Soichiro Honda is considered to be one of the true giants of our modern industrial world.

Born in 1906 in the small town of Komyo, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, Honda grew up repairing bicycles at his father's shop. At the age of 16, Honda traveled to Tokyo to study automobile repair. He returned to Komyo six years later and opened his own repair shop.

As a young man, Honda pursued his love for racing. After a serious crash in 1937, however, he turned his attention to developing a piston ring technology that he eventually sold to Toyota.

Mark Rolfing (left) & Soichiro Honda (right)

By the early 1950s, Honda had begun making motorcycle engines, which he sold to another manufacturer. Later, he formed a partnership with Takeo Fujisawa. Fujisawa invested his money and took on the marketing responsibilities, while Honda continued to develop the technological side of the business.

In 1952, Honda Motor Co. began making its own motorcycles. That same year, it launched the Cub Ð a small, affordable motorcycle that some have called Japan's Model T; the Cub was easy to operate, and sales took off.

Every step of the way, Honda demonstrated his distaste for long-established ways of doing business and always sought new and innovative means of achieving his goals. At work, Honda listened to everyone's ideas. He constantly asked his workers for their opinions, so they became comfortable expressing themselves.

Honda continued to travel to races all over the world to examine his competition's motorcycles. Honda took all his data home and then strove to better whatever standards the competition set. This attitude took Honda motorcycles to the top in international racing events. Honda's racing successes converted to sales successes. In 1959, Honda topped the Japanese motorcycle sales chart with 285,000 units. Two years later, Honda was selling at rate of 100,000 units a month.

Danny Kaleikini (left) & Soichiro Honda (right)

In the early 1960s, Honda announced its intention to enter automobile production. As with motorcycles, Honda first entered racing in the Formula 1 series. By 1965, Honda had achieved a first-place victory in the Mexican Grand Prix and several wins in Formula 2 the following year.

The first Honda motorcycles were introduced into the United States in 1959. After having to re-engineer his motorcycles to meet the demands of the American consumer, Honda became the top-selling brand of motorcycles in the United States by 1963.

Honda's unique leadership allowed the Honda Motor Company to become a world power in the automotive field. Today, Honda stands as the largest motorcycle manufacturer and the 9th largest automobile manufacturer in the world.