Pictures and albums about Honda published in entertainment

Honda SuperCub C-100, 4-stroke OHV 50cc engine, year 1963, in full advertising campaign "YOU MEET THE NICEST PEOPLE ON A HONDA", at that time, the price of this C-100 was only $245 USD., and Honda had rised 500% of the sale of this model in that year in the United States. - The Honda Cub debuted in 1958, 10 years after the establishment of Honda Motor Co. Ltd. The name 'Cub' was said to be the acronym of Cheap Urban Bike because the development of this model was aimed to provide a kind of cheap urban transportation in busy cities. The name also likely refers to the earlier Piper Cub, an affordable and extremely popular light aircraft from the 1930s possessing many of the same mechanical qualities of the Honda bike (note that improved versions of the Piper Cub were also called Super Cubs, with spacing in between the words). - Honda had discovered how to increase the power and efficiency of 4-stroke engines and the company set about breaking into a market sector totally dominated by the 2-stroke models of other manufacturers. So successful were they that the Honda Cub became the most successful motorcycle model in history, and made huge contributions to Hondas sales and profit. Honda used the slogan "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" as they broke into the English speaking world, until then dominated by British motorcycles. - In 1968, after 10 years of production, the whole motorcycle was uprated, the engine going from pushrod 4.5bhp to SOHC 4.9bhp. Though the basic design of Cub remained unchanged, slightly new styling features and improvements were integrated along with larger displacement (70 cc and 90 cc models) versions. In the 1970s, Honda fitted a new capacitor discharge ignition system (CDI) to replace the earlier contact point ignition, thereby helping to meet increasingly strict emission standards in markets such as the US. Though many experts on the Cub testify to the fact that Honda used the CDI system for better reliability and fuel efficiency, with the emissions improvements being an appealing by-product of these goals. - In the 1980s, a larger 100 cc GN-5 engine model was introduced especially for Asian markets. The newer 100 cc model branched off from the Honda Cub model design, with new features such as a telescopic front suspension to replace the older leading link suspension, and a more efficient 4-speed transmission to replace the older 3-speed transmission used in Honda Cubs. These changes were not incorporated into the Honda Cub line-up, not interfering with the timeless and dependable design of the Cub, but rather, were integrated into new models such as Honda Dream in Thailand and Honda EX5 in Malaysia. These bikes were never intended to compete or replace the Cub in the very strong Japanese domestic market, but were more suited for the lucrative Asian export market. - In the late 1990s, Honda introduced their newer NF series motorcycles, known as Honda Wave series which use steel tube frames, front disk brake and plastic cover sets in various displacement options: 100 cc, 110 cc and 125 cc. Though not Cubs, these bikes sold consistently well particularly in European countries, where the production of Honda Cub models had been previously discontinued. However, the production of Honda Cubs in Asia, Africa and South America still continues today even though the newer Honda Wave Series and other designs have been introduced alongside the Cub, such as the Honda ANF 125 Innova built in Thailand and sold in Europe, recently, to be conformed to the standard of Euro 3 anti-pollution, this Innova is upgraded with a new fuel injection system to replace the old carburetor. - In Japan, where some of the world's most discerning and demanding customers reside, the Super Cub is stronger than ever. Sales of Honda Super Cubs are thriving and continue to grow with the 50 cc models leading the way, promising a long future for the versatile and timeless motorbike. The introduction of more options on existing bikes, more accessories available, and a new model, the Super Cub "Street" testify to the staying power of the Cub and ongoing love affair the Japanese have with their home-grown design. - Honda will continue to offer the latest innovations in their bike line-up, but will wisely, it seems, not interfere with the unquestionably simple and successful design of the classic Cub. - Illustrated by Francois Buis (with Adobe Illustrator software).

YOU MEET THE NICEST PEOPLE ON A HONDA - The best advertising campaign of Honda Motor Company at the end of 1962 - 50 years after the launch of the Honda Cub (Cheap Urban Bike) 1958-2008, over 50 million units had sold around the world and still manufacturing & selling today, far away from the well-known Volkswagen Bettle with 20 million units - Of course, motorcycle was still almost a dirty word then, associated with the sort of leather-jacketed biker gangs portrayed in the film, The Wild One, starring Marlon Brando. To counter the image, Honda launched a very successful advertising campaign with the slogan, ‘You Meet The Nicest People On A Honda’ - For the first time in history, motorcycles, especially the little 50cc Hondas, even became a hot-selling Christmas gift. The "Nicest People" ads were produced in dozens of different versions over the next 10 years, making it one of the longest-running "theme" ad campaigns in the motorcycling history. - Of course, we all know what happened in 1964 with a huge TV advertising program in the USA, within weeks of the broadcast, Honda was overwhelmed with requests to start up new dealerships and inundated with offers from other large corporations wanting to tie their own ad campaigns in with Honda. Annual sales of Honda motorcycles jumped from 40,000 units a year to a staggering 200,000 units per year, a 500% sales increase. No wonder that to this day, in colleges and universities around the world, the "Nicest People" campaign is studied as a model for a successful advertising campaign. - This "Nicest People" success had allowed Honda to become a carmaker with the first S600 and S800 introduced in the automobile market in 1965, and Mr. Soichiro Honda was already hatching his plan to become not just a carmaker, but also the best carmaker in the world. - A Jack Mc Cormack's slogan "Nicest People..."; replica of an illustration mounted by Grey Advertising for Honda in 1962.