Centenary of Soichiro Honda’s birth

Last week, on 17th November, Honda celebrated the centenary of its creator, Soichiro Honda, a passionate petrol head, and one of the most forward looking men in the automotive industry. From his humble beginnings as the son of a blacksmith and a weaver, Soichiro Honda had an early fascination with the motorcar, and although he didn’t have any formal education, he knew how things worked. He started working at his father’s bicycle repair business, and then moved on to repairing motorbikes and eventually opened his own garage that repaired cars. He eventually built a racing car from old aircraft parts, which he raced himself, but after a bad accident in 1936, he concentrated on building bikes and cars. He formed Honda Motor Co in 1948, and the company has grown from strength to strength. Honda has set up a webpage dedicated to its incredible founder: http://world.honda.com/history/limitlessdreams/joyofmanufacturing/text/01.html The website also includes some fascinating insights into the cars that now bare his name.