Honda co-founder Takeo Fujisawa has been inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame, the Detroit-area shrine to distinguished auto-industry figures.
Fujisawa was the enterprise companion of Soichiro Honda and was instrumental in constructing Honda into a profitable firm. While Honda provided the concepts, Fujisawa introduced a realistic enterprise sense to the operation.
Born on November 10, 1910, Fujisawa initially thought of turning into a instructor however ended up as a salesmen for a metal merchandise firm after which a lumber firm. He met Honda in 1949, about one yr after he based his eponymous firm, which then was a small operation within the Japanese metropolis of Hamamatsu. The firm was simply transitioning from making small engines for mounting on bicycle frames to creating full bikes, having simply launched the Dream D-Type.
Despite completely different personalities (Fujisawa was way more reserved than Honda), the 2 hit it off. Fujisawa formally joined Honda in October of 1949 as Honda’s right-hand man, answerable for gross sales, finance, and advertising. He helped steer Honda, who maintained management of product growth and engineering, making a number of essential choices to develop the corporate.
One of these choices was the 1959 establishment of American Honda, the corporate’s first abroad department, one thing Soichiro Honda wasn’t initially passionate about. He hoped to construct the corporate’s popularity primarily by way of motorsports, however Fujisawa thought it was extra vital to enter the U.S. market, declaring that “to achieve the U.S. is to succeed worldwide.”
Fujisawa additionally insisted that Honda set up its personal U.S. vendor community (initially promoting bikes and later vehicles), reasonably than depend on an importer, as most different Japanese firms had been doing on the time. In 1960 he additionally established Honda R&D as a separate firm, making certain that analysis can be individually funded and wouldn’t need to depend on the risky automotive and bike market.
Honda and Fujisawa agreed to retire collectively, which they did in March 1973. Fujisawa died in December 1998.
Located subsequent to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, the Automotive Hall of Fame was based in 1939 to honor people who’ve had a big affect on the auto {industry}. It consists of not solely automaker founders like Ferruccio Lamborghini, but in addition fanatics like Jay Leno and concours organizer Helene Rother. Fujisawa shall be formally inducted in July 2023.
This article was initially printed by Motor Authority, an editorial companion of ClassicCars.com.
