
John Surtees as their
driver. In
1968,
Jo Schlesser was killed in a Honda RA302 at the
French Grand Prix. This
racing tragedy, coupled with their commercial difficulties selling
automobiles in the United States, prompted Honda to withdraw from
all international motorsport that year.
After a learning year in 1965, Honda-powered
Brabhams dominated the 1966 French
Formula Two championship in the hands of
Jack Brabham and
Denny Hulme. As there was no European
Championship that season, this was the top F2 championship that
year. In the early 1980s Honda returned to F2, supplying engines to
Ron Tauranac's
Ralt
team. Tauranac had designed the Brabham cars for their earlier
involvement. They were again extremely successful. In a related
exercise, John Judd's
Engine
Developments company produced a turbo "Brabham-Honda" engine
for use in
IndyCar racing. It won
only one race, in 1988 for
Bobby Rahal
at Pocono.
Honda returned to Formula One in 1983, initially with another
Formula Two partner, the
Spirit
team, before switching abruptly to Williams in 1984. In the late
1980s and early 1990s, Honda powered cars won six consecutive
Formula One Constructors Championships.
WilliamsF1 won the crown in
1986 and
1987. Honda switched allegiance
again in 1988.
New partners Team McLaren
won the
title in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991. Honda withdrew from
Formula One at the end of 1992, although the related
Mugen-Honda company maintained a presence up to
the end of 1999, winning four races with
Ligier and
Jordan
Grand Prix.
Honda debuted in the
CART IndyCar World
Series as a works supplier in 1994. The engines were far from
competitive at first, but after development, the company powered
six consecutive drivers championships. In 2003, Honda transferred
its effort to the rival
IRL
IndyCar Series.
In 2004, Honda-powered
cars overwhelmingly dominated the IndyCar Series, winning 14 of 16
IndyCar races, including the Indianapolis 500
, and claimed the IndyCar Series Manufacturers'
Championship, Drivers' Championship and Rookie of the Year
titles. In 2006, Honda became the sole engine supplier for
the IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500. In the
2006 Indianapolis 500, for the first
time in Indianapolis 500 history, the race was run without a single
engine problem.
During 1998, Honda considered returning to Formula One with their
own team. The project was aborted after the death of its technical
director,
Harvey Postlethwaite.
Honda instead came back as an official engine supplier to
British American Racing (BAR) and
Jordan Grand Prix. Honda bought a stake in the BAR team in 2004
before buying the team outright at the end of 2005, becoming a
constructor for the first time since the 1960s. Honda won the
2006 Hungarian Grand Prix
with driver
Jenson Button.
It was announced on 5 December 2008, that Honda would be exiting
Formula One with immediate effect due to the 2008 global economic
crisis.
The team was sold to former team principal
Ross Brawn and renamed Brawn GP
.
Motorcycles
Honda Racing Corporation
(HRC) was formed in 1982 by Richard Hynda. The company combines
participation in motorcycle races throughout the world with the
development of high potential racing machines. Its racing
activities are an important source for the creation of leading edge
technologies used in the development of Honda motorcycles. HRC also
contributes to the advancement of motorcycle sports through a range
of activities that include sales of production racing motorcycles,
support for satellite teams, and rider education programs.
Soichiro Honda, being a race driver himself, could not stay out of
international
motorsport. In 1959, Honda
entered five motorcycles into the
Isle of
Man TT race, the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world.
While always having powerful engines, it took until 1961 for Honda
to tune their chassis well enough to allow
Mike Hailwood to claim their first
Grand Prix victories in the 125
and 250
cc classes. Hailwood
would later pick up their first senior TT wins in 1966 and
1967. Honda's race bikes
were known for their "sleek & stylish design" and exotic engine
configurations, such as the 5-cylinder, 22,000 rpm,
125 cc bike and their 6-cylinder 250 cc and 380 cc
bikes.
In 1979, Honda returned to
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
with their exotic,
monocoque-framed,
four-stroke NR500.
The NR500 featured elongated cylinders each with 8 valves and with
connecting rods in pairs, in an attempt to comply with the
FIM
rules which limited engines to four cylinders. Honda engineered the
elongated cylinders in an effort to provide the valveinant
two-stroke racers. Unfortunately, it seemed Honda
tried to accomplish too much at one time and the experiment failed.
