JAPAN: Honda reverses engines to expand sales of power train parts

Honda is having to ditch a long-standing quirk of its car engines in order to expand sales of power train parts, such as automatic transmissions. Honda engines have long turned anti-clockwise, putting the gearbox on the right of a front-drive car when viewed from the driver's seat. Now, so that their drivetrain components will be compatible with most other maker's engines, Honda's new engines turn clockwise.

bcusack January 26, 2001

Honda
is having to ditch a long-standing quirk of its car engines in order to expand
sales of power train parts, such as automatic transmissions.

Honda engines have long turned anti-clockwise, putting the gearbox on the right
of a front-drive car when viewed from the driver’s seat. Now, so that their
drivetrain components will be compatible with most other maker’s engines, Honda’s
new engines turn clockwise.

The first appeared in the S2000 introduced in April 1999 and the second, an
i-VTEC unit, appeared in the Stream MPV last October.

Adopting clockwise crankshafts is expected to help Honda expand sales to General
Motors as well as other Japanese manufacturers such as Toyota and Nissan.