History of Hummer

The history Of the HUMMER begins in 1979 with competition for the development of a vehicle to meet the Army's highest standards in a High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV). As that development race began, Teledyne and Chrysler Defense (later sold to General Dynamics) already had designs on their drawing boards. The proposed Chrysler vehicle was an adapted version of the Saluki desert design. while its Teledyne counterpart sprang from the design of a vehicle known as the Cheetah. Though AM General appeared to be well behind the others, the company moved into this competition with no preconceived design notions, rolled up its sleeves, and soon created an original -- the HUMMER.

AM General's prototype HUMMER went to test in the Nevada desert in July 1980 -- only eleven months from its design board beginnings. This was the first of many breakthroughs that demonstrated the company's know-how and leadership. The Army now had three serious competitors with vehicles under test.
The Army's formal procurement of test vehicles began in February 1981. Six proposals came in from industry and were evaluated against the Army's HMMWV specifications. The three most responsive designs were selected, and in June 1981 contracts were awarded to General Dynamics, Teledyne and AM General. The test vehicles to be acquired from each company included TOW Carriers, Cargo Troop Carriers and Mini and Maxi Ambulance variant.

Army specs were extremely stringent with demands for light armor, deep water fording capability, and Arctic and desert operational ability to name just a few, as well as absolute reliability, durability and maintainability, Vehicle weight constraints called for material application breakthroughs. All of this and just ten months to do it --still another set of challenges for AM General.
Once again AM General proved its mettle when it became the first company to complete its test vehicles. Prototype HUMMERs were delivered to Army proving grounds at Aberdeen and Yuma, and to a test site at Fort Hunter-Liggett in April 1982.

The Army's test phase was scheduled over a five month period after which a call for production proposals would be made from the competing contractors. AM General took that in stride as its HUMMERS were the first vehicles to complete durability testing. The company also came through the rigorous testing with the lightest vehicles and high performance ratings. Clearly, the HUMMER HAD scored as the superior technical offering.
Following AM General's production proposal, these "superior' vehicles were finally awarded the initial HUMMER production contract in March 1983, calling for 55,000 vehicles to be delivered over a five year period.
From tooling up time at AM General's Mishawaka plant to delivery of the first production test vehicles took just six months -- another remarkable achievement for AM General.
In 1992 AM General began marketing the Civilian Hummer to the public. The first year "Limited Edition" Hummers were sold directly from the factory. In 1993 AM General signed up close to 50 dealers to market the civilian Hummer.
In December of 1999 AM General sold the Hummer name and the rights to market and distribute Hummer vehicles to General Motors. AM General continued to Build the original Hummer (now called H1) at the Mishawaka plant. In mid 2002 AM General began building the all new Hummer H2 as a 2003 model in a new state of the art manufacturing facility adjacent to the HMMWV/H1 plant.
In mid 2005 Hummer introduced the 2006 Hummer H3. The H3 was a midsized SUV based on the Colorado/Canyon truck platform and built at GM's Shreveport, LA plant.

The final decision to end civilian H1 Production was made on Tuesday May 9th 2006, the decision was officially announced to the public Friday May 12th 2006. There were 729 '06 H1s built bringing the total number of H1s produced since their introduction in 1992 to 11,818.
June 3rd 2008 GM announces that it is considering selling or closing down the Hummer brand.
GM files for Bankruptcy on June 1st 2009, announces Chinese company Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company will purchase the Hummer brand the day after.
On February 25th 2010 GM announces the deal with Sichuan Tengzhong for the sale of the Hummer brand has fallen through. GM says they will evaluate any further offers over the next several weeks and if no suitable offers are received, they will begin the "orderly wind-down" of the Hummer brand.
April 7, 2010 notification is sent to Hummer dealers that no "viable" buyers have been found and the "orderly wind-down" of the Hummer brand will begin.
The "wind-down" is completed and GM officially shuts down the Hummer brand on October 31st 2010.
http://www.lynchhummer.com/History.html

History of Ford

Ford Motor Company is one of the greatest automobile manufacturers of all time. They started under Henry Ford in Detroit, Michigan. Ford had a skill for craftsmanship when he built an experimental car in 1896. It was a twin cylinder engine with potential of 20 mph. In 1899 he left his job in order to organize the Detroit Automobile Company. Ford's first production was in 1903, the Model A, with an under the floor engine selling for $850. In the first season it sold 1,708 cars.
Thereafter, Ford became increasing interested in speed. He built an experimental racing machine called the 999, which reached 91.4 mph in 1904. He also produced the Model C the same year only later introducing the Model B for $2000. These models were improved in 1905 with the Model K that sold for $2500. In 1906 Ford introduced the Model N for $500 destroying Oldsmobile's business, while only leading to the introduction of the famous Model T in 1909.

The Model T, or Tin Lizzie, became extremely popular for the next 18 years due to its price of $850, fuel consumption, engine size, and speed in the 40-mph range. More than 15 million cars were made under Ford between 1908 and 1927. It became the all-American automobile. Production increased rapidly over the years while recalling their first million-car year in 1922. As Ford continued to produce they expanded into Great Britain, France, and Germany. Ford became a strong automobile company but needed change as they realized their only color was black. In 1927 the Model T left the market only leading to new and highly innovative automobiles to be created.

The Model A became the next popular car but caused a three-month changeover period while production occurred. The price of the Model A was $450, while 4.5 million were sold in the next four years. The car was also sold in a station wagon offering a change in style and shape. In 1932 a V8 3.6 litre automobile was mass-produced for $460 creating a great demand for Ford automobiles. Many cars were introduced over the years featuring new styles. The Model A and B were both sold with larger engines and greater amounts of horsepower. Also hydraulic brakes, column changes, and suspensions were introduced to better the company's profits.

After World War II production slowed down until the entrance of the 1949 line. At this time power units were new along with the automatic transmission in 1950. Great automobiles were manufactured in the coming years. The sporty Ford Thunderbird was introduced with 5.1 litres and capabilities of 113 mph. In 1958 it became a convertible with five seats and a strengthened structure. Major restyling occurred in the late 1950's with such automobiles as the Falcon, a compact car, with the help of General Motors and Chrysler.
During the 1960's competition increased and Ford had to become innovative in order to remain one of the top manufacturers. They put their minds together to create the Ford Mustang in 1964, a compact semi GT with four seats, at a price of $2480. The automobile had a 4.7 litre V8 engine with speeds exceeding 110 mph. The car was a great success and remained so until the present day selling over 500,000 in the first year and a half on the market.

During the coming years Ford realized its potential. They have created some great cars including the Thunderbird, Model T, Fairlaine, Galaxie, Falcon, and Mustang. They have also increased their production well into the 1980's and further with the offerings of four wheel drive pickup trucks and all terrain vehicles such as the Bronco, Jeep, F series, and Ranger. They became increasingly aware of needs for change such as colors, convertibles, hardtops, and number of doors. With increased production, innovative styles, low prices, and customer satisfaction Ford Motor Company has become a worldwide leader in the manufacturing of automobiles.

History of Honda

From a young age, Honda's founder, Soichiro Honda (本田 宗一郎, Honda Sōichirō) had a great interest in automobiles. He worked as a mechanic at a Japanese tuning shop, Art Shokai, where he tuned cars and entered them in races. A self-taught engineer, he later worked on a piston design which he hoped to sell to Toyota.The first drafts of his design were rejected, and Soichiro worked painstakingly to perfect the design, even going back to school and pawning his wife's jewelry for collateral.
Eventually, he won a contract with Toyota and built a factory to construct pistons for them, which was destroyed in an earthquake. Due to a gasoline shortage during World War II, Honda was unable to use his car, and his novel idea of attaching a small engine to his bicycle attracted much curiosity. He then established the Honda Technical Research Institute in Hamamatsu, Japan, to develop and produce small 2-cycle motorbike engines. Calling upon 18,000 bicycle shop owners across Japan to take part in revitalizing a nation torn apart by war, Soichiro received enough capital to engineer his first motorcycle, the Honda Cub. This marked the beginning of Honda Motor Company, which would grow a short time later to be the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles by 1964.

The first production automobile from Honda was the T360 mini pick-up truck, which went on sale in August 1963.Powered by a small 356 cc straight-4 gasoline engine, it was classified under the cheaper Kei car tax bracket.[citation needed] The first production car from Honda was the S500 sports car, which followed the T360 into production in October 1963. Its chain driven rear wheels point to Honda's motorcycle origins.
Corporate profile and divisions

Honda is headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Their shares trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, as well as exchanges in Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kyoto, Fukuoka, London, Paris and Switzerland.