For the 1982 season, Honda debuted their first two stroke race
bike, the NS500 and in
1983, Honda won
their first 500 cc
Grand Prix World Championship
with
Freddie Spencer. Since then,
Honda has become a dominant marque in motorcycle Grand Prix racing,
winning a plethora of top level titles with riders such as
Valentino Rossi and
Mick Doohan.
In
motocross, Honda has claimed six
motocross world championships. In the
World Enduro Championship, Honda
has captured six titles, most recently with
Stefan Merriman in 2003 and with
Mika Ahola in 2007 and 2008.
In
observed trials, Honda has
claimed three world championships with Belgian rider
Eddy Lejeune.
Electric and alternative fuel vehicles
Compressed natural gas
The
Honda Civic GX is the only
natural gas vehicle (NGV)
commercially available in some parts of the US. The Honda Civic GX
first appeared in 1998 as a factory-modified Civic LX that had been
designed to run exclusively on
compressed natural gas. The car looks
and drives just like a contemporary
Honda
Civic LX, but does not run on gasoline. In 2001, the Civic GX
was rated the cleanest-burning internal combustion engine in the
world by the
U.S.
Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
First leased to the City of Los Angeles, in 2005, Honda started
offering the GX directly to the public through factory trained
dealers certified to service the GX. Before that, only
fleets were eligible to purchase a new Civic
GX. In 2006, the Civic GX was released in New York, making it the
second state where the consumer is able to buy the car. Home
refueling is available for the GX with the addition of the
Phill Home Refueling
Appliance.
Flexible-fuel
Honda's Brazilian subsidiary launched
flexible-fuel versions for the
Honda Civic and
Honda Fit in late 2006. As others Brazilian
flex-fuel vehicles, these models run on any blend of
hydrous ethanol (
E100) and
E20-E25 gasoline.
Initially, and in order to test the market preferences, the
carmaker decided to produce a limited share of the vehicles with
flex-fuel engines, 33 percent of the Civic production and 28
percent of the Fit models. Also, the sale price for the flex-fuel
version was higher than the respective gasoline versions, around
US$ 1,000 premium for the Civic, and US$ 650 for the Fit, despite
the fact that all other flex-fuel vehicles sold in Brazil had the
same tag price as their gasoline versions. In July 2009, Honda
launched in the Brazilian market its third flexible-fuel car, the
Honda City.
During the last two months of 2006, both flex-fuel models sold
2,427 cars against 8,546 gasoline-powered automobiles, jumping to
41,990 flex-fuel cars in 2007, and reaching 93,361 in 2008. Due to
the success of the flex versions, by early 2009 a hundred percent
of Honda's automobile production for the Brazilian market is now
flexible-fuel, and only a small percentage of gasoline version is
produced in Brazil for exports.
In March 2009, Honda launched in the Brazilian market the first
flex-fuel
motorcycle in the world.
Produced by its Brazilian subsidiary Moto Honda da Amazônia, the
CG 150 Titan Mix is sold for around
US$2,700.
Hybrid electric
In late 1999, Honda launched the first commercial
hybrid electric car sold in the US
market , the
Honda Insight, just one
month before the introduction of the
Toyota
Prius, and initially sold for
US$20,000. The
first-generation Insight was produced from 2000 to 2006 and had a
fuel economy of for the
EPA's highway rating, the most fuel-efficient mass-produced car at
the time. Total global sales for the Insight amounted to only
around 18,000 vehicles.
Honda introduced the second-generation Insight in its home nation
of Japan in February 2009, with release in other markets to
expected through 2009 the U.S. market will receive the new Insight
in April 2009. At $19,800 as a five-door hatchback it will be the
least expensive hybrid available in the US. Honda expects to sell
200,000 of the vehicles each year, with half of those sales in the
United States.
Honda has also been selling since 2002 the
Honda Civic Hybrid (2003 model) in the US
market,. It was followed by the
Honda Accord Hybrid, offered in model
years 2005 through 2007. Honda is also planning to introduce a
hybrid version of its
Fit, as well as
another unique small hybrid vehicle based on the
CR-Z sports car concept that it introduced at the 2007
Tokyo Motor Show.
Hydrogen fuel cell
In
Takanezawa
, Japan, on 16 June 2008, Honda Motors produced the
first assembly-line FCX Clarity, a
hybrid hydrogen fuel
cell vehicle. More efficient than a
gas-electric hybrid vehicle, the FCX
Clarity combines
hydrogen and
oxygen from ordinary
air to
generate
electricity for an electric
motor.
