Honda has reached a major milestone – having been in the United States for 50 years. Initially, Honda was known for motorcycles and scooters, not the robust lineup of cars that we have today. Eventually the appeal of Honda motorcycles caught on, and this popularity helped fuel interest in Honda in the late 1960s when Honda entered the auto market.
The first Honda sold in America was the N600, a two-door car that’s about the size of the modern day Smart two-seater. The Honda N600 sold for $1,275 and was replaced in 1973 by the Civic hatchback. Although the boxy, tiny N600 wasn’t exactly a popular car, Connecticut used Honda dealers say timing is everything as the Civic arrived just as new emissions standards were put in place and sky-high gas prices were taking their toll on American drivers. The timing was perfect for Honda and the Civic and Honda Service Ofallon believe it helped the automaker gain solid footing in the North American auto market.
Fast forward to today and Honda still provides economical and efficient cars. Last year the automaker sold a total of 1.4 million cars and trucks in America, helping it claim about 11 percent market share according to one Hartford used Honda dealer. Despite its success in the auto industry, Honda has also remained a dominant brand in the motorcycle business.
While Honda has certainly faced plenty of setbacks, it has maintained its reputation for value, efficiency, and quality. While the automaker overtaken its main rival Toyota with the release of the first hybrid car sold in the U.S., it’s has since been playing catch-up to Toyota’s successful Prius. But with new offerings such as the Insight, not to mention hydrogen fuel cell cars currently in development, the automaker will no doubt see plenty of success in the America in another 50 years from now.Volvo Dives into Plug-in Hybrid Technology
Volvo has been struggling amid slumping global sales, but that hasn’t stopped the automaker from diving into research and development. One such as product of its R&D efforts is a new plug-in hybrid that will be due by 2012. Volvo has committed itself to producing a high mileage diesel-electric plug-in hybrid, but it has yet to confirm its plans to sell the vehicle in the U.S.Lexus ES Still Critical to Luxury Brand Lineup
As one Lexus’ most popular models, there will be plenty of drivers that will be happy to see a revamped Lexus ES 350 coming to showrooms later this month. While it may not be a full redesign, the updating certainly brings needed enhancements.Could GM Utilize Toyota Hybrid Technology?
Toyota and General Motors have had a strong partnership via NUMMI. This seemingly odd relationship was responsible for the Pontiac Vibe, which was build alongside the similar Toyota Matrix in a joint manufacturing venture based in California. With the Pontiac Vibe now discontinued, the question now is what will come of the NUMMI partnership.