Soichiro Honda

The company has assembly plants around the globe. These plants are located in China, the United States, Pakistan, Canada, England, Japan, Belgium, Brazil, New Zealand, Indonesia, India, Thailand, Turkey and Perú. As of July 2010, 89 percent of Honda and Acura vehicles sold in the United States were built in North American plants, up from 82.2 percent a year earlier. This shields profits from the yen’s advance to a 15-year high against the dollar.
Honda's Net Sales and Other Operating Revenue by Geographical Regions in 2007
Geographic Region↓     Total revenue (in millions of ¥)↓
Japan                            1,681,190http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda
North America              5,980,876
Europe                         1,236,757
Asia                             1,283,154
Others                            905,163
American Honda Motor Company is based in Torrance, California. Honda Canada Inc. is headquartered in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, and is building new corporate headquarters in Markham, Ontario, scheduled to relocate in 2008; their manufacturing division, Honda of Canada Manufacturing, is based in Alliston, Ontario. Honda has also created joint ventures around the world, such as Honda Siel Cars and Hero Honda Motorcycles in India,Guangzhou Honda and Dongfeng Honda in China, and Honda Atlas in Pakistan.

Current market position

With high fuel prices and a weak U.S. economy in June 2008, Honda reported a 1% sales increase while its rivals, including the Detroit Big Three and Toyota, have reported double-digit losses. Honda's sales were up almost 20 percent from the same month last year. The Civic and the Accord were in the top five list of sales. Analysts have attributed this to two main factors. First, Honda's product lineup consists of mostly small to mid-size, highly fuel-efficient vehicles. Secondly, over the last ten years, Honda has designed its factories to be flexible, in that they can be easily retooled to produce any Honda model that may be in-demand at the moment.
Nonetheless, Honda, Nissan, and Toyota, were still not immune to the global financial crisis of 2008, as these companies reduced their profitability forecasts. The economic crisis has been spreading to other important players in the vehicle related industries as well. In November 2009 the Nihon Keizai Shinbun reported that Honda Motor exports have fallen 64.1%
At the 2008 Beijing Auto Show, Honda presented the Li Nian ("concept" or "idea") 5-door hatchback and announced that they were looking to develop an entry-level brand exclusively for the Chinese market similar to Toyota's Scion brand in the USA. The brand would be developed by a 50-50 joint-venture established in 2007 with Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group.

Leadership

    * 1948–1973 — Soichiro Honda
    * 1973–1983 — Kiyoshi Kawashima
    * 1983–1990 — Tadashi Kume
    * 1990–1998 — Nobuhiko Kawamoto
    * 1998–2004 — Hiroyuki Yoshino
    * 2004–2009 — Takeo Fukui
    * since 2009 — Takanobu Ito

Products

Automobiles
Honda's global lineup consists of the Fit, Civic, Accord, Insight, CR-V, and Odyssey. An early proponent of developing vehicles to cater to different needs and markets worldwide, Honda's lineup varies by country and may feature vehicles exclusive to that region. A few examples are the latest Acura TL luxury sedan and the Ridgeline, Honda's first light-duty uni-body pickup truck. Both were engineered primarily in North America and are exclusively produced and sold there.
The Civic is a line of compact cars developed and manufactured by Honda. In North America, the Civic is the second-longest continuously running nameplate from a Japanese manufacturer; only its perennial rival, the Toyota Corolla, introduced in 1968, has been in production longer.The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude, comprised Honda's vehicles sold in North America until the 1990s, when the model lineup was expanded. Having gone through several generational changes, the Civic has become larger and more upmarket, and it currently slots between the Fit and Accord.
Honda increased global production in September 2008 to meet demand for small cars in the U.S. and emerging markets. The company is shuffling U.S. production to keep factories busy and boost car output, while building fewer minivans and sport utility vehicles as light truck sales fall.
Honda produces Civic hybrid, a hybrid electric vehicle that competes with the Toyota Prius, the Insight and CR-Z.
Its first entrance into the pickup segment, the light duty Ridgeline, won Truck of the Year from Motor Trend magazine in 2006. Also in 2006, the redesigned Civic won Car of the Year from the magazine, giving Honda a rare double win of Motor Trend honors.
It is reported that Honda plans to increase hybrid sales in Japan to more than 20% of its total sales in fiscal year 2011, from 14.8% in previous year.
Five of United States Environmental Protection Agency's top ten most fuel-efficient cars from 1984 to 2010 comes from Honda, more than any other automakers. The five models are: 2000-2006 Honda Insight (53 mpg-US/4.4 L/100 km; 64 mpg-imp combined), 1986-1987 Honda Civic Coupe HF (46 mpg-US/5.1 L/100 km; 55 mpg-imp combined), 1994-1995 Honda Civic hatchback VX (43 mpg-US/5.5 L/100 km; 52 mpg-imp mpg combined), 2006- Honda Civic Hybrid (42 mpg-US/5.6 L/100 km; 50 mpg-imp combined), and 2010- Honda Insight (41 mpg-US/5.7 L/100 km; 49 mpg-imp combined). The ACEEE has also rated the Civic GX as the greenest car in America for seven consecutive years.

Motorcycles

Honda is the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Japan and has been since it started production in 1955.[27] At its peak in 1982, Honda manufactured almost 3 million motorcycles annually. By 2006 this figure had reduced to around 550,000 but was still higher than its three domestic competitors.
During the 1960s, when it was a small manufacturer, Honda broke out of the Japanese motorcycle market and began exporting to the U.S. Taking Honda’s story as an archetype of the smaller manufacturer entering a new market already occupied by highly dominant competitors, the story of their market entry, and their subsequent huge success in the U.S. and around the world, has been the subject of some academic controversy. Competing explanations have been advanced to explain Honda’s strategy and the reasons for their success.
The first of these explanations was put forward when, in 1975, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) was commissioned by the UK government to write a report explaining why and how the British motorcycle industry had been out-competed by its Japanese competitors. The report concluded that the Japanese firms, including Honda, had sought a very high scale of production (they had made a large number of motorbikes) in order to benefit from economies of scale and learning curve effects. It blamed the decline of the British motorcycle industry on the failure of British managers to invest enough in their businesses to profit from economies of scale and scope.
The second explanation was offered in 1984 by Richard Pascale, who had interviewed the Honda executives responsible for the firm’s entry into the U.S. market. As opposed to the tightly focused strategy of low cost and high scale that BCG accredited to Honda, Pascale found that their entry into the U.S. market was a story of “miscalculation, serendipity, and organizational learning” – in other words, Honda’s success was due to the adaptability and hard work of its staff, rather than any long term strategy. For example, Honda’s initial plan on entering the U.S. was to compete in large motorcycles, around 300 cc. It was only when the team found that the scooters they were using to get themselves around their U.S. base of San Francisco attracted positive interest from consumers that they came up with the idea of selling the Super Cub.
The most recent school of thought on Honda’s strategy was put forward by Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad in 1989. Creating the concept of core competencies with Honda as an example, they argued that Honda’s success was due to its focus on leadership in the technology of internal combustion engines. For example, the high power-to-weight ratio engines Honda produced for its racing bikes provided technology and expertise which was transferable into mopeds. Honda's entry into the U.S. motorcycle market during the 1960s is used as a case study for teaching introductory strategy at business schools worldwide.

Power Equipment

Production started in 1953 with H-type engine (prior to motorcycle).
Honda power equipements reached record sales in 2007 with 6,4 million units. By 2010 (Fiscal year ended March 31) this figure had decreased to 4,7 million units. Cumulative production of power products has exceeded 85 million units (as of September, 2008).

Honda power equipement include:

    Engine
    Tiller
    Lawn mower
    Riding mower
    Trimmer
    Mower
    Blower
    Sprayer
    Hedge trimmer
    Snowthrower
    Generator, welder
    Water-pump
    Power-carrier
    Outboard engine
    Inflatable boat
    Electric 4-wheel Scooter
    Compact Household Cogeneration Unit

Engines

Honda engines powered the entire 33-car starting field of the 2010 Indianapolis 500[33] and for the fifth consecutive race, there were no engine-related retirements during the running of the Memorial Day Classic.
Honda, despite being known as an engine company, has never built a V8 for passenger vehicles. In the late 1990s, the company resisted considerable pressure from its American dealers for a V8 engine (which would have seen use in top-of-the-line Honda SUVs and Acuras), with American Honda reportedly sending one dealer a shipment of V8 beverages to silence them.[35] Honda considered starting V8 production in the mid-2000s for larger Acura sedans, the high end NSX sports car (which previously used DOHC V6 engines with VTEC to achieve its high power output) and possible future ventures into the American full-size truck and SUV segment for both the Acura and Honda brands, but this was cancelled in late 2008, with Honda citing environmental and worldwide economic conditions as reasons for the termination of this project.

