New Honda

From the outset, Honda was a Japanese motorcycle manufacturer. Honda was a company possessing an edge which few of its rivals could match. Honda's founder, Soichiro Honda, was as important to bike racing as Enzo Ferrari was in Formula One. Indeed, is there a more charismatic car firm than Honda? A fascination for all things mechanical led the young Soichiro Honda into a fresh sense of direction; he made every attempt to squeeze more power from small capacity, internal combustion motors. Honda produces more than 14 million motors annually and it is now the world's largest engine maker. Honda's ongoing investement in and development of marine, gardening and leisure machinery also ensures its continued independence. Apart from becoming the manufacturer of the world's Number One motorised form of transport (the Honda moped - which is built and is sold in immense quantities world-wide), it was Soichiro Honda's venture into motor racing that led to an entirely more enterprising plan. Long-time Anglophile, and without any help from the UK government, Honda established a carfactory at Swindon in Wiltshire. Its plan was to create a mutually agreeable car making arrangement with the now defunkt Rover Group. Formula One success came and went, and so did its relationship with Rover; when Rover assets were sold off to BMW, the UK-friendly company Honda was not allowed to table an offer. To the great disappointment of Mr Honda, his Swindon-based firm was forced to make a strategic future-altering decision. Thankfully, Honda remained in the UK and continued to develop its automotive, marine and domestic product ranges. Sadly, Mr Honda died, but his legacy is nothing short of immense.