One of the pioneers of the Japanese motor industry, Soichiro Honda (1906-1991) had a lengthy engineering background and started his own garage in 1928.  After WW II he concentrated on motorbike production, his company becoming the first in the world to sell over a million in one year.  The Honda Motor Co. Ltd. was then established in 1962 building small cars at first, with the Civic becoming a major export success.  International links followed with manufacture in the USA and with British Leyland in the UK and later, in many countries worldwide.  Apart from vehicles the company makes a wide variety of products from generators to aircraft engines.