Robots

ASIMO is the part of Honda's Research & Development robotics program. It is the eleventh in a line of successive builds starting in 1986 with Honda E0 moving through the ensuing Honda E series and the Honda P series. Weighing 54 kilograms and standing 130 centimeters tall, ASIMO resembles a small astronaut wearing a backpack, and can walk on two feet in a manner resembling human locomotion, at up to 6 km/h (3.7 mph). ASIMO is the world's only humanoid robot able to ascend and descend stairs independently.However, human motions such as climbing stairs are difficult to mimic with a machine, which ASIMO has demonstrated by taking two plunges off a staircase.
Honda's robot ASIMO (see below) as an R&D project brings together expertise to create a robot that walks, dances and navigates steps. 2010 marks the year Honda has developed a machine capable of reading a users brainwaves to move ASIMO. The system uses a helmet covered with electroencephalography and near-infrared spectroscopy sensors that monitor electrical brainwaves and cerebral blood flow—signals that alter slightly during the human thought process. The user thinks of one of a limited number of gestures it wants from the robot, which has been fitted with a Brain Machine Interface.

Aircraft

Honda has also pioneered new technology in its HA-420 HondaJet that allows new levels of reduced drag, increased aerodynamics and fuel efficiency thus reducing operating costs.[citation needed]

Solar Cells

Honda's solar cell subsidiary company Honda Soltec (Headquarters: Kikuchi-gun, Kumamoto; President and CEO: Akio Kazusa) will start sales throughout Japan of thin-film solar cells for public and industrial use on October 24, 2008. After selling solar cells for residential use since October 2007, Honda intends to grow its customer base by manufacturing and selling solar cells capable of the high-capacity electrical generation required by many public and industrial facilities.

Mountain bikes

Honda has also built a Downhill racing bike, known as the Honda RN-01. Honda has taken on several people to pilot the bike, among them is Greg Minnaar. The team is known as Team G Cross Honda. The key feature of this bike is the gearbox, which replaces the standard Derailleur found on most bikes.

Motorsports

Honda has been active in motorsports, like Motorcycle Grand Prix, Superbike racing and others.

Automobile

Honda entered Formula One as a constructor for the first time in the 1964 season at the German Grand Prix with Ronnie Bucknum at the wheel. 1965 saw the addition of Richie Ginther to the team, who scored Honda's first point at the Belgian Grand Prix, and Honda's first win at the Mexican Grand Prix. 1967 saw their next win at the Italian Grand Prix with John Surtees as their driver. In 1968, Jo Schlesser was killed in a Honda RA302 at the French Grand Prix. This racing tragedy, coupled with their commercial difficulties selling automobiles in the United States, prompted Honda to withdraw from all international motorsport that year.
After a learning year in 1965, Honda-powered Brabhams dominated the 1966 French Formula Two championship in the hands of Jack Brabham and Denny Hulme. As there was no European Championship that season, this was the top F2 championship that year. In the early 1980s Honda returned to F2, supplying engines to Ron Tauranac's Ralt team. Tauranac had designed the Brabham cars for their earlier involvement. They were again extremely successful. In a related exercise, John Judd's Engine Developments company produced a turbo "Brabham-Honda" engine for use in IndyCar racing. It won only one race, in 1988 for Bobby Rahal at Pocono.
Honda returned to Formula One in 1983, initially with another Formula Two partner, the Spirit team, before switching abruptly to Williams in 1984. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Honda powered cars won six consecutive Formula One Constructors Championships. WilliamsF1 won the crown in 1986 and 1987. Honda switched allegiance again in 1988. New partners Team McLaren won the title in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991. Honda withdrew from Formula One at the end of 1992, although the related Mugen-Honda company maintained a presence up to the end of 1999, winning four races with Ligier and Jordan Grand Prix.
Honda debuted in the CART IndyCar World Series as a works supplier in 1994. The engines were far from competitive at first, but after development, the company powered six consecutive drivers championships. In 2003, Honda transferred its effort to the rival IRL IndyCar Series. In 2004, Honda-powered cars overwhelmingly dominated the IndyCar Series, winning 14 of 16 IndyCar races, including the Indianapolis 500, and claimed the IndyCar Series Manufacturers' Championship, Drivers' Championship and Rookie of the Year titles. In 2006, Honda became the sole engine supplier for the IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500. In the 2006 Indianapolis 500, for the first time in Indianapolis 500 history, the race was run without a single engine problem.
During 1998, Honda considered returning to Formula One with their own team. The project was aborted after the death of its technical director, Harvey Postlethwaite. Honda instead came back as an official engine supplier to British American Racing (BAR) and Jordan Grand Prix. Honda bought a stake in the BAR team in 2004 before buying the team outright at the end of 2005, becoming a constructor for the first time since the 1960s. Honda won the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix with driver Jenson Button.
It was announced on 5 December 2008, that Honda would be exiting Formula One with immediate effect due to the 2008 global economic crisis. The team was sold to former team principal Ross Brawn, renamed Brawn GP and subsequently Mercedes GP.
Honda became an official works team in the British Touring Car Championship in 2010.

Motorcycles

Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) was formed in 1982. The company combines participation in motorcycle races throughout the world with the development of high potential racing machines. Its racing activities are an important source for the creation of leading edge technologies used in the development of Honda motorcycles. HRC also contributes to the advancement of motorcycle sports through a range of activities that include sales of production racing motorcycles, support for satellite teams, and rider education programs.
Soichiro Honda, being a race driver himself, could not stay out of international motorsport. In 1959, Honda entered five motorcycles into the Isle of Man TT race, the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world. While always having powerful engines, it took until 1961 for Honda to tune their chassis well enough to allow Mike Hailwood to claim their first Grand Prix victories in the 125 and 250 cc classes. Hailwood would later pick up their first Senior TT wins in 1966 and 1967. Honda's race bikes were known for their "sleek & stylish design" and exotic engine configurations, such as the 5-cylinder, 22,000 rpm, 125 cc bike and their 6-cylinder 250 cc and 297 cc bikes.
In 1979, Honda returned to Grand Prix motorcycle racing with the monocoque-framed, four-stroke NR500. The FIM rules limited engines to four cylinders, so the NR500 featured non-circular, 'race-track', cylinders, each with 8 valves and two connecting rods, in order to provide sufficient valve area to compete with the dominant two-stroke racers. Unfortunately, it seemed Honda tried to accomplish too much at one time and the experiment failed. For the 1982 season, Honda debuted their first two-stroke race bike, the NS500 and in 1983, Honda won their first 500 cc Grand Prix World Championship with Freddie Spencer. Since then, Honda has become a dominant marque in motorcycle Grand Prix racing, winning a plethora of top level titles with riders such as Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi .
In motocross, Honda has claimed six motocross world championships. In the World Enduro Championship, Honda has captured six titles, most recently with Stefan Merriman in 2003 and with Mika Ahola in 2007 and 2008.
In observed trials, Honda has claimed three world championships with Belgian rider Eddy Lejeune.

Electric and alternative fuel vehicles


Compressed natural gas

The Honda Civic GX is the only purpose-built natural gas vehicle (NGV) commercially available in some parts of the U.S. The Honda Civic GX first appeared in 1998 as a factory-modified Civic LX that had been designed to run exclusively on compressed natural gas. The car looks and drives just like a contemporary Honda Civic LX, but does not run on gasoline. In 2001, the Civic GX was rated the cleanest-burning internal combustion engine in the world by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‎ (EPA).
First leased to the City of Los Angeles, in 2005, Honda started offering the GX directly to the public through factory trained dealers certified to service the GX. Before that, only fleets were eligible to purchase a new Civic GX. In 2006, the Civic GX was released in New York, making it the second state where the consumer is able to buy the car. Home refueling is available for the GX with the addition of the Phill Home Refueling Appliance.

Flexible-fuel

Honda's Brazilian subsidiary launched flexible-fuel versions for the Honda Civic and Honda Fit in late 2006. As others Brazilian flex-fuel vehicles, these models run on any blend of hydrous ethanol (E100) and E20-E25 gasoline.Initially, and in order to test the market preferences, the carmaker decided to produce a limited share of the vehicles with flex-fuel engines, 33 percent of the Civic production and 28 percent of the Fit models. Also, the sale price for the flex-fuel version was higher than the respective gasoline versions, around US$1,000 premium for the Civic, and US$650 for the Fit, despite the fact that all other flex-fuel vehicles sold in Brazil had the same tag price as their gasoline versions. In July 2009, Honda launched in the Brazilian market its third flexible-fuel car, the Honda City.
During the last two months of 2006, both flex-fuel models sold 2,427 cars against 8,546 gasoline-powered automobiles,jumping to 41,990 flex-fuel cars in 2007, and reaching 93,361 in 2008. Due to the success of the flex versions, by early 2009 a hundred percent of Honda's automobile production for the Brazilian market is now flexible-fuel, and only a small percentage of gasoline version is produced in Brazil for exports.
In March 2009, Honda launched in the Brazilian market the first flex-fuel motorcycle in the world. Produced by its Brazilian subsidiary Moto Honda da Amazônia, the CG 150 Titan Mix is sold for around US$2,700.