The vehicle itself does not emit any
pollutants and its only by products are heat and
water. The FCX Clarity also has an advantage over gas-electric
hybrids in that it does not use an
internal combustion engine to
propel itself. Like a gas-electric hybrid, it uses a
lithium ion battery to assist the fuel
cell during acceleration and capture energy through
regenerative braking, thus improving
fuel efficiency. The lack of hydrogen filling stations throughout
developed countries will keep production volumes low. Honda will
release the vehicle in groups of 150.
California
is the only US market with infrastructure for
fueling such vehicle, though the number of stations is still
limited. Building more stations is expensive, as the
California Air Resources
Board (CARB) granted $6.8 million for four H2 fueling stations,
costing $1.7 million
USD each.
Marketing
Honda's official slogan is "The Power of Dreams". They have never
used this slogan to sell their products. Mr. Honda's belief is that
well built products will sell themselves.
In 2003, Honda released its
Cog advertisement in the UK and
on the
Internet. To make the ad, the
engineers at Honda constructed a
Rube Goldberg Machine made entirely
out of car parts from a Europe Domestic Market Honda Accord (upon
which the USDM Acura TSX is based). To the chagrin of the engineers
at Honda, all the parts were taken from two of only six
hand-assembled
pre-production
models of the Accord. The advertisement depicted a single cog which
sets off a chain of events that ends with the Honda Accord moving
and
Garrison Keillor speaking the
tagline, "Isn't it nice when things just... work?" It took 606
takes to get it perfect.
In 2004, they produced the
Hate Something advert, usually immediately
followed by a shortened version of the 2005/2006
Impossible Dream advert.
In 2006, Honda released its Choir advertisement, for the UK and the
internet. This featured a 60-person choir who sang the car noises
as film of the Honda Civic are shown.
In December 2005, Honda released
The Impossible Dream a
two-minute panoramic advertisement filmed in New Zealand, Japan and
Argentina which illustrates the founder's dream to build
performance vehicles. While singing
The Impossible Dream , a
man reaches for his racing helmet, leaves his trailer on a
minibike, then rides a succession of vintage Honda vehicles: a
motorcycle, then a car, then a powerboat, then goes over a
waterfall only to reappear piloting a
hot air balloon, with Garrison Keillor
saying "I couldn't have put it better myself" as the song ends. The
song is from the 1960s musical "
Man Of
La Mancha", sung by
Andy
Williams.
In Australia, Honda advertised heavily during most motor racing
telecasts, and were the official sponsor of the 2006 FIA Formula 1
telecast on broadcaster channel "Ten". In fact, they were the only
manufacturer involved in the 2006
Indy Racing League season. In a series of
adverts promoting the history of Honda's racing heritage, Honda
claimed they "built" cars that won 72 Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Sceptics have accused Honda of interpreting their racing history
rather liberally, saying that virtually all of the 72 victories
were achieved by Honda
powered (engined) machines, whereas
the cars themselves were designed and built by Lotus F1, Williams
F1, and McLaren F1 teams, respectively. However, former and current
staff of the McLaren F1 team have reiterated that Honda contributed
more than just engines and provided various chassis, tooling, and
aerodynamic parts as well as funding.
Ayrton Senna, arguably the greatest F1 driver
of all time, repeatedly stated that Honda probably played the most
significant role in his three world championships. He had immense
respect for founder, Soichiro Honda, and had a good relationship
with Nobuhiko Kawamoto, the chairman of Honda at that time. Senna
once called Honda "the greatest company in the world".
Nevertheless, the majority of victories attributed to Honda in the
advertisements were won by Formula 1 cars which were neither built
nor designed by Honda, and have little or no connection with
Honda's current F1 operations.
For the last several years in the United States, during model
close-out sales for the current year before the start of the new
model year, Honda's advertising has
featured an
animated character
known simply as Mr. Opportunity, voiced by
Rob Paulsen. The casual looking man talks about
various deals offered by Honda and ends with the phrase "I'm Mr.
Opportunity, and I'm knockin'", followed by him "knocking" on the
television screen or "thumping" the speaker at the end of radio
ads. Also, commercials for Honda's international hatchback, the
Jazz, are parodies of well-known pop culture images such as
Tetris and
Thomas The Tank Engine.
As part of their marketing campaign, Honda is an official partner
and sponsor of
Major League
Soccer.
In late 2006, Honda released an ad with
ASIMO
exploring a museum, looking at the exhibits with almost child-like
wonderment (spreading out its arms in the aerospace exhibit, waving
hello to an
astronaut suit that resembles
him, etc.), while Garrison Keillor ruminates on progress. It
concludes with the tagline: "More forwards please".
