Why Did Soichiro Honda Refuse to Partner With Chrysler and General Motors?

David Senra, reading Sol Sanders, says Soichiro Honda refused to partner with Chrysler or General Motors because a special genius in the company had to be preserved, and the center of that genius was research. Most competitors were merging or partnering. Mitsubishi partnered with Chrysler. Isuzu partnered with General Motors. Honda did not.

The basic principle of the research program was respect for humanity. A need comes first, and technology is only the means to reach it. Development quality did not rest only on the money spent or the number of people. What mattered was what sat in people's brains. Research was run so everybody enjoyed the work and stayed enthusiastic. If their brains are on strike, nothing works no matter how much money goes in.

With the company's technology, Honda can create the demand and create the market. Excellence in the product was the aim. Senra ties that stance to Honda's rejection of government protectionism: the best product knows no national boundaries. Companies interested only in seeking profits leave a small company like Honda a chance to do great work. The essence of the research staff was to refuse any easygoing technological compromise and, where a possibility exists, to pursue it to the extreme.