Honda

Honda spent the better part of the 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s honing the simple. In fact, in the US, it was literally the company’s advertising slogan: “Honda. We make it simple.” However, it also ventured into the exhaustingly complex, as well, but that was fairly hidden from the mainstream. Remember its Formula 1 engines that shattered records? And don’t forget how the company’s roots in motorcycle engine development blew up engineering precepts. Honda combined oval pistons, V5 engines, and crankshafts that clustered the power pulses in a brief duration over the 720 degrees in a four-stroke cycle; in so doing, it created a kind of intrinsic traction control. To the racing nerds of the world, it was all fascinating, complex, and reliable to boot. Engineering precepts be damned.

But their road cars of the time? Mostly still simple. At least on the surface.