Bryan Hourt is a chief engineer who has worked at Honda for 27 years. He’s worked on projects like the Acura TLX, Honda’s safety systems, and others. But one peek in his garage and you’ll see where his passions lie. Hourt has a dream collection of Honda cars, There are two NSXes, a white NA1 and an orange-on-orange NA2; four Integra Type Rs, one in each color offered and two in Championship White; and an S2000 CR.
However the oldest vehicle in Hourt’s collection isn’t a car. It’s one of Honda’s first products, an original Honda Cub engine, manufactured from 1952 to 1958. The little red capsule was an auxiliary engine and fuel canteen that customers bought as a kit. It was meant to be affixed by the customer onto an existing bicycle so they could supplement their foot power with gasoline power.
As Hourt notes, other companies selling auxiliary engines at the time typically mounted them between the bicycles wheels. However, Soihciro Honda’s wife, an early test subject for his invention, got splashed with oil as she rode the bike. So, Honda-san redesigned the engine to be mounted at the rear wheel when he mass produced the Cub kit.
They are extremely rare in the US, but Hourt managed to find one in an online auction. It’s a primitive contraption compared to his fleet of Honda cars, but it’s an important one, as it helped launch the Honda empire. Without it, there would be no NSX or Integra Type R.
And looming over them all, a monument to superior quality and engineering, a 90s Chevrolet K1500 (but seriously, a great truck and a killer collection of Hondas).
I cannot see the video since I am at work, but wow, that looks like quite the collection! Two NSX! And is it me or is the garage floor carpeted?
Your dad would be soooo proud of you, and I am sure the whole town of Crawford is to.