Hybrid electric

In late 1999, Honda launched the first commercial hybrid electric car sold in the U.S. market , the Honda Insight, just one month before the introduction of the Toyota Prius, and initially sold for US$20,000.[61][62] The first-generation Insight was produced from 2000 to 2006 and had a fuel economy of 70 miles per US gallon (3.4 L/100 km; 84 mpg-imp) for the EPA's highway rating, the most fuel-efficient mass-produced car at the time. Total global sales for the Insight amounted to only around 18,000 vehicles.
Honda introduced the second-generation Insight in its home nation of Japan in February 2009, and released it in other markets through 2009 and in the U.S. market in April 2009. At $19,800 as a five-door hatchback it will be the least expensive hybrid available in the U.S. Honda expects to sell 200,000 of the vehicles each year, with half of those sales in the United States.
Since 2002, Honda has also been selling the Honda Civic Hybrid (2003 model) in the U.S. market,. It was followed by the Honda Accord Hybrid, offered in model years 2005 through 2007. Sales of the Honda CR-Z began in Japan in February 2010, becoming Honda's third hybrid electric car in the market.
In an interview in early February 2011, a Honda executive disclosed that Honda produces around 200,000 hybrids a year in Japan.

Hydrogen fuel cell

In Takanezawa, Japan, on 16 June 2008, Honda Motors produced the first assembly-line FCX Clarity, a hybrid hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. More efficient than a gas-electric hybrid vehicle, the FCX Clarity combines hydrogen and oxygen from ordinary air to generate electricity for an electric motor.
The vehicle itself does not emit any pollutants and its only by products are heat and water. The FCX Clarity also has an advantage over gas-electric hybrids in that it does not use an internal combustion engine to propel itself. Like a gas-electric hybrid, it uses a lithium ion battery to assist the fuel cell during acceleration and capture energy through regenerative braking, thus improving fuel efficiency. The lack of hydrogen filling stations throughout developed countries will keep production volumes low.[67] Honda will release the vehicle in groups of 150. California is the only U.S. market with infrastructure for fueling such a vehicle, though the number of stations is still limited. Building more stations is expensive, as the California Air Resources Board (CARB) granted $6.8 million for four H2 fueling stations, costing $1.7 million USD each.

Marketing

Honda's official slogan is "The Power of Dreams". They have never used this slogan to sell their products. Mr. Honda's belief is that well built products will sell themselves.
In 2003, Honda released its Cog advertisement in the UK and on the Internet. To make the ad, the engineers at Honda constructed a Rube Goldberg Machine made entirely out of car parts from a Europe Domestic Market Honda Accord (upon which the USDM Acura TSX is based). To the chagrin of the engineers at Honda, all the parts were taken from two of only six hand-assembled pre-production models of the Accord. The advertisement depicted a single cog which sets off a chain of events that ends with the Honda Accord moving and Garrison Keillor speaking the tagline, "Isn't it nice when things just... work?" It took 606 takes to get it perfect.
In 2004, they produced the Grrr advert, usually immediately followed by a shortened version of the 2005 Impossible Dream advert.
In December 2005, Honda released The Impossible Dream a two-minute panoramic advertisement filmed in New Zealand, Japan and Argentina which illustrates the founder's dream to build performance vehicles. While singing the song "Impossible Dream", a man reaches for his racing helmet, leaves his trailer on a minibike, then rides a succession of vintage Honda vehicles: a motorcycle, then a car, then a powerboat, then goes over a waterfall only to reappear piloting a hot air balloon, with Garrison Keillor saying "I couldn't have put it better myself" as the song ends. The song is from the 1960s musical Man Of La Mancha, sung by Andy Williams.
In 2006, Honda released its Choir advertisement, for the UK and the internet. This featured a 60-person choir who sang the car noises as film of the Honda Civic are shown.
For the last several years in the United States, during model close-out sales for the current year before the start of the new model year, Honda's advertising has featured an animated character known simply as Mr. Opportunity, voiced by Rob Paulsen. The casual looking man talks about various deals offered by Honda and ends with the phrase "I'm Mr. Opportunity, and I'm knockin'", followed by him "knocking" on the television screen or "thumping" the speaker at the end of radio ads. Also, commercials for Honda's international hatchback, the Jazz, are parodies of well-known pop culture images such as Tetris and Thomas The Tank Engine.
In late 2006, Honda released an ad with ASIMO exploring a museum, looking at the exhibits with almost child-like wonderment (spreading out its arms in the aerospace exhibit, waving hello to an astronaut suit that resembles him, etc.), while Garrison Keillor ruminates on progress. It concludes with the tagline: "More forwards please".
Honda also sponsored ITV's coverage of Formula One in the UK for 2007. However they had announced that they would not continue in 2008 due to the sponsorship price requested by ITV being too high.
In May 2007, focuses on their strengths in racing and the use of the Red H badge — a symbol of what is termed as "Hondamentalism". The campaign highlights the lengths that Honda engineers go to in order to get the most out of an engine, whether it is for bikes, cars, powerboats — even lawnmowers. Honda released its Hondamentalism campaign. In the TV spot, Garrison Keillor says, "An engineer once said to build something great is like swimming in honey", while Honda engineers in white suits walk and run towards a great light, battling strong winds and flying debris, holding on to anything that will keep them from being blown away. Finally one of the engineers walks towards a red light, his hand outstretched. A web address is shown for the Hondamentalism website. The digital campaign aims to show how visitors to the site share many of the Hondamentalist characteristics.
At the beginning of 2008, Honda released - the Problem Playground. The advert outlines Honda's environmental responsibility, demonstrating a hybrid engine, more efficient solar panels and the FCX Clarity, a hydrogen powered car. The 90 second advert features large scale puzzles, involving Rubik's cubes, large shapes and a 3-dimensional puzzle.
On 29 May 2008, Honda, in partnership with Channel 4, broadcast a live advertisement. It showed skydivers jumping from an aeroplane over Spain and forming the letters H, O, N, D and A in mid-air. This live advertisement is generally agreed to be the first of its kind on British television. The advert lasted three minutes. The next flight of one of the two planes involved resulted in a fatal crash as the plane broke apart in mid-air.
In 2009, American Honda released the Dream the Impossible documentary series, a collection of 5-8 minute web vignettes that focus on the core philosophies of Honda. Current short films include Failure: The Secret to Success, Kick Out the Ladder and Mobility 2088. They feature Honda employees as well as Danica Patrick, Christopher Guest, Ben Bova, Chee Pearlman, Joe Johnston and Orson Scott Card. The film series plays at dreams.honda.com.

Sports

In Australia, Honda advertised heavily during most motor racing telecasts, and was the official sponsor of the 2006 FIA Formula 1 telecast on broadcaster channel "Ten". In fact, it was the only manufacturer involved in the 2006 Indy Racing League season. In a series of adverts promoting the history of Honda's racing heritage, Honda claimed it "built" cars that won 72 Formula 1 Grand Prix. Skeptics have accused Honda of interpreting its racing history rather liberally, saying that virtually all of the 72 victories were achieved by Honda powered (engined) machines, whereas the cars themselves were designed and built by Lotus F1, Williams F1, and McLaren F1 teams, respectively. However, former and current staff of the McLaren F1 team have reiterated that Honda contributed more than just engines and provided various chassis, tooling, and aerodynamic parts as well as funding. Ayrton Senna, arguably the greatest F1 driver of all time, repeatedly stated that Honda probably played the most significant role in his three world championships. He had immense respect for founder, Soichiro Honda, and had a good relationship with Nobuhiko Kawamoto, the chairman of Honda at that time. Senna once called Honda "the greatest company in the world".
As part of its marketing campaign, Honda is an official partner and sponsor of the National Hockey League, the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL, and the arena named after it: Honda Center. Honda also sponsors The Honda Classic golf tournament and is a sponsor of Major League Soccer. The "Honda Player of the Year" award is presented in United States soccer. The "Honda Sports Award" is given to the best female athlete in each of twelve college sports in the United States. One of the twelve Honda Sports Award winners is chosen to receive the Honda-Broderick Cup, as "Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year."

History of Mitsubishi

The origin of Mitsubishi goes back to 1870, when the founder, Yataro Iwasaki, started a shipping firm with three aging steamships. Yataro's brother, son and nephew expanded the business into various fields during their respective terms as president and set the foundation of the Mitsubishi companies. After WWII, the original Mitsubishi organization was disbanded to become independent companies as they are today. Here is a summary of the 130 years history shared by the Mitsubishi companies.
The history of "Mitsubishi" parallels the story of modern Japan. The founder, Yataro Iwasaki was from the prefecture of Kochi on the island of Shikoku, which was the home of the powerful Tosa clan. He worked for the clan and distinguished himself in managing its Osaka trading operations. In 1870, he set up his own shipping company, Tsukumo Shokai, with three steamships chartered from the clan. This was the beginning of Mitsubishi.

