Up next Behind the Scenes with KEG Media Published on January 30, 2024 Author Mike Self Tags 1961 Chevy, American Honda Motor Co, CB160, Honda, Honda 50, Los Angeles, SEMA Show, Southern California, Share article Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Mail 0 American Honda Celebrates 60 Years with Restored 1961 Chevy Pickup The Latest News, Rumors and Changes in the Truck World SHORTLY after American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM) first opened for business in 1959, the company purchased a small fleet of Chevy pickups to deliver motorcycles to its fledgling dealers across Southern California. One of these trucks is depicted in an iconic photo circa 1961 in front of AHM’s original office at 4077 Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles. Underscoring their importance during those early days, American Honda restored a truck to authentically match the one in the old photo, helping celebrate the company’s 60th anniversary. Tapping its U.S. archives and memories of retired Honda associates for details, a 1961 Chevy half-ton pickup was found and carefully renovated, replicating the original paint scheme as used by company salesmen delivering motorcycles to dealers to sell on a consignment basis. These trucks helped American Honda quickly establish a U.S. market foothold, starting in Southern California. By 1965, Honda was the bestselling motorcycle brand in America with a market share of almost 72%.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter It was given a mild mechanical freshening plus new factory-correct white paint and hand-painted graphics like the originals. Two vintage motorcycles, a Honda 50 and CB160, like those originally carried in the trucks, are placed in the truck bed. The completed package is now on display in the lobby of American Honda’s Torrance, California, headquarters. Plans for public display include the 2019 SEMA Show and other events around the country, as well as classic vehicle gatherings around Southern California. Ultimately, the truck will make its way to the American Honda Collection Hall in Torrance, where it will be staged in front of a replica of the company’s original Los Angeles office. This photograph, taken in front of American Honda’s first U.S. office in Los Angeles, shows one of a small fleet of Chevy pickups used by the company in the early 1960’s to deliver motorcycles to its fledgling dealer network in Southern California. American Honda just restored a pickup to authentically match the one in this photo as part of a celebration of its 60th anniversary of U.S. operations.