Honda also sponsored
ITV's coverage of
Formula One in the UK for 2007. However
they had announced that they would not continue in 2008 due to the
sponsorship price requested by ITV being too high.
In May 2007, focuses on their strengths in racing and the use of
the Red H badge — a symbol of what is termed as "Hondamentalism".
The campaign highlights the lengths that Honda engineers go to in
order to get the most out of an engine, whether it is for bikes,
cars, powerboats — even lawnmowers. Honda released its
Hondamentalism campaign. In the TV spot,
Garrison Keillor says, "An engineer once said to build something
great is like swimming in honey", while Honda engineers in white
suits walk and run towards a great light, battling strong winds and
flying debris, holding on to anything that will keep them from
being blown away. Finally one of the engineers walks towards a red
light, his hand outstretched. A web address is shown for the
Hondamentalism website. The digital campaign aims to show how
visitors to the site share many of the Hondamentalist
characteristics.
At the beginning of 2008, Honda released - the Problem Playground.
The advert outlines Honda's environmental responsibility,
demonstrating a hybrid engine, more efficient solar panels and the
FCX Clarity, a hydrogen powered car. The
90 second advert features large scale puzzles, involving
Rubik's cubes, large shapes and a 3-dimensional
puzzle.
On 29 May 2008, Honda - in partnership with
Channel 4 - broadcast a live
advertisement. It showed
skydivers jumping from an aeroplane over Spain and
forming the letters H, O, N, D and A in mid-air. This live
advertisement is generally agreed to be the first of its kind on
British
television. The advert lasted
three minutes. The next flight of one of the two planes involved
resulted in a
fatal
crash as the plane broke apart in mid-air.
Since 2008, Honda has become a major sponsor of the
CBS gameshow The Price Is Right.
On episodes in which a Honda car makes an appearance, both games
that are played for cars use Hondas as a prize, as well as the
Showcases.
Additionally, Honda's U.S. headquarters are
located in the home state of both host Drew
Carey and announcer Rich Fields
(Ohio
).
In 2009, American Honda released the "Dream the Impossible
Documentary Series," a collection of 5-8 minute web vignettes that
focus on the core philosophies of Honda. Current short films
include Failure: The Secret to Success, Kick Out the Ladder and
Mobility 2088. They feature Honda employees as well as
Danica Patrick,
Christopher Guest,
Ben
Bova, Chee Pearlman,
Joe Johnston
and
Orson Scott Card. The film
series plays at dreams.honda.com.
Facilities (partial list)
US Honda models
Sales
| Calendar Year |
Total US sales |
| 1999 |
1,076,893 |
| 2000 |
1,158,860 |
| 2001 |
1,207,639 |
| 2002 |
1,247,834 |
| 2003 |
1,349,847 |
| 2004 |
1,394,398 |
| 2005 |
1,462,472 |
| 2006 |
1,509,358 |
| 2007 |
1,551,542 |
| 2008 |
1,284,261 |
See also
Notes
- [1]
- It was originally planned to be located in Richmond
Hill, Ontario, but delays led them to look elsewhere.
- Share Manthan :
http://www.sharemanthan.in/index.php/indian-companies/49-auto/2150-hero-honda
-
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090611/AUTO01/906110422/1148/?source=nletter-business
-
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081028/AUTO01/810280408/1148/&source=nletter-business
- Frequently asked questions about ASIMO [2]. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- "Sixth Biannual Report On The Early Action Compact
For Northeast Texas", p.5.
- "Natural Gas Myths", Myth 2.
- "Honda Press Release", 19 October 2006
- FuelMaker Corporation - World Leader in Convenient
On-Site Refueling Systems
- See Table 08 for flex-fuel sales and Table 07 for gasoline
sales.
- See Table 08.
- See Table 08.
- Up to February 2009. See "Produção por Tipo, Empresa e
Combustível " Tables 6 (gasoline) and 7 (flex-fuel). All gasoline
vehicles were exported (see Table 01 Exportação de Autoveículos por
Empresa, Tipo e Modelo - 2009).
- Honda Announces Additional Details on New Small
Hybrid Vehicle - Honda - Press Releases
- 2008 Honda Fit - the Official Honda Web Site
- EERE News: Hybrid and Electric Vehicles Dominate
the Tokyo Motor Show
- Plane used in Honda skydiving ad crashes in Spain |
Media | guardian.co.uk
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