Honda Press Conference
January 12, 2000
Tom Elliott
I GUESS “POWERED BY
HONDA” MEANS DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
HONDA MAKES SO MANY
DIFFERENT PRODUCTS, WE SOMETIMES GET CREDIT FOR PRODUCTS WE DON’T MAKE – LIKE
THAT FELLOW IN THE VIDEO WHO THOUGHT WE MADE SNOWMOBILES – WHICH WE DON’T.
IT’S NOT SURPRISING
THAT “POWERED BY HONDA” MEANS MANY DIFFERENT THINGS TO OUR CUSTOMERS.
IN ADDITION TO
AUTOMOBILES, THE HONDA BRAND CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON MOTORCYCLES, MARINE ENGINES,
LAWNMOWERS AND POWER EQUIPMENT, ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES, SNOWBLOWERS AND
GENERATORS -- A SMALL SAMPLE OF WHICH YOU’LL SEE IN OUR EXHIBIT HERE TODAY.
EACH OF THESE
PRODUCTS REPRESENTS THE HEART AND STRENGTH OF HONDA, AND THEY ALL SHARE ONE
COMMON COMPONENT: THE ENGINE. IN FACT, SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT HONDA IS AN ENGINE
COMPANY THAT HAPPENS TO MAKE AUTOMOBILES AND MOTORCYCLES.
HONDA IS THE WORLD’S
LARGEST ENGINE MAKER. WE MANUFACTURE MORE THAN 10 MILLION ENGINES A YEAR, FROM
SMALL ONE-HORSEPOWER ENGINES FOR HANDHELD EQUIPMENT TO ALMOST NINE HUNDRED
HORSEPOWER RACING ENGINES.
THAT’S WHY SO MANY
CUSTOMERS KNOW US, AND WHY THEY KNOW US IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS.
“POWERED BY HONDA”
MAY MEAN A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS TO OUR CUSTOMERS. AT HONDA IT ALSO MEANS A DEDICATION TO DESIGNING AND BUILDING THE
WORLD’S BEST ENGINES.
COUNTLESS CAR AND
MOTORCYCLE RACERS HAVE WON NUMEROUS TROPHIES AND WORLD TITLES POWERED BY HONDA.
LAST SEASON, HONDA
EARNED ITS THIRD CART MANUFACTURER’S CHAMPIONSHIP IN FOUR YEARS, AND JUAN
MONTOYA EARNED THE FOURTH DRIVER’S CHAMPIONSHIP IN AS MANY YEARS FOR HONDA.
AND, AS MANY OF YOU
KNOW, HONDA IS SET TO RETURN TO FORMULA ONE RACING THIS YEAR – WHERE HONDA
CAPTURED SIX CONSECUTIVE CONSTRUCTOR’S CHAMPIONSHIPS IN THE EIGHTIES.
BUT NOT ALL THE
BENEFITS OF RACING ARE LIMITED TO THE WINNER’S CIRCLE. OUR ENGINEERS GAIN
TREMENDOUS EXPERIENCE AND THEIR PASSION FOR PERFORMANCE AND EFFICIENCY SHOWS UP
IN ALL OUR PRODUCTS.
THE CHALLENGE OF
BALANCING PERFORMANCE, FUEL EFFICIENCY AND LOW EMISSIONS IS ONE THAT HONDA HAS
SUCCEEDED IN MEETING FOR DECADES.
IN THE EARLY
SEVENTIES, THE CVCC CIVIC WAS THE FIRST VEHICLE TO MEET FEDERAL CLEAN AIR ACT
STANDARDS WITHOUT RESORTING TO A CATALYTIC CONVERTER.
HONDA WAS ALSO THE
FIRST TO SELL A GASOLINE POWERED CAR MEETING CALIFORNIA’S LOW EMISSION VEHICLE
STANDARD, THE FIRST TO MEET THE ULEV STANDARD WITH A GASOLINE POWERED ENGINE,
AND THE FIRST TO SELL LEV VEHICLES NATIONWIDE.
ALL THIS WAS DONE
VOLUNTARILY, WELL AHEAD OF REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS.
LATER THIS MONTH,
HONDA WILL BECOME THE FIRST TO SELL A GASOLINE-POWERED VEHICLE MEETING THE NEW
CALIFORNIA “SUPER ULTRA LOW EMISSION VEHICLE” STANDARD, THE MOST STRINGENT
EMISSION STANDARD IN THE WORLD.
ACCORDING TO THE
CALIFORNIA AIR RESOURCES BOARD, A SULEV VEHICLE’S ENGINE WILL EMIT ABOUT THE
SAME AMOUNT OF OZONE-FORMING HYDROCARBONS DURING 100,000 MILES OF DRIVING AS
SPILLING A QUART OF GASOLINE.
HONDA IS ALSO A
LEADER IN ALTERNATIVE-FUEL TECHNOLOGY. OUR NATURAL-GAS POWERED CIVIC GX
ACHIEVES NEAR- ZERO LEVEL EMISSIONS, AND HAS BEEN CALLED THE “WORLD’S CLEANEST
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE VEHICLE.”
