Q 01/05

After WWII, Honda's new company first fitted surplus generator engines to what?

A) Rickshaws

B) Bicycles

C) Scooters

D) Fishing boats

Answer · why

B) Bicycles

Bicycles; Honda later built its sales network by getting Japan's bicycle shops to sell its engines and motorbikes.

Q 02/05

What did Soichiro Honda's prewar company Tōkai Seiki make for Toyota?

A) Spark plugs

B) Piston rings

C) Radiators

D) Gearboxes

Answer · why

B) Piston rings

Piston rings; when his early rings failed, Honda went back to engineering school to learn the science behind them.

Q 03/05

Why was Honda's first engine, the A-Type, nicknamed the "Bata Bata"?

A) Its inventor's nickname

B) The sound it made

C) A sponsor's brand

D) Its designer's hometown

Answer · why

B) The sound it made

The sound it made; when Honda's supply of surplus Tohatsu engines ran out, he built his own copy, the A-Type.

Q 04/05

Which business partner handled finance and marketing alongside Soichiro Honda until 1973?

A) Kihachiro Kawashima

B) Tadashi Kume

C) Shoichiro Irimajiri

D) Takeo Fujisawa

Answer · why

D) Takeo Fujisawa

Takeo Fujisawa; he and Soichiro Honda agreed never to bring their own children into the company.

Q 05/05

What was Honda's first production automobile?

A) T360 kei truck

B) S500 roadster

C) N360 minicar

D) L700 van

Answer · why

A) T360 kei truck

T360 kei truck; Honda had been developing sports cars, but a senior executive argued most demand was for work vehicles, so a truck came first.