Honda's Super Cub was too small for the US biker market — so it created a new one

In 1956, Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa toured Europe and saw the potential for a small, affordable motorcycle. Fujisawa wanted a simple, reliable bike that anyone could ride — even one-handed while carrying a tray of noodles. The Super Cub launched in 1958: a 50cc, step-through frame, automatic clutch motorcycle with a plastic leg shield. It was the first motorcycle with a plastic fairing.

American Honda Motor Co. was founded in 1959 to enter the US market. The US motorcycle market was dominated by heavy, loud machines from Harley-Davidson and British brands. The image was outlaws, rebels, and black leather jackets. The small, friendly Super Cub was completely wrong for that market. Honda could not sell to the existing motorcycle customer base.

Honda's US team realized they could not compete in the existing market. Instead, they targeted a completely different demographic: women, families, and middle-class Americans. The 'You meet the nicest people on a Honda' campaign launched in 1963, created by Grey Advertising. The campaign treated the motorcycle as a consumer appliance, not a rebel machine. It is credited with inventing the concept of lifestyle marketing.

The campaign was a massive success. By 1965, Honda was selling so many Super Cubs that US and British motorcycle makers were blindsided — they had assumed small bikes were just a 'training wheels' phase. The Super Cub became the most-produced motor vehicle in history, reaching 100 million units by 2017. A product that was wrong for the existing market had created a new one.