American Honda Motor Company

American Honda Motor Company, Inc. is the North American subsidiary of the Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company. It opened in Los Angeles on June 11, 1959, as Honda's first overseas subsidiary, an unusual structure at a time when foreign car makers usually relied on independent distributors in the United States. The company combines product sales, service and coordinating functions for Honda in North America and is responsible for distributing, marketing and selling Honda and Acura automobiles, Honda powersports products such as motorcycles, scooters and all-terrain vehicles, power equipment, engines, marine engines and the HondaJet aircraft. Its headquarters moved from Los Angeles to Gardena in 1963 and to Torrance, California, in 1990. Its early growth came from motorcycles, helped by the 1963 advertising campaign built on the line You meet the nicest people on a Honda. It also claims to have been the first Japanese car maker to create a subsidiary to sell vehicles in the United States and the first to manufacture automobiles in North America.