Mad Men

When watching “Mad Men” recently, for the second time,

I watched series 4, episode 6 in particular. My main concern was that I had seen this when first aired but had no recollection of it. I may have been not have been paying my fullest attention then.

The “Honda” account is offered to Don’s new firm. His interests have just been shafted by a dirty, underhanded, nasty capitalist English company.

One of the partners was not impressed by a Japanese firm, as he had been in WW11. Consequentially his insults didn’t help the potential acquisition of the contract.

Moving forward a little Honda, at that time were only motor cycle makers. I remember an advertisement in the mid-60’s where their 50cc bike was marketed as: “Do you want something red and throbbing between your legs”. Naturally this referred to a motorcycle.

In 1964 Honda produced an absolutely astounding 4 wheeled vehicle, the Honda S600 sports car. It was chain driven and rear wheel drive. This evolved into the S800, a rear wheel differential drive machine. These things revved, like a motor bike (their origin) to 12,000 rpm. At that time cars like MG’s would have disintegrated at anywhere half of that.

The planet and universe of cars had changed. A friend of mine had said to me that in 1969 he traded in his old Triumph TR4 for the new Datsun 240Z- Evolution.