THE INSIGHT, WHICH
BEGAN ARRIVING IN HONDA DEALERSHIPS LAST MONTH, IS THE ONLY GAS-ELECTRIC HYBRID
VEHICLE ON SALE IN THE UNITED STATES. IT ACHIEVES A REMARKABLE 70 MILES PER
GALLON ON THE HIGHWAY AND 61 CITY IN EPA TESTS.
IN FACT, THE SIERRA CLUB HAS JUST PRESENTED THE
INSIGHT WITH ITS FIRST-EVER “EXCELLENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING” AWARD.
THE SIERRA CLUB
CREATED THIS AWARD TO RECOGNIZE EXCEPTIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT IN ACHIEVING
SUPERIOR FUEL EFFICIENCY AND ULTRA LOW EMISSIONS. AND HONDA IS PROUD TO BE THE
FIRST RECIPIENT OF THIS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD.
IN A FEW MINUTES, OUR
PRESIDENT AND CEO, MR. YOSHINO, WILL TELL YOU ABOUT FUTURE APPLICATIONS FOR
HONDA TECHNOLOGY.
HE WILL ALSO TALK
ABOUT HONDA’S RESEARCH INTO FUEL CELL VEHICLES, WHICH YOU SEE HERE ON STAGE.
A DIFFERENT TYPE OF
RESPONSE TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE IS OUR ICVS RESEARCH PROGRAM. ICVS
STANDS FOR “INTELLIGENT COMMUNITY VEHICLE SYSTEM.” IT IS A WAY TO SHARE
RESOURCES AND ENHANCE THE EFFICIENCY OF THE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK, WHILE
ALLOWING USERS TO ENJOY THE PERSONAL MOBILITY THAT THE AUTOMOBILE PROVIDES.
HONDA CURRENTLY HAS
THREE ICVS DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS UNDER
WAY, TWO IN CALIFORNIA AND ONE IN JAPAN.
THE SPIRIT OF
INNOVATION IS SOMETHING HONDA ENGINEERS AND DESIGNERS ARE ALWAYS STRIVING
FOR.
AND I THINK YOU’LL
SEE THAT SPIRIT IN THE HONDA SPOCKET, DESIGNED BY OUR STAFF AT THE DESIGN
STUDIOS IN TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA.
“SPOCKET” STANDS FOR
“SPORTS” AND “UTILITY POCKET.”
THE SPOCKET IS A
PICKUP, CONVERTIBLE AND SPORTS COUPE ALL IN ONE.
WITH THE SPOCKET, YOU
CAN GO FROM OPEN-AIR CRUISING TO HAULING THE LUMBER FOR YOUR WEEKEND PROJECT.
IT FEATURES FULL-TIME FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE, USING IN-WHEEL ELECTRIC MOTORS AT THE
REAR.
THERE ARE NO PLANS TO
BUILD THE SPOCKET, BUT IT SHOWS HOW OUR DESIGNERS APPROACH THE FUN, FLEXIBILITY
AND FUNCTIONALITY THAT WE WANT IN EVERY HONDA PRODUCT.
AND THAT IS ALSO WHAT
“POWERED BY HONDA” MEANS.
IT MEANS A COMPANY
THAT PROVIDES MORE ENGINES TO CUSTOMERS AROUND THE WORLD THAN ANY OTHER
COMPANY.
IT MEANS A COMPANY
THAT HAS JUST ACHIEVED ITS FOURTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF RECORD-BREAKING SALES IN
THE UNITED STATES.
IT MEANS A COMPANY
THAT IS COMMITTED TO THE ENVIRONMENT – NOT JUST IN WORDS, BUT IN PUTTING THAT
COMMITMENT ON THE ROAD.
IN FACT, 80 PERCENT
OF THE VEHICLES SOLD BY AMERICAN HONDA IN THE 2000 MODEL YEAR ARE LOW EMISSION
VEHICLES, INCLUDING THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE S2000 ROADSTER AND THE ACURA NSX.
EARLIER, I MENTIONED
HONDA’S GROUNDBREAKING CVCC ENGINE. FOR YOUR INFORMATION, HONDA’S PRESIDENT,
MR. YOSHINO, WAS A MEMBER OF THE TEAM THAT DEVELOPED THAT ENGINE.
MR. YOSHINO IS UNIQUE
BOTH FOR HIS IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES AND HIS MULTIPLE
WORK EXPERIENCE IN THE U.S.
IN 1969, HE CAME TO
THE U.S. TO WORK ON ISSUES RELATED TO THE ORIGINAL CLEAN AIR ACT. AND HE SPENT
ALMOST A DECADE WORKING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY ENGINES.
IN 1988, MR. YOSHINO
RETURNED TO AMERICA AS PRESIDENT OF HONDA OF AMERICA MANUFACTURING IN OHIO,
WHERE HE OVERSAW THE TREMENDOUS GROWTH OF OUR AUTO MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS
HERE. HE WENT ON TO SERVE AS PRESIDENT OF HONDA R&D IN JAPAN – DURING A
TIME IN WHICH HONDA WAS DEVELOPING ITS LOW EMISSION, EV AND HYBRID TECHNOLOGIES
– BEFORE BECOMING PRESIDENT AND CEO OF HONDA IN 1998.
IT IS MY PLEASURE NOW
TO INTRODUCE MR. HIROYUKI YOSHINO.
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