What’s Honda motorcycles doing restoring a Chevy pickup truck?
Well, shortly after American Honda Motor Co (AMH) opened for business in the United States in 1959, it bought a bunch of Chevrolet pickup trucks so it could deliver motorcycles to its fledgling dealers across Southern California.
One of these trucks is depicted in a period photo taken circa 1961 in front of AHM’s original office at 4077 Pico Blvd in Los Angeles.
Underscoring their importance during those early days, American Honda restored a truck to authentically match the one in the old photo, as part of its anniversary celebrations.
Drawing on its archives and the memories of retired Honda associates for details, a 1961 Chevy half-ton pickup was found and carefully restored.
The original paint scheme was also replicated as used by salesmen delivering motorcycles to dealers to sell on a consignment basis (remember the photo is in black and white).
Starting in Southern California, these trucks helped American Honda quickly establish a foothold in the lucrative US market.
In 1960, the first full year of operations, American Honda sold fewer than 2000 motorcycles through three product lines: the Dream, Benly and Honda 50 (Super Cub).
The following year, Honda established 500 motorcycle dealers and spent $150,000 on advertising in regions where it operated ($1,594,319 in today’s dollars.
Honda’s expansion into new US markets was undertaken one region at a time over a five-year period, starting on the West Coast and moving east, creating new demand for motorcycles.
Sales in the US did not increase notably until 1963, when the company launched its “You meet the nicest people on a Honda” advertising campaign, the first of its scale to promote motorcycles to mainstream Americans.
By 1965, Honda had become the best-selling brand of motorcycles in America, with a market share of almost 72 percent.
Honda first introduced passenger cars to the North American market in 1970 with sales of the Honda N600 sedan through 32 dealers in the western states.
To go with the truck, two vintage motorcycles — a Honda 50 step-through and CB160 — like those that would have been originally carried by the trucks, were also sourced.
The truck is now part of the American Honda Collection in Torrance, where it sits in front of a replica of the company’s original Los Angeles office.
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