The company grew rapidly while undergoing a number of name changes including Mitsukawa Shokai, Mitsubishi Shokai, Mitsubishi Jokisen Kaisha (Mitsubishi Steamship Company), Yubin Kisen Mitsubishi Kaisha (Mitsubishi Mail Steamship Company).
Mitsubishi Mail Steamship Company inaugurated service to China and became the first Japanese company to open an overseas route. But the political winds shifted against Mitsubishi in the early 1880s, and the government sponsored the establishment of a competitor. The ensuing competition nearly bankrupted both companies.

Yataro died of cancer in 1885 and his younger brother Yanosuke succeeded him as president of Mitsubishi. The feud between Mitsubishi and its competitor ended with a government-arbitrated merger the same year, which created Nippon Yusen--today's NYK Line.
While competition was escalating on the sea, Mitsubishi was diversifying ashore. The company purchased the Yoshioka copper mine in Okayama and Takashima coal mine in Nagasaki. It leased and then purchased the Nagasaki Shipbuilding Yard from the government in 1884 and later engineered Japan's first domestically produced steel steamship there.

Yataro Iwasaki

In 1885, Yanosuke Iwasaki succeeded his elder brother, Yataro, as head of the Mitsubishi organization.
After the independence of NYK, Mitsubishi continued to grow and diversify under the autocratic leadership of Yanosuke. He bought up more mines to provide resources for Mitsubishi and Japan's growing industries.
He also incorporated the Mitsubishi organizations as a modern corporation. Yanosuke set about rebuilding the organization around its mining and shipbuilding businesses. He expanded the organization's positions in banking, insurance and warehousing, and thus laid the foundation for future growth and development.
In 1890, he purchased 80 acres of the land next to the Imperial Palace now known as Marunouchi.
Yataro's son, Hisaya, assumed the presidency in 1893. The University of Pennsylvania graduate restructured Mitsubishi to support increasingly diverse business operations. He set up divisions for banking, real estate, marketing, and administration, as well as for the original mining and shipbuilding businesses.
Some of Hisaya's private investments are part of today's Mitsubishi companies. He purchased the Kobe Paper Mill, which is today's Mitsubishi Paper Mills, and he backed the founding of Kirin Brewery. His cousin Toshiya founded Asahi Glass, Japan's first successful manufacturer of plate glass.
Hisaya insisted on the observance of firm ethical principles in business dealings. After the outbreak of WWI in 1914, he called on all the Mitsubishi employees to redouble their commitment to integrity and fairness.
Philanthropy was a lasting emphasis for Hisaya. He donated to the city of Tokyo two expansive Japanese gardens - Rikugien and Kiyosumi-Teien, and established Toyo Bunko, a library for housing oriental works.
Koyata Iwasaki, the son of Yanosuke, took over the presidency from Hisaya in 1916 at the age of 38. Like Hisaya, he had studied abroad and was a graduate of Cambridge University. He led the Mitsubishi organization for nearly 30 years and played a pivotal role in shaping the development of Japanese industry.
Under Koyata, Mitsubishi was modernized further as the divisions were incorporated into semiautonomous companies. Koyata steered Mitsubishi to leadership in such sectors as machinery, electrical equipment, and chemicals. The companies that later became Mitsubishi Heavy Industries developed automobiles, aircraft, tanks, and buses. And Mitsubishi Electric also became a leader in electrical machinery and in home appliances.
The Iwasaki family relinquished some of its control over Mitsubishi through a public offering of shares in the core holding company. By the end of World War II, outside investors held nearly one-half of the equity.
Koyata encouraged his managers and employees to stand above the xenophobia that swept Japan during the war years. "We count many British and Americans among our business partners," he reminded Mitsubishi executives shortly after the outbreak of hostilities. "They are our friends who have undertaken projects together with us and who have shared interests with us. Should peace come again, they should again become our partners."
After the war, the allied occupation forces demanded that Japan's big industrial groups disband. The last Mitsubishi president, Koyata Iwasaki, resisted conforming to the demands but unfortunately passed away in 1945. Mitsubishi Headquarters disbanded on September 30, 1946, and many of the Mitsubishi companies subsequently split into smaller enterprises.
The old Mitsubishi organization ended in 1946. The Mitsubishi holding company was dissolved while the trading house fragmented into hundreds of independent enterprises. Most of the Mitsubishi companies abandoned the name and emblem under pressure from the occupation forces.
In 1952, the San Francisco Peace Treaty was concluded and Japan regained a welcome place in the international community.
In 1954, more than 100 companies that had been part of the trading house, Mitsubishi Corporation, merged to reestablish that company. Similarly, the principal components of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries reunited in 1964. Mitsubishi companies that had abandoned that name after the war began using it and the three-diamond mark again.
Japan was the scene of unprecedented economic growth in the 1950s and 1960s, and the Mitsubishi companies were very much a part of that growth in their established industries and in new ones.
To commemorate the centennial anniversary of the founding of the first Mitsubishi company, the Mitsubishi companies established the Mitsubishi Foundation in 1969. The companies are also active individually in supporting worthy causes through their own charitable foundations and in other ways.
Mitsubishi pavilions have been highlights of expositions in Japan since the historic EXPO'70 in Osaka in 1970. In every way, the companies take part actively in the life of the community they serve.
http://www.mitsubishi.com/e/history/index.html

History of Chevrolet

General Motors owns Chevrolet, a great American car manufacturer. W.C. Durant in Detroit, Michigan started the company. The cars produced were first brought out by racecar driver, Louis Chevrolet. He established an automobile for $2150, which were six cylinders and 4.9 litres. The first big car produced on the market was the Baby Grand, which was sold for $875. Electrics were optional on Chevrolets until 1917. With the first real boost in production and innovation cars were sold at a standard price increasing sales to 70,701 from 13,600.

Louis Chevrolet

In 1917 General Motors acquired Chevrolet. In 1920 Ford and Dodge were the only leaders above Chevrolet's marque. As competition rose Chevrolet began preparation for new models as well as styles. They came up with a few standard automobiles, which were no different than competitors until their 1925 Superior. This coach had disc wheels and "Duco cellulose finish (refer to source 6)" selling for only $650. This allowed for Chevrolet to outsell Ford for the first time, even though Ford was switching over from the Model T to A. One big development came in 1929 with the "Cast Iron Wonder" which sold more than a million cars in its first year at $595.
In 1931 Chevrolet finally surpassed Ford for a matter of 3 years. During the 1930's Chevy became aware of the need to improvise. They came up with many new styles adding to their collection of automobiles. Thy created V-grilles, hydraulic brakes, large engines, column shifts, along with convertibles. They also manufactured a station wagon in 1939. While in 1940 they offered a power top convertible with low prices. Also during the coming months Juan Manuel Fangio won a race in Argentina using one of the new coupes.
As years passed the company increased sales, production, and opportunities. In 1949 they underwent surgery on their cars by extensively restyling to produce a sedan costing $1460. A major impact came in 1950 with the offering of a 2 speed fully automatic transmission. In 1953 the Corvette sports car was produced with a V-6 and fiberglass body.
The Corvette was a spectacular automobile. It needed more so it was reassembled to acquire an 8-cylinder engine with options such as air suspension. Another breakthrough car was the 1960 Corvair, which was reproduced to include a turbo-supercharged engine.
The Chevrolet Company has produced many new models over the years. They have become a leader in the industry under General Motors. With newer models of sports cars, full size pickup trucks, sedans, and coupes the company has grown with immense popularity. The company proved the need of American manufacturers to diversify their products. They improved using new styles such as disc brakes, headlamps, engine size, faster, as well as more reliable cars. Some of their greatest accomplishments were the Camaro, Corvette, the luxurious Caprice, Chevelle, and the Impala. Chevrolet has always been a competitor; they produce in order to satisfy the needs of the consumer by offering great automobiles at low prices.

History of Volvo

Volvo, Latin for "I roll", was born on April 14th, 1927 when the first car "Jakob" left the factory in Gothenburg, Sweden. Founded by Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larsson, the company was formed on a background of quality and safety which were both of paramount importance, a concept that still applies to the Volvo cars of today.

The fledgling company produced both closed top and cabriolet models of their new four-cylinder OV4 and PV4 models, which were constructed to better withstand the harsh Swedish climate, than contemporary US imports. Both carried the Swedish symbol for iron attached to a diagonal piece if metal on the front grille – another aspect of Volvo’s heritage that can still be seen on today’s models.

