VOL. 56 ISSUE 3 JANUARY 22, 2019 P91
T
he Honda Super Cub is
the world's most popular
motor vehicle yet con-
ceived—a global icon of per-
sonal transportation, compa-
rable only to the Model T Ford,
Volkswagen Beetle, Land Rover
and Jeep.
Introduced in 1958, Honda
Motor's 10th year of existence,
it was created by Soichiro
Honda to "provide the joy of
playing a useful part in people's
lives." The profits from doing
so underwrote Honda's subse-
quent development into today's
automotive giant, as well as its
dominant entry into all forms of
motorcycle sport. The creation
of all Honda's various world
champion bikes on and off-
road came about thanks to the
profits from building those tens
of millions of Super Cubs.
With total volume surpass-
ing 100 million units in 2017,
more Super Cubs have been
produced than any other motor
vehicle in history. Supposedly,
laid nose-to-tail, the number
sold so far would circumnavi-
gate the globe five times. The
bike is so instantly recognizable
it was the first vehicle in Japan
to be granted a three-dimen-
sional trademark, and in the
1960s became the centerpiece
of Honda America's famed
marketing campaign proclaim-
ing that: "You meet the nicest
people on a Honda."
And to commemorate that
As long as you've got
a Honda Cub and
some imagination,
you can create some
pretty wild bikes!
