Honda in a Hurry

Detroit faces a creative new foreign challenger

What is the No. 1 foreign auto in the U.S.? Since 1975 the titleholder has been Japan's Toyota, but maybe not for much longer. After a dingdong sales battle, auto-industry experts forecast that by year's end, U.S. car buyers will have crowned another best-selling make. The new champion: Honda, a product from a company that little more than a decade ago was more famous for its motorcycles and motor scooters than for its automobiles. The spunky Japanese car manufacturer, which sold only 9,500 cars in the U.S. during its first season in 1971, expects to sell 650,000 in 1986, nearly 6%...

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