In 1929 a six-cylinder PV651 model had been introduced which was both longer and wider than the Jakob. Its success helped the company to purchase its engine supplier and buy its first factory and by the end of 1931 return it’s first dividend to shareholders.
The first production milestone of 10,000 Volvo’s was reached in May 1932 and it was not long before Volvo dealers were asking the company to develop a more inexpensive car "for the people". This was the PV 51 model of 1936, similar to the more expensive PV36 in design, but smaller in size and less well equipped.
The Second World War significantly restricted Volvo’s production of cars, but by the autumn of 1944 the company had unveiled one of its most significant cars – the PV444. Volvo’s first "true" small car, its stylish design combined American flair with European size and it was an instant success. The PV444 and the PV544 would dominate Volvo production through to the mid 1960’s and be the first models to gain Volvo a slice of the important US market during the 1950’s.
Another popular model was the Volvo 120 introduced in 1956 and often called the Amazon.

Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larsson

Safety features and accident protection were a key factor in this cars design and this was enhanced even further in 1959 when both the Amazon and PV544 were equipped with three-point safety belts – a world first and an invention pioneered by Volvo’s head of safety engineering, Nils Bohlin.
Volvo’s first sports car was the P1800, unveiled in 1960. Considered to be an excellent touring car with it’s sleek coupe lines, the P1800 went on to find fame in "The Sain" TV series with Roger Moore behind the wheel.
By 1964 Volvo had opened a new production plant in Torslanda, Sweden capable of producing up to 200,000 cars a year and by 1966 the Volvo 140 family was introduced firstly as a saloon and later as an estate, helping to cement a family market that Volvo was rapidly claiming as its own.
Innovations in safety and environmental care continued apace with crumple zones, rear facing child seats, collapsible steering columns, side collision protection and the three-way catalytic converter with Lambdasond all being introduced on Volvo’s in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.
The Volvo 240 range replaced the 140 with even higher levels of safety and quality and was joined by the smaller Volvo 340 models from Holland to take Volvo’s sales past the 4 million mark by the end of the 1970’s.
In turn the Volvo 700 series of 1982 took Volvo yet another step into the exclusive market for personalised high-quality cars. Later in the decade the 340 was replaced by the Volvo 400 series which won plaudits for its roadholding and safety as well as its generous amount of interior space.
A completely new and different Volvo was launched to the world in June 1991. The Volvo 850 was Volvo’s first front wheel drive executive car, with a transverse, five-cylinder engine. Its high level of safety combined with real driving pleasure won the car many independent awards.
The proposed merger with Renault fell through in its final stages in 1993 leaving Volvo as one of the few remaining independent car manufacturers. This marked a key turn in the company’s plans and paved the way for Volvo’s new dynamic product strategy with the introduction in 1996 of the sleek and more rounded designs of the Volvo S40 and V40.
They, like the Volvo C70 coupe and convertible that were introduced later that year, were cars that combined all of Volvo’s traditional values of safety, environmental care with sporty, elegant and exciting design and engineering.
With the Volvo S80 sedan of 1998 and the V70 wagon of 1999, all of this new engineering and design was brought together in a cars that both Gustaf Larson and Assar Gabrielson would have recognised as Volvo’s that represented their wishes for safe, quality products, but that can hold a fascination and desire for customers in today’s sophisticated car market.

History of Bugatti

Ettore Bugatti was born into an artist's family, in Milan, Italy, on September 15th, 1881. His father, Carlo Bugatti, was a famous sculptor and respected artistic carpenter in his own right. His furniture creations, which were marked by Arabic influences, were prized well beyond the borders of Italy.

1897
After finishing school, and a short stay at the Academy of Art, in Milan, Ettore Bugatti began his training at the bicycle manufacturer Prinetti and Stucchi. Young Bugatti was especially fascinated by the technology and mechanics of the automobile, which had only been recently invented. At age 17, Ettore equipped a tricycle with a motor, and soon thereafter followed it with another tricycle driven by twin DeDion motors. Just prior to the end of the century, Ettore Bugatti took part in a race with his first vehicle.

1901
In 1901, Ettore Bugatti presented his first self-made automobile at the international exhibition in Milan. He built the vehicle with the help of the Gulinelli brothers, and was awarded the 'T2' prize by the French Automobile Club for its construction. Following some initial difficulties, the license for the production rights of the vehicle to the de Dietrich company, located in Niederbronn in the Alsace region. Because Ettore had not yet reached the legal age of 21, his father had to sign the contract with de Dietrich. In the following years, Ettore Bugatti developed five further vehicle models for the Deutz company in Cologne.

1905
The de Dietrich company was not satisfied with the amount of time Ettore spent developing and constructing racing cars, while, inthe company's opinion, neglecting series production. His contract with de Dietrich was therefore terminated. Ettore Bugatti went to work for Emil Mathis, and designed a new automobile with a four-cylinder engine.

Ettero Bugatti

1907
As was earlier the case with de Dietrich, it wasn't long before Ettore Bugatti's relationship with Emil Mathis also soured. However, not one to be dissuaded by rejection, he continued working towards his goal of designing racing cars, and, without contractual restrictions, in 1906 he developed an automobile with a 50 hp engine. In July 1907, he offered it to Deutz, a company which built gasoline engines. They obtained the license to build the car, and Bugatti was named the leader of the production department in Cologne. Working in his spare time in the basement of his apartment, he developed his first little Model 10 'Pur Sang'.

1909
Ettore's third child, named Jean, was born on January 15th, 1909. At this time, with the support of the banker, de Vizcaya, Bugatti opened a business of his own in a disused dyeing works in the town of Molsheim in the Alsatian region of Germany. Subsequently, he secured a loan from the Darmstaedter Bank allowing him to build ten automobiles and five aircraft engines.

1910
The first machines for the factory in Molsheim were delivered in January of 1910. Five automobiles were built and sold in that year. Ettore Bugatti's long-time assistant, Ernest Fridrich, began driving in races in that year, laying the foundation for the legendary success of Bugatti racing cars in the years to come.

Bugatti T 13 1920

1911
Ettore Bugatti happily celebrated a series of racing success in 1911. Especially surprising was the Bugatti's team's second place finish in the French Grand Prix, in which the Model 10 was successful against a large number of much more powerful racing cars. In the same year, Bugatti signed a license contract with the automobile maker Peugeot for the production of the Bebe Peugeot, the Bugatti Model 19 engine. the Bebe became a great success. It was built into a large majority of Bugatti models. Several thousand automobiles were built with the Model 19 in them.

1914-1918
During the First World War, Ettore Bugatti developed a number of airplane engine concepts for both the French and American government. The license fees for these engines brought him the necessary capital to enable him to again begin operations in the Molsheim plant after the end of the war. Production was increased, and the number of employees rose to over a thousand.

1921
First, second, third, and fourth place - that was the Bugatti team's balance the Voiturettes Grand Prix in Brescia. This great and convincing victory immortalized the small Bugatti Model 13. Since then, every 16-valve engine built by Bugatti carries the name Brescia, the site of the race, in the model designation as a reminiscence of this amazing victory.

1922
The model 29/30 was the first racing car that Ettore Bugatti equipped with 8 cylinders. In addition, it had hydraulic brakes and a revolutionary chassis construction in the form of a cigar. The 'Cigar' was driven for the first time in the 1922 ACF Grand Prix. The car finished in second place!

1923
Ettore Bugatti caused a lot of excitement at the 1923 ACF Grand Prix in Tours. As in 1922 with the 'Cigar', he again introduced a car with another revolutionary chassis - a blade profile with covered wheels. Called the 'Tank', this racing car had a very short wheel base, and was driven by a further developed 8-cyinder engine. With Ernest Fridrich at the wheel, the 'Tank' finished the race in third place.

1924
For the 1924 racing season, in part to offer his customers a more attractive looking racing car, Ettore Bugatti returned with a more traditional chassis. The Model 35 had an 8-cylinder, 2 liter engine, and was the first car to run on the now famous aluminum hoop-spoked wheels. The engine capacity was later expanded to 2.3 liters. When all of the variations are taken into account, the Model 35, with over 2,000 victories, was the most successful racing car of all time.

1927
Already back in 1914, Ettore Bugatti dreamed of building the best, most luxurious automobile ever. With the introduction of the 'Royale' in 1926, he was finally able to realize his dream. Even at today's standards, the 'Royale' was the most expensive automobile of all time. The 8-cylinder engine had a 12.7 liter capacity that delivered 300 hp. Unfortunately, this legendary automobile came into the market at precisely the wrong point in history, just as the world was entering the Great Depression. With only three of these fantastic automobiles sold, the 'Royale' almost financially ruined Bugatti and his company.

