Primul produs fabricat de Honda a fost motorul pentru bicicletele A-type, creat de Soichiro Honda la Institutul Honda de Cercetari Tehnice. Acest institut a fost stabilit in anul 1946, iar motorul a fost produs la doar un an dupa aceea.
Istoria Honda are o componenta importanta in industria moto. De altfel, cel mai complex motor de productie pentru o motocicleta este creatia inginerilor Honda. Propulsorul inovator era amplasat pe modelul NR750 din 1992 si avea un piston oval si opt supape. Pentru a asigura o functionare eficienta, pistonul avea doua biele.
Honda a intrat in premiera in Campionatul Mondial de Formula 1 in 1983, japonezii iesind din Marele Circ la inceputul sezonului in curs. De altfel, compania nipona are mari sanse sa intre in istoria acestui sport intr-un mod neplacut pentru palmaresul sau. Dupa aproape o jumatate de sezon, masina pe care echipa Honda a pregatit-o pentru 2009, cumparata ulterior de echipa Brawn GP, este liderul autoritar al competitiei. Honda are astfel mari sanse da a rata primul sau titlu din Formula 1 din cauza unei decizii neinspirate.
Soichiro Honda, fondatorul companiei Honda, este primul asiatic introdus in Automotive Hall of Fame, cea mai cunoscuta galerie a personalitatilor care si-au adus contributia la dezvoltarea industriei auto mondiale. Soichiro Honda a intrat in AHF in 1989.
Soichiro Honda a ramas in amintirea intregii lumi printr-o serie de fraze memorabile. Va reamintim cateva dintre acestea: "Daca Honda nu e in motorsport, Honda nu exista"; "Inca de cand am fost copil, visul meu a fost sa iau parte la curse cu o masina creata de mine si sa castig"; "Cand SUA impune noi standarde de emisii, noi ne angajam inca 50 de ingineri. GM isi angajeaza inca 50 de avocati".
Honda a creat primul autoturism care avea un sistem de directie ce actiona 4 roti la rotirea volanului. Modelul inovator era Prelude 4WS (4 Wheel Steering), si braca rotile din spate in directia opusa fata de cele din fata. Chiar si astazi, Honda Prelude (fabricat intre 1988 si 1991) este singurul model de productie care are directie mecanica pe toate cele patru roti. Un an mai tarziu, BMW lansa noul Seria 8, care beneficia de sistemul de directie integrala AHK (Aktive Hinterachs-Kinematik). Acesta era insa un sistem hidraulic.
Honda a creat stramosul ATV-urilor in anul 1970. Modelul se numea ATC 90 si era un vehicul cu trei roti. Dupa 14 ani, Honda a lansat primul ATV cu marsarier si o capacitate de tractare de 320 kilograme. Acest model se numea Big Red ( ATC 200ES). Un an mai tarziu, Honda a lansat primul ATV cu patru roti, care era echipat cu un motor cu un singur cilindru.
In 1971, Honda a anuntat tehnologia CVCC ( Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion), care a echipat modelul Civic incepand cu anul 1975. Honda Civic CVCC era singurul vehicul care putea sa respecte normele de mediu din proiectul de lege “Clean Air” din 1970, fara a fi echipat cu un convertor catalitic.
Honda Civic CRX-HF este primul automobil produs in masa si echipat cu un motor cu patru cilindri care a reusit sa inregistreze un consum mai scazut de 4.7 litri de carburant la 100 kilometri. Acest eveniment avea loc in anul 1986.
Desi sloganul oficial al marcii Honda este “The Power of Dreams” – “Puterea viselor”, marca japoneza nu a folosit niciodata acest slogan pentru a isi promova produsele. Soichiro Honda considera ca produsele construite corespunzator se vor vinde singure.
Spotul TV "Cog", care promova in 2003 Honda Accord, este una dintre cele mai apreciate astfel de productii din istoria publicitatii. La conceperea sa s-au folosit piesele de schimb de la doua modele Accord de pre-productie. Echipa de filmare a avut nevoie de 606 duble pentru a filma reclama in forma finala, fara greseli.
In 2000, Honda launched the Life Almas, a minicar for disabled customers, the first model of its kind in the world.
Honda also produces various moto-propelled tools such as lawnmowers, electric generators and outboard engines for boats. With both the wide range of products and the production quota, Honda is the world's largest engine manufacturer.
In 1981, Honda created a vehicle that could only be controlled with legs through the Franz system. Only ten such models have been manufactured.
Honda is the first manufacturer in the world to introduce a car navigation system. This system had only eight internal components and works by placing a special map above a CTR monitor. The system estimated the approximate location of the vehicle on the map by means of an ansablu based on a gyroscope. Honda engineers used an electronic gyroscope in favor of a conventional system to reduce the number of internal components in the system.
Honda introduced its first electric vehicle in 1988. It was called EV Plus, and its first version came out at the factory in April 1996.
The VTEC Variable Distribution Technology gave birth to the first engine that developed 100 hp / liter, a value not so far. The new propeller has a 1.6 liter cylinder and develops 160 hp at 8,000 rpm. The model was designed to have a life span of 15 years or 250,000 kilometers.
In the 1960s, Honda introduced its first CVT automatic transmission. Japanese engineers had to invent a new variation of the reports because the 1.5-liter engines used by their models were not powerful enough to operate an automatic transmission with a traditional torque converter. Honda has originally called BorgWarner to create an automatic transmission for its models. The Americans denied them because they did not have any automatic gearbox that could handle 8,000 revolutions per minute or a 500 cubic centimeter.
Honda has launched in limited series production in 2008, the first hydrogen-based model. This is called FCX Clarity and will be produced in about 200 copies in the first three years of launch. The first copies were bought under the lease of Hollywood famous actors and directors. Among them are actress Jamie-Lee Curtis and producer Ron Yerxa (Cold Mountain, Little Miss Sunshine).
The new Honda Insight is the first hybrid model in history to end a month in the first place in sales in a world market. It happened in April 2009 in Japan.
