5 Products You Probably Didn't Realize Honda Makes

When you're a major automotive manufacturer, you end up tapped into two very important things: a large supply of steady income and a massive database of consumer reports. When you have a lot of money and can do pretty much anything you want with it, you can very easily move beyond just making cars. This is why most major automotive brands, despite being well known for their cars, also have their fingers in a myriad of other mechanical pies.

One good example of this practice is Honda. While Honda is obviously best known as a Japan-based superstar manufacturer, responsible for both reliable vehicles in general and some of the most successful cars ever made, that's not all the brand has cooking under the hood. As a global powerhouse in all things engine-powered and mechanical, Honda has been subtly branching out over the decades into all kinds of sectors, including sky and seafaring vehicles, powersport advancements, home care equipment, and even the cutting edge of futuristic robotics. If you've only ever known Honda as a car manufacturer, it's time to broaden your view a bit.

If an automotive manufacturer can make something strong and sturdy for a commercial road, why stop there? To make cars is to wield the spirit of travel, and if you really want to travel, you need a vehicle that can really tear up the raw elements. When it comes to more rugged, compact Honda vehicles, you may already be aware of Honda's motorcycle offerings, including the SCL500 and the Africa Twin. What you might not know is that Honda's powersports division also makes some pretty rugged four-wheelers.

When it comes to off-roading, Honda has both ATVs and 4x4 vehicles on offer. Both kinds of vehicles come in both recreational and sporting flavors — for example, if you're towing around large bales of hay on the farm or transporting personnel around a massive construction site, those are jobs for the Fourtrax Rubicon ATV and the Pioneer 4x4, respectively. On the other hand, if you're looking to race to victory along a vicious dirt track or across a desert dune, Honda offers the TRX250X ATV and TALON 1000R-4 4x4, among many other models.

Despite the best efforts of some enterprising manufacturers and James Bond fans, cars still can't drive on or in water. The big blue sea remains out of reach for four-wheeled vehicles, though that's not stopped some companies like Rinspeed from trying to make the first true multi-functional vehicle. Honda, on the other hand, has its sights set in more practical directions. If you can't make a car that can swim, just make a boat!

Honda has its own marine division, under which lives the Seabrook series of speedboats, built in collaboration with luxury maritime manufacturer Scout Boats. At 19.5 feet long, the Seabrook series is designed to hit a magic middle of function and comfort, just long enough to seat 7 passengers, yet small enough to be towed by a regular SUV and stored in a garage. Even if you don't own a Honda-branded boat, your existing speedboat may have a little piece of Honda in it, specifically in its outboard engine. Honda Marine manufactures a variety of outboard boat engines, from portable models with lower power to high-power models hitting horsepower in the hundreds. If your boat engine is colored solid silver and has some slick curves, it's a Honda.

As a wise person once said, once you've conquered all realms of the Earth, the only other place to go is up. Automotive and aeronautic developments are generally handled by two different spheres of manufacturers, since there's a lot of specific sciences and mechanics involved in each, possibly too much to handle for smaller manufacturers of either. However, Honda is no small manufacturer, which is why it sought to conquer the skies back in 2003 with an innovative over-the-wing engine mount. It took a hot minute to actually get off the ground, but in 2015, Honda finally released its very own HondaJet.

Since that full release, not only can you buy a HondaJet for yourself (albeit to the tune of over $5 million), but the brand has branched out into several variations. You have the regular HondaJet, a straightforward and sporty compact business jet, the HondaJet Echelon for high-flying, intercontinental voyages, and the HondaJet Elite II, offering the latest and greatest in private passenger luxury features. There are around 200 Honda aircraft in operation today, with the company making a point of personally ensuring the safe delivery and operation of each one.

While Honda's bread and butter is in vehicles, that doesn't mean it neglects the homestead. After all, you can have all the nice cars, boats, and planes in the world, but that's not really as satisfying if your home is an overgrown, malfunctioning mess. The same goes for professionals in labor-intensive fields; barring extremely specific circumstances, a car won't help you complete your work on a job site. That's what Honda operates its Power Equipment division for.

The Power Equipment division plays home to a variety of heavy-duty implements that could be beneficial for both professionals and private individuals. One of the most useful tools it sells is portable generators, with different sizes and power capacities for home backup purposes, powering industrial tools, lighting up recreational vehicles like RVs, and giving a little extra zing to a small campsite. All of these generators are designed to be just as reliable as Honda's cars, and boast safety features like carbon monoxide detection.

Besides generators, Honda's Power Equipment division also offers lawn and garden equipment like lawn mowers, tillers, and trimmers, various shapes and sizes of industrial water pumps, and even snow blowers.

If you're interested in robotics at all, you may have heard the name ASIMO before. All the way back in 2000, Honda's burgeoning Robotics department unveiled the ASIMO robot, an experimental bipedal robot designed to demonstrate not only the latest developments in the relevant technologies, but show us how robots could exist alongside humanity. ASIMO's development lasted until its retirement in 2018, but that doesn't mean Honda is done with robotics by a long shot.

Honda's Robotics division has two major products currently cooking, both of which could represent fascinating new advancements for technology and humanity. The first, the Avatar Robot, is meant to serve as a real-life "Avatar" for various kinds of professional workers. An individual could connect to the Avatar remotely and, using its humanoid appendages and hands, perform delicate tasks like machinery repair or first aid without having to be physically present. Not only could this be helpful for those who work remotely, but it could also help keep humans out of potentially dangerous areas that need work done.

The other major development from Honda Robotics is the UNI-ONE, a next-generation mobility device designed to elevate wheelchair-bound individuals to the same height and mobility as the able-bodied. Its operation is completely hands-free, while a series of drive wheels and stability mechanisms ensure it won't shake or tip over.