American Honda Automotive--Their Beginning In America

[Hugh Gerald]

While working as a GM tech at a dealership in Central MS in 1970, there was the sound of tires squealing coming from our service drive. Went around there and there was the first Honda 600 Sedan I have ever seen or heard of doing doughnuts around the metal post under the service drive awning and all the salesmen there were watching as the Honda Sales Rep showed off the car. The owners would not ride in it, but did let any salesman ride with the rep as he would pop the handbrake and reverse directions. Later my dealership The owners applied for one of the first dealerships in our state and I was sent to my first ever Honda Tech school at Houston, TX and we were then an official Honda Car Dealership.
When the cars finally arrived, I had a stall with no lift and a floor jack to work on the cars. A lot of the GM techs teased and laughed at me for working on the Jap Beer Cans and would pull pranks like taking cv joint ball bearings off my workbench and hide them in my open oil cans,disconnecting wiring harnesses and stuffing red rags in tailpipes of cars I was working on....
The oil embargo hit in 73 the same time Honda introduced the first Civic and the long gas lines started..Honda sales took off like a rocket and folks quit buying big cars and soon our GM techs were sitting on their work benches with nothing to do and not making any money. I had more work than I could do and I hired another tech, soon I had 5 techs and myself. Then the 2-dr Accord came out and soon there was a 6 month waiting list. Our Honda Dealership group grew so much we soon had to move into another building and I had 16 techs. So see guys, I always told the GM techs I would have the last laugh and I did so. Strange the ones that taunted me the most have car shops now that.......errr................WORK ON HONDA CAR.. and sadly that GM Dealership
I am Thankful for my 28 yrs with Honda Car Dealerships out of my 40 yrs in Auto Service....
Cheers
Hugh

[Hugh Gerald]

--- In 2cylinderhondas@yahoogroups.com, "gerald1@..." wrote:

> While working as a GM tech at a dealership in Central MS in 1970, there was the sound of tires squealing coming from our service drive. Went around there and there was the first Honda 600 Sedan I have ever seen or heard of doing doughnuts around the metal post under the service drive awning and all the salesmen there were watching as the Honda Sales Rep showed off the car. The owners would not ride in it, but did let any salesman ride with the rep as he would pop the handbrake and reverse directions. Later my dealership The owners applied for one of the first dealerships in our state and I was sent to my first ever Honda Tech school at Houston, TX and we were then an official Honda Car Dealership.
> When the cars finally arrived, I had a stall with no lift and a floor jack to work on the cars. A lot of the GM techs teased and laughed at me for working on the Jap Beer Cans and would pull pranks like taking cv joint ball bearings off my workbench and hide them in my open oil cans,disconnecting wiring harnesses and stuffing red rags in tailpipes of cars I was working on....
> The oil embargo hit in 73 the same time Honda introduced the first Civic and the long gas lines started..Honda sales took off like a rocket and folks quit buying big cars and soon our GM techs were sitting on their work benches with nothing to do and not making any money. I had more work than I could do and I hired another tech, soon I had 5 techs and myself. Then the 2-dr Accord came out and soon there was a 6 month waiting list. Our Honda Dealership group grew so much we soon had to move into another building and I had 16 techs. So see guys, I always told the GM techs I would have the last laugh and I did so. Strange the ones that taunted me the most have car shops now that.......errr................WORK ON HONDA CARS.. and sadly that GM Dealership Franchise is no longer in business....
> I am Thankful for my 28 yrs with Honda Car Dealerships out of my 40 yrs in Auto Service....
> Cheers
> Hugh

[prn321]

Cool story- we were just talking about Hondas yesterday- my inlaws have a Civic hybrid and are looking at a Crosstour, we have a Fit, S2000 and a Ridgeline. I was remembering the first Honda dealer I was aware of, in Oakland California, located in a small storefront on Broadway. I remember looking at the first N600s as an 8 year old, thinking that they were a kid-size car, listing at, I believe, $1700 bucks or so? Across the street was a large, established landmark Chevrolet dealership. I too remember the waits for the -76- '77 Accords, when my mom bought a Rabbit instead of waiting, bad choice. When I was 15, I would hang around that same Honda dealer, and finally the salesman let me take a Civic out for test drive, with no license. In the early 80s the dealership moved to a much larger facility, and now they're located in the big landmark Chevy showroom that they started out across the street from.

[powersellerhere]

Here in Arlington, Va at Bob Rosenthal Chev & Honda they were $1695 "derivered", gong!
Check out one of their vintage commercials for the 600's!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pjR9L1wUbU
BJ
In a message dated 11/27/2009 7:25:14 P.M. Mid-Atlantic Standard Tim, prn321@... writes:

> Cool story- we were just talking about Hondas yesterday- my inlaws have a > Civic hybrid and are looking at a Crosstour, we have a Fit, S2000 and a > Ridgeline. I was remembering the first Honda dealer I was aware of, in Oakland > California, located in a small storefront on Broadway. I remember looking at > the first N600s as an 8 year old, thinking that they were a kid-size car, > listing at, I believe, $1700 bucks or so? Across the street was a large, > established landmark Chevrolet dealership. I too remember the waits for the > -76- '77 Accords, when my mom bought a Rabbit instead of waiting, bad choice.
> When I was 15, I would hang around that same Honda dealer, and finally the > salesman let me take a Civic out for test drive, with no license. In the early > 80s the dealership moved to a much larger facility, and now they're located in > the big landmark Chevy showroom that they started out across the street > from.