Honda

Japanese vehicle manufacturer, founded in 1948. By the late 1980s the company was producing more than 1.5 million cars and 3 million motorcycles annually.

Founded by a mechanic, Soichirō Honda (1906–1991), the company originally produced only motorcycles, of which it is now the world's biggest manufacturer; Honda cars were introduced in 1964. The racing motorcycles were first seen in Europe at the 1959 Isle of Man TT races. Honda entered Formula 1 Grand Prix car racing 1964 and the following season won their first race at Mexico City. They ceased car racing in 1968 but in the early 1980s provided engines for Formula 2 and Formula 3 cars before supplying engines to Formula 1 teams in 1983. Williams and McLaren have both captured world titles using Honda engines.

The pretax profits for the parent company and its 241 subsidiaries and 160 affiliates were down 32% for the financial year ending March 1993. Sales were down 5.9% to Y4,132 billion.

In 1998 Honda agreed to pay $17.1 million in US fines and restitution because it disconnected equipment that monitored pollution in 1.6 million of their cars. The payments included $12.6 million in civil penalties, the largest amount paid to date under the Clean Air Act. The company committed itself to spending $250 million to tune up its cars and give extensions of warranties.