Marketing plays a role in the modern game, pushing a narrative and getting in your face more than others. The same spending on the budget might not be possible from every manufacturer out there. One particular car brand doesn’t occupy as much limelight but, however, still continues to deliver rock-solid cars, impressing both those who write about them and those who buy and enjoy them. That brand is Honda.
Honda has consistently understood the assignment time and time again. Whether it be pushing the boundaries of technology through the ages with engine developments like VTEC (Baybaaaayy), they constantly built technology on a base of sound engineering, clever and thoughtful design, resulting in a reliable and strong finished product, despite the segment being SUV, Sedan, hot hatch, or sports car. Ok, but how? Well.
Honda Has Kept the Recipe Consistent
You only must look at the greats of our time—the advent of VTec and its mainstream unlock to affordable performance. The Honda S2000 is a somewhat budget kingmaker, making it an undersung sports car, while the NSX is as much a mythical being as anything in the supercar territory. Along with their attributes, they have cultivated a respective and cult-like following for each and many others, as well as for Honda as a brand.
At its core, there has been a consistency in building good cars based on a simple recipe of sound engineering, excellent build quality, and in many cases, bulletproof reliability. Not many manufacturers can claim this level of sustainable achievement consistently, and the fact that we still have an extremely capable Civic Type R hot hatch is a testament to Honda’s enduring commitment to performance, despite catering to the mass demand for SUVs and sedans.
Honda Accord Versus Toyota Camry
The mid-size Sedan battle ensues! Although we and our friends at Car and Driver have preferred the Accord to the Camry, despite both cars being so evenly matched, Toyota outsells the Honda (309K units versus 162,000) by almost two-fold. Why is that? Toyota has a great offering in the Camry, but just how much of that is based on those foundation years of the Camry and the marketing efforts to get inside the consumers’ heads? Well, difficult to quantify, but it is a factor in the sales game.
The Ongoing Verdict That Seems Like a Trend
The Accord has always matched the Camry in many categories, but it’s almost as if the Accord is a little more exciting than the Camry. No shade being thrown at the Camry, but the Accord’s efforts are dancing in the shadows.
They Build Strong Motors and Can Back It Up With the ‘W’ – Indy500
Alex Palou has just won the 2025 IndyCar championship as well as the coveted Indy500 in the same year. That’s no easy accomplishment. This all in a Honda-powered IndyCar, ousting other Manufacturers proving, once more, that if you can race it and win in something as competitive and demanding as a 500-mile race at full throttle, chances are that you have a strong motor and package that will translate to road cars.
This has been proven not just once, and in one format, but across many of the top formats. For instance, in F1, the Honda-powered Red Bull has won six constructors’ championships, despite facing stiff global competition. Honda doesn’t back down from a fight, and that sort of grit means your road cars benefit from the trickle-down engineering pedigree. You can, with a great deal of certainty, pick any Honda engine, performance-based or not, and trust it to perform.
Honda Is a Fun Brand at Heart
If you thought otherwise, let’s present you with Exhibit A: a 130-mph lawnmower that once made an appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Powered by a Honda CBR1000RR superbike motor, this endeavor demands nerves of steel and a reckless abandon of self-preservation. The world became a better place for it.
And that brings us to an important point. Honda has spread its bets across all sectors, not just hedging all its money on selling cars. They feel just as comfortable playing the competition role in the lifestyle sectors as they do in the automotive space. Such is the depth of the brand that it can take on a challenge despite the deep-rooted market strength of other brands in any other trading sector.
Out of the 44 million Hondas produced from 1970 to the end of 2024, approximately 80% were manufactured within the US.
They’re Sticklers for Technology
Here at the HTG HQ, we appreciate brands that push the boundaries in tech. Honda, through its research and development engineering department, has consistently driven ideas to execution. Whether it’s the IndyCar-powered hybrid racer CR-V, the first ever hydrogen power CR-V up Pikes Peak, or that lawnmower-on-steroids idea, there’s a lot to admire about a brand that dares to step away from the status quo and push technology to new heights while maintaining a genuine sense of humility.
It shows that, yes, at the heart of the beast is a commercial business, but at the end of the day, we need companies that quietly go about redefining how business is done from an engineering standpoint.
The CR-V is One of the Original Crossovers
We’re not referring to the focused off-roading brands like Range Rover and Co. We’re talking about taking a road car, in this case the Civic, raising the suspension, and being part of a trend that set off to become what it is today. First launched in 1995 was the CR-V, one of the first mass-market Crossovers.
Don’t blame Honda, though, as they were only being part of a trend that just about everyone bought into, answering the call of the people. Nowadays, just about every manufacturer has a myriad of crossovers and dedicated SUVs in its lineup. Some of which have resulted in a state of reality where the original car, based on which, isn’t even known. Go figure.
Honda Has 18 Manufacturing Plants in the USA – They’re a Net Exporter of Cars
We don’t often get to dive into the details of the background work that manufacturers put in as a way to deliver better value to the consumer, but I took the time to extract a few high-level highlights to share from the 2025 Honda Fact Book. For those seeking some intense bedtime reading, the full-length version is available for download here, so go wild.
But here’s the summary in case you’re pressed for time:
- 18 manufacturing plants across America that manufacture not only cars, but engines, CVT transmissions, four-wheel drive transfer cases, and lifestyle equipment from Lawn Mowers to boats.
- Along with these manufacturing plants $22 billion of investment has been injected into the nation, positively contributing to the GDP. No small number indeed.
- Honda Employs over 25,000 in the USA and over 36,000, including Mexico and Canada
- Honda has owned nearly 10% of the car market since 2005. This is even though many new entrants have proven they can weather the storm, come what may.
- Out of the 44 million Hondas produced from 1970 to the end of 2024, approximately 80% were manufactured within the US.
- In 2013, after many years of investment, Honda became a net exporter of vehicles from the US, meaning that it exported more cars out of the USA than it imported into the country.
These stats prove that, despite being a foreign-based entity, Honda is as much a part of the American manufacturing fabric as any homegrown brand. Honda has, way before the effects of Tariffs, pushed for a narrative that is part of building a cohesive relationship with American manufacturing initiatives and has done that with a sustainable strategic view to help build a nation and not take from it.
Honda’s longevity has proven that, despite its modest market share and continued, often unwavering presence, they’ve maintained a consistent and straightforward approach. Regardless of market pressures, they have successfully aligned themselves with the nation’s success by diversifying and developing strong, well-engineered products.
This has ensured maximum value for the consumer, who knows full well that the money spent will be on a quality product. Honda has done this repeatedly through the years and, presumably, in a rather humble way, built up a cult following, not just in the USA and Japan, but has kept this theme across the globe without any fanfare.