You meet the nicest people on a Honda..

[Fumesucker]

Those of you of a certain age may remember the original Honda ad campaign for the Honda 50 motorcycle.

Well, Honda might just be bringing back the Super Cub in EV form.

http://evworld.com/currents.cfm?jid=38

In 1958, a ten year-old Japanese company introduced a 50cc motorbike dubbed the Super Cub. It was relatively cheap -- equivalent to around $3000 today -- and dependable. In a nation still slowly rebuilding its war-shattered economy, it gave millions of Japanese workers an affordable way to commute and shop. Now, fifty years later, it remains the most popular motor vehicle ever built. Some 60 million have been sold worldwide and it is still manufactured in 14 countries, now mainly in Asia.

The secret of its success was the revolutionary 4-stroke, 49cc engine that Honda developed to compete with the then-dominant and dirty 2-stroke motors powering the small motorbikes of the time. It was the 49cc Honda 50 (renamed in all likelihood so as not to be confused with the Piper-built airplane of the same name) that was featured in the highly successful "You Meet the Nicest People On a Honda" ad campaign in North America. This was the machine that made Honda a household name across the United States in the early 1960s, setting the stage for the later introduction of Honda's highly fuel efficient -- for their time and still today -- automobiles.

Now Honda may be posed to repeat that formula, this time with an all-electric version of the Cub, which will be featured at the 2009 Tokyo auto show later this month. Dubbed the EV Cub (pictured below), it is nearly the mirror image of the original Super Cub (pictured above). While details are sketchy as to possible production plans, performance and pricing, it isn't a stretch to believe that this will be the first battery-powered motor vehicle Honda will produce for commercial sales in the not-to-distant future. If it does announce in Tokyo that it plans to introduce the bike in the next couple years, it will give Honda the test bed it needs to gain valuable experience with advanced battery technology; it is unlikely they will rely on lead-acid to power the bike. NiMH would be a good first guess, but they may opt for lithium-ion, or even have some surprise chemistry up their sleeve like nickel zinc, but that's just speculation.

After building some 300 EV Plus electric cars for the California market in response to the state's 1990 ZEV mandate and subsequent "Memorandum of Understanding", Honda abandoned battery-powered EVs for hydrogen fuel cells. In the subsequent years, it has steady progress, culminating in the remarkable FCX Clarity sedan.

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More at the link..

[Ichingcarpenter]

1. I had the 50cc growing up

Beach boys did more than honda to sell the little moped

First gear (honda honda) its alright (faster faster)
Second gear (little honda honda) I lean right (faster faster)
Third gear (honda honda) hang on tight (faster faster)
Faster its alright

Its not a big motorcycle
Just a groovy little motorbike
Its more fun that a barrel of monkeys
That two wheel bike
Well ride on out of the town
To any place I know you like

First gear (honda honda) its alright (faster faster)
Second gear (little honda honda) I lean right (faster faster)
Third gear (honda honda) hang on tight (faster faster)
Faster its alright

It climbs the hills like a matchless
Cause my hondas built really light
When I go into the turns..............

I like the new designs its almost retro


1969
Also called "Little Honda"
Available two colors: Scarlet Red and Sky Blue
Fenders: Ivory White plastic
Engine: 49cc OHC single cylinder four-stroke, mounted to the rear wheel
Transmission: automatic
Starter: pedal start (you pedal like a bicycle to get started)
Serial number began: P50-100001

[onethatcares]

2. I really wish you folks wouldn't do this stuff

ya'll make me feel real old when I remember these things:hi:

[Fumesucker]

3. I wanted one...

I rented one on vacation in the Bahamas, I had saved for two years to go scuba diving down there and when I saw a little shop in Freeport that rented them out I just had to try it, I believe it was the first time I ever saw one.

I remember the song too.

It was a cool little bike for sure.