1932-1934
During the difficult years of the Great Depression, Ettore Bugatti won the contract to build a new high speed train for the French government. Bugatti began manufacturing railcars, while at the same time, finding a use for the expensively developed, yet technically superior engines of the 'Royale'. By installing these technologic masterpieces in trains, he not only satisfied the French government, but was albe to stabilize his company's shaky financial standing, thus proving that he was not only a dreamer, but an astute businessman as well. Except for the train which Ettore Bugatti completely designed himself. The only automobile model that was still being produced at the beginning of the 1930's was the Model 57. This sedan was his last big production success, with about 750 units produced and sold.

1936
They year 1936 changed Bugatti's world forever. His workers had decided to strike for better pay and working conditions. Ettore Bugatti, who had always had a special relationship with his employees, paying above average wages and social benefits, felt personally insulted by the strike, which was managed from outside his company. He distanced himself from his employees, thereafter preferring to work almost exclusively from his Parris office. A result of the strike was lower pay for inexperienced new workers. The friendly working environment at Molsheim thereafter was never again what it had been before the strike took place.

1937
With the 1937 victory at Le Mans, Ettore Bugatti again experienced the thrill that his team had enjoyed in the 1920's. Drivers Jean Pierre Wimille and Robert Benoist won the race in a Model 57 G 'Tank'.

1939
At the end of the 1930's, Ettore Bugatti found himself in a very difficult financial situation. Nonetheless, his son, Jean, was able to convince him to again enter a team at the race at Le Mans. Having a chassis of the 57 series with a compressor, as well as a chassis similar to a 'Tank' such as they had already driven to victory at Le Mans in 1937, the drivers Jean Pierre Wimille and Pierre Veyron, with only one vehicle at their disposal, were able to win this important race.

The 1939 win at LeMans was to be the last big win for Ettore Bugatti. On the 11th of August, 1939, the designated successor of the 'Patron', his son Jean, was killed during a test-run in the same car that had won the race at Le Mans only weeks before. A few days later, the Second World War began.

1947
After the end of the war, several timid attempts were made to resume production at the Molsheim plant. However, the financial situation made it impossible for Ettore Bugatti to develop a new line of products. On August 21, 1947, at the age of 66, Ettore Bugatti died of a lung infection in a military hospital in Paris. Although only about 7,900 automobiles were built while he controlled the company, many of these vehicles have proudly survived to this day - proof of Ettore Bugatti's genius and contributions to the world of automotive history.

History of Jaguar

The origins of Jaguar can be traced back to the northern seaside town of Blackpool in the early 1920s. It was here that a young motorcycle enthusiast, Bill Lyons (b. 1901), not yet 21 years of age, met William Walmsley (b. 1891) who was building attractive motorcycle sidecars and attaching them to reconditioned motorbikes. Walmsley had not long arrived in Blackpool with his parents from Stockport, and both families happened lived in the same street – King Edward Avenue.
As soon as William Lyons came of age, he and Walmsley formed the Swallow Sidecar Company on 4th September 1922 with a bank overdraft of £1,000. Securing first and second floor premises in Bloomfield Road, Blackpool, they commenced commercial production of the sidecars together with a small team of eight employees, including a young Arthur Whitaker. Although initially employed to help with sales, Whitaker’s strength lay in purchasing and he was to remain with Lyons for some 50 years, proving himself to be one of the most shrewd purchasers in the business.

Lack of factory space soon became a problem, and two further Blackpool sites were taken over – in Woodfield Road (mainly for despatch purposes) and, shortly afterwards, in John Street which was fortuitously situated close to the main Swallow premises.
In mid-1926, plans for producing motor-car bodies were well under way, and this – together with the year-by-year increase in production of the sidecars – made it necessary for Swallow to move into a larger building. Lyons had heard that a building erected specifically for coachbuilding was coming on to the market. The previous occupant, Joseph Street, had run into trouble and the property was now up for sale, but at a price beyond which the partnership could afford. Fortunately, Walmsley’s father had just sold his coal business and was looking for somewhere to invest the proceeds, offering to purchase the building and lease it to Lyons and Walmsley junior at an annual rent of £325.
The entire removal to 41 Cocker Street took just one weekend with no assistance from outside sources, other than the unofficial assistance of one pantechnicon and driver, which on the Friday had delivered new sidecar chassis frames from Haywards of Birmingham.
It was in late 1926, and announced to the public in May 1927, that the Swallow Sidecar and Coachbuilding Company first diversified by taking an existing car and bodying it with more fashionable coachwork. The first model to benefit was the popular, but basic, Austin Seven. Intended to bring motoring to the masses, the Austins were cheap and easy to run, but Lyons believed “… that it would also appeal to a lot of people if it had a more luxurious and attractive body.” Lyons persuaded Stanley Parker, a dealer in Bolton, Lancashire, to supply him with a new Austin Seven chassis and the result, largely thanks to the efforts of Cyril Holland, a coachbuilder who had been hired from the Midlands, was the Austin Seven Swallow – a distinctive open tourer, with its own cowled radiator, and at £175 (£185 with the hinged hard top) remained well within the budget of many Austin owners.
The Austin Swallow proved popular and was followed in 1928 by the Austin Seven Swallow Saloon – a car that looked much more expensive than it actually was. By aping the style of the more luxurious cars of the era, the Swallows allowed their owners to “keep up appearances” at a time of economic hardship for many.
1928 also saw the brief introduction of the Morris Cowley-Swallow. Relatively few of these cars were produced. Although the price was right, the Cowley-Swallow was very slow, and would have struggled against the Oxford-MG. This was not the only Morris connection, however. Produced as a “one-off”, was the Morris Minor-Swallow.
In 1928 the business was moved from Blackpool, where there was a serious shortage of skilled labour, to an old ammunition factory at Foleshill, Coventry. Capable of only producing 2 cars per day in the existing factory, an order from Henlys for 500 Austin Swallows effectively forced this move. With a fivefold increase in floor space, Swallow production could be upped from twelve to fifty cars per week. The move also reduced costs as it was no longer necessary to transport the chassis from their manufacturers in the Midlands up to Blackpool.
At the annual London Motor Show in 1929, three new Swallow models appeared for the first time. These were based on the existing Standard Big Nine, Swift Ten, and Fiat Tipo 509A chassis. The Standard Swallow was a rather larger saloon than the previous models, selling for £245, but still offered a more extravagant body style than the manufacturer’s own car.
In 1931 the larger Standard 16 hp six-cylinder Enfield chassis received the Swallow treatment, introducing the company to the 2054cc sidevalve engine, which they were to utilise for their next ambitious step forward. Meanwhile a model of rather more sporting pretensions was introduced with the Swallow version of the Wolseley Hornet, and in 1932 the even more sporty Hornet Special.
http://www.jaguar-enthusiasts.org.uk/jaguar-history.html

History of VolksWagen

When in 1937 the company known as "Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH" was founded, no one could have guessed that it would one day be Europe's largest carmaker. The history of the company - with all its trials and tribulations - is first and foremost a story of impressive success.

1937-1945
On May 28th, 1937 the "Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH" company is founded, and on September 16th, 1938 it is renamed "Volkswagenwerk GmbH". In early 1938, in what is today Wolfsburg, work begins on construction of the Volkswagenwerk plant which is to house production of the new vehicle designed by Ferdinand Porsche.
During the Second World War Volkswagenwerk's production is switched to armaments. Some 20,000 forced labourers, prisoners of war, and later also concentration camp prisoners, work at the plant.
In September 1998, in recognition of the events of that time, VOLKSWAGEN AG established a humanitarian fund on behalf of the forced labourers compelled to work at Volkswagen during the Second World War. By the end of 2001 more than 2,050 people in 26 countries had received humanitarian aid from the fund. Furthermore, a Memorial in remembrance of the forced labour employed at the Volkswagenwerk plant is currently being established at Wolfsburg, involving contributions from present-day Volkswagen apprentices.

1945-1949
After the end of the Second World War, in mid June 1945, responsibility for Volkswagenwerk is placed in the hands of the British Military Government. Under the management of Major Ivan Hirst, mass production of the Volkswagen Beetle is started.
   
1949-1960
On March 8th, 1950 the Type 2 goes into production, expanding the company's product range. The Volkswagen Bus, still today known to many as the "VW Bully", soon creates rising demand thanks to its multifunctional capabilities. In 1956 a separate manufacturing base for the Transporter is established in Hanover, at the same time setting down the roots of today's Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand.
In 1955 employees and dealers from Germany and abroad celebrate the production of the one millionth Volkswagen Beetle in Wolfsburg.

