Difference between revisions of "Coming of Age in the Age of Aquarius (Honda)"
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During the 1950s, the [[Honda|Honda Motor Company]] emerged from obscurity, having survived and won the battle with hundreds of competing postwar motor-bicycle companies. The company had found a first key to financial strength in the successful step-through [[Honda_C100|1958 Super Cub]]®, and would now reinvest its earnings in further research, and production plants such as the one built at Suzuka, then the largest [[motorcycle]] manufacturing plant in the world. | During the 1950s, the [[Honda|Honda Motor Company]] emerged from obscurity, having survived and won the battle with hundreds of competing postwar motor-bicycle companies. The company had found a first key to financial strength in the successful step-through [[Honda_C100|1958 Super Cub]]®, and would now reinvest its earnings in further research, and production plants such as the one built at Suzuka, then the largest [[motorcycle]] manufacturing plant in the world. | ||
[[Image:Soichiro Honda.jpg| | [[Image:Soichiro Honda.jpg|100px|thumb|left|[[Soichiro Honda]]]] | ||
Honda motorcycles of the 1960s can be viewed as intelligent social engineering. [[Soichiro Honda]] understood the U.S. market was ripe for the enjoyment of motorcycling, but there were problems to overcome. For instance, the [[motorcyclist]] of 1960 expected lighting and ignition troubles in the rain, and accepted the need for the athletic act of kickstarting his mount to life. Hondas put an end to the motorcycle's primitive status with their reliability and electric-start convenience. Motorcyclists also had image problems in this country at the time, something Honda blunted with the "You meet the nicest people" advertising campaign in 1962, and with attractive entry-level bikes. | Honda motorcycles of the 1960s can be viewed as intelligent social engineering. [[Soichiro Honda]] understood the U.S. market was ripe for the enjoyment of motorcycling, but there were problems to overcome. For instance, the [[motorcyclist]] of 1960 expected lighting and ignition troubles in the rain, and accepted the need for the athletic act of kickstarting his mount to life. Hondas put an end to the motorcycle's primitive status with their reliability and electric-start convenience. Motorcyclists also had image problems in this country at the time, something Honda blunted with the "You meet the nicest people" advertising campaign in 1962, and with attractive entry-level bikes. | ||
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