60 Years of “Meeting the Nicest People on a Honda”

The end of another decade brings back memories and milestones in every aspect of life. Founded by Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa, Honda has spent 60 incredible years doing business in the U.S. with American Honda Motor Co. Inc. The end of 2019 marked 6 full decades of creating all types of vehicles for “the nicest people.” Honda entered the US market in Los Angeles, CA in 1959, and shortly after ran this very famous campaign. The 1963 ad campaign, “You Meet the Nicest People on a Honda” can be credited for creating such a positive image not only for Honda, but for motorcycles as well. This campaign truly changed the motorcycle “image” at this time.

Since then, Honda has accomplished some incredible advancements for their company, the environment, and the automobile industry as a whole. One important person who was a huge help in developing Honda Motor Company in the US was Dave Mungenast of our very own Mungenast St. Louis Honda. Some notable accomplishments include:

• 1964: Dave Mungenast’s St. Louis Honda dealership is franchised by Honda Motor Company to sell Honda Automobiles in April of 1964 at 5939 S. Lindbergh.
• 1965: Dave Mungenast opens St. Louis Honda Motorcycles at 6820 Gravois in St. Louis in March of 1965.
• 1966: Dave Mungenast opens one of the first Toyota Automobile dealers in the Midwest in September of 1966 at 5625 Gravois, St. Louis, MO.
• 1986: Dave Mungenast opens the 17^th Acura dealership in April of 1986 in West St. Louis County.
• 1989: Dave Mungenast was one of the few premier dealers awarded a Lexus car franchise.
• 2016: The Mungenast Automotive Family received the BBB Torch Award for their commitment to customer service through exceptional standards for ethical business practices.

Honda continues to dream of a harmless future to our planet and to drivers all over. Currently, there are over 2 million Honda vehicles with the Honda Sensing suite of safety and driver assistive technologies. After ranking as the most fuel-efficient automaker in America according to the US EPA, Honda can only improve its efficiency and technology from here. We can’t wait to see what the next 60 years will hold for Honda in St. Louis, in the US and all over the world.