1960-1980
On February 17th, 1972 Volkswagen breaks the world car production record: with 15,007,034 units assembled, the Beetle surpasses the legendary mark achieved by the Ford Motor Company's Model T, popularly known as the "Tin Lizzy", between 1908 and 1927.
In 1973 the Passat is the first model of the new generation of Volkswagen vehicles to go into production - with front-wheel drive, a water-cooled four-cylinder engine and a range of engines up to 110 bhp. The Passat is built in line with the modular strategy, by which standardised components usable in a range of different models provide significant rationalisation.
In January 1974 the first Golf is built at the Wolfsburg plant. The compact saloon quickly becomes a hit, and advances to become the legitimate heir to the legendary Beetle. The same year also sees the launch of the sporty Scirocco, which was to continue in production until 1981. In 1976 the first Golf GTI rolls off the production line. The car, with its110 bhp engine, creates a real furore on the roads - and lays the foundations for the birth of a legend.
In January 1974 the first Golf is built at the Wolfsburg plant. The compact saloon quickly becomes a hit, and advances to become the legitimate heir to the legendary Beetle. The same year also sees the launch of the sporty Scirocco, which was to continue in production until 1981.
In 1976 the first Golf GTI rolls off the production line. The car, with its110 bhp engine, creates a real furore on the roads - and lays the foundations for the birth of a legend.   

1980-1990
In June 1983 production of the second-generation Golf begins. The car is designed for a largely automated assembly process, and in the specially erected final assembly hall, designated Hall 54, robots are deployed for the first time in vehicle manufacture.   

1990-2000
With the production launch of the Lupo 3L TDI, the first production car to offer fuel consumption of just three litres per 100 kilometres, in July 1999, Volkswagen once again makes automotive history.
   
2000-2003
In August 2002, at Volkswagen Slovakia, a.s. in Bratislava, mass production of the Touareg, a luxury-class off-road vehicle, is started, marking the Volkswagen brand's move into an entirely new market segment.
In December 2002 the "Auto 5000 GmbH" company, operating a plant at the Group's site in Wolfsburg, starts production of the Touran compact van. A special collective pay model has been developed, aimed at implementing lean production and involving flat hierarchies, team working, flexible working hours and the deployment of more process expertise by the workforce.
In December 2002 the "Auto 5000 GmbH" company, operating a plant at the Group's site in Wolfsburg, starts production of the Touran compact van. A special collective pay model has been developed, aimed at implementing lean production and involving flat hierarchies, team working, flexible working hours and the deployment of more process expertise by the workforce.
In 2003 production of the fifth-generation Golf is started, embodying a new dynamism in its design and engineering.
In 2003 production of the fifth-generation Golf is started, embodying a new dynamism in its design and engineering.
http://www.volkswagen.com/vwcms/master_public/virtualmaster/en2/unternehmen/geschichte.html

History of Lamborghini

Ferruccio Lamborghini was born in Italy in 1916. He was fascinated with engines from an early age. During World War II he joined the army and was stationed on the island of Rhodes. Fortunately there was little going on there during the war.  The island was essentially isolated from the rest of the world. Any cars, trucks or motorcycles that broke down had to be repaired on the spot with reused parts.  Lamborghini became known as a wizard at mechanical improvisation and became very much in demand at fixing engines.

After the war he returned to his home near Modena in northern Italy and setup a small car and motorcycle repair shop.  He soon realized that there was a desperate need for tractors in the agricultural area in which he lived. He found he could build about one tractor a month from derelict military vehicles. As Italy's economy grew demand for his high quality tractors started to grow. He began building his own tractor engines. His tractor business became very successful reaching a rate of over 400 a month in 1960. He soon looked at expanding the business and in 1960 began manufacturing heaters and air conditioning units for buildings as well as maintaining the tractor business. This too became very successful.

Ferruccio Lamborghini

About this time Lamborghini started to get interested in developing a high performance car. He had owned Oscas, Maseratis and Ferraris but was always disappointed with them.  Particularly their engines. There is a now famous story about how he was frustrated with problems he had with a clutch in a Ferrari (a Ferrari 250 GT), and went to visit Enzo Ferrari who's factory was nearby. Enzo had no time for a tractor manufacture and simply dismissed him. Lamborghini decided there was nothing Ferrari was doing he could not do better. He decided too build his own car with a V12 engine.  For the design he found a very talented engineer named Giampaolo Dallara who had previously worked on a Ferrari V12 engine.
The new engine had 4 cams, a short stroke and 4 big bore valves per cylinder.  It developed a surprising 350 HP. It was an all aluminum engine with a crankshaft supported by seven main bearings. These crankshafts were machined from SAE 9840 steel.  The connecting rods (12) were of SAE 4340 steel. The pistons were of forged aluminum. Each pair of camshafts were driven by their own half engine speed sprocket and silent chain.  This engine was really the prototype for all future Lamborghini engines. A body designed by Scaglione-Touring was used to house the engine.
The Lamborghini "350 GTV" prototype was shown to the public on the Turin Auto Show of 1963. Sales started the following year. The car was called the 350 GT. It was a complete success.  Over 130 were sold.The future of Automobili Lamborghini looked very bright during the sixties. The 350 GT was succeeded by the 400 GT and then the  400 GT 2+2.  The 350 GT and 400 GT 2+2 made the Lamborghini name known throughout the world. With the funds coming in from these cars and his successful tractor business Ferruccio allowed his engineers to design and construction a new car - the Lamborghini Miura. The Miura made the Lamborghini name legendary. It was a car truly ahead of its time. It shocked even companies like Ferrari and Maserati.
The Miura was first shown on November 1965 at the Turin Auto Show by Ferruccio Lamborghini himself. Only the chassis was shown at the show, the engine was transversely mid-mounted, something up to then only seen in real F1 race cars. The design of the body was executed by Marcello Gandini in less than a year, and on the March 1966 Geneva Show it was completed and on display. It looked even better than in Turin. The car was very aggressively styled, and an appropriate name was chosen for it, the Miura, a name taken from the ferocious Spanish fighting bulls.  Again the car was a complete success.
This was followed in 1973 at the Geneva Auto Show when Lamborghini shocked the world again with his revolutionary LP400 Countach. Only a prototype was shown. Today it is difficult to realize the impact that car had on everybody at that time. Even now the car is a show stopper! The car at the show was painted in a bright red and with a black suede interior. It showed for the first time, the by now, famous, Lamborghini signature swing up doors. It also displayed unique vertically mounted rear air intakes to go with its powerful 4 Liter engine.
In 1974 disaster struck.  The Lamborghini tractor business received a major setback. A massive order for tractors to a south American country was cancelled. Lamborghini anticipating the demand, had previously upgraded the tractor factory to be able to build the numbers of tractors required. The company lost a lot of money over it. Compounding things also at this time was a series of labor problems at the factory. While his personal fortune was still considerable he decided to sell part of his share in the factory. Eventually the factory was taken over by Fiat.
During the seventies the company survived on sales of Miura's. The car business started to be self sufficient and make money.  However Lamborghini eventually sold all his remaining stock in the company to a Swiss investor.  The company to this day still retains his name however.  Ferruccio Lamborghini died in February 1993 at the age of almost 76
The oil crisis of the 70's started to made sales of high performance cars difficult.  Production art the factory was plagued with budget and parts supply problems.  People gave up waiting for cars with two year back orders. A wealthy Canadian, Walter Wolf,  played a major role is supporting Lamborghini and developing the Countach during these difficult times.
In 1978 the company declared bankruptcy. An Italian court was appointed to find a buyer.  A Swiss based group called the Mimran brother's were able to save the factory. Patrick Mimran (one of the brothers),  in 1980 started to turn the company around. The Countach was developed further under him from the LP500 S right up to the impressive QuattroValvole. .
Just as things were going well, the Mimran brothers sold the company to Chrysler Corporation.  This was a big surprise at the time.  Chrysler support however was just what the company needed at that time. They were working on a Countach successor --  the Diablo. Chrysler kept the winning team together in Italy. While the cultures of the two companies were different and things got stressful between the management groups, they did succeed in bringing the vast resources of Chrysler to bear on the  design, pollution controls, and new manufacturing techniques etc. for the new car.
Again the result was an outstanding success. The new Lamborghini Diablo got rave reviews everywhere it went.  However in another twist of faith, in 1994 Chrysler fell upon hard times and had to sell the company. It was bought by an Indonesian investment group headed by Tommy Suharto of the well known Suharto family.  Unfortunately in the late 90's an economical crisis started to hit the Indonesian owners hard and the much needed money for research on a successor to the Diablo started to dry up.
Fortunately the German company Audi had an interest in Lamborghini. On August 4 1998, in a complex series of transactions Audi AG became the sole owner of Automobili Lamborghini. As in the case of the Chrysler buyout, this could not have been a better time for Lamborghini. Audi took an active role in designing the Murcielago and brought to the table again the vast resources of a major automobile company to develop and produce another exotic car.
Lets hope this is the last chapter of ownership changes in this unique little Italian car company.  It is to the credit of the people there that they have hung in to all the changes of ownership they have experienced over the years and yet produced such exciting cars.
http://www.lamboweb.com/History.htm