Why do only Honda and Suzuki make bikes AND cars?

Factual Questions
1

Correct me if I’m wrong, but why is it that only Honda and Suzuki make both motorcycles and cars, out of all the other companies? How come Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Toyota, and Mitsubishi have not branched out into two-stroke engines? There must be some blindingly obvious reason for this, so someone tell me!

2

Did BMW stop making bikes when I wasn’t looking…?

3

Ha, sorry, I forgot about the Krauts.

4

I don’t have an answer to the OP, but I believe that the vast majority of motorcycle engines today are four stroke.

5

But they didn’t start making motorcycles before four-stroke engines became more common (I think the EPA is on its way to eliminating two-strokes, or trying their damndest to do so.) Suzuki and Honda have been making motorcycles (I think) at least since WWII.

6

I think Ford and Harley-Davidson collaborate somehow on one or more F-series pickups, but I don’t know if Harley contributes anything more than a logo to the enterprise.

7

Also, and I may be wrong here too, but aren’t Ford and Harley-Davidson related in some way? The existence of a Harley Davidson edition F-150 implies that there must be some connection.

8

Ha!

9

Yamaha has made car engines.

10

Oh yeah…didn’t the Ford Taurus have one?

11

There were also auto makers who did manufacturer two stroke models at one time, but did not make motorcycles - Saab and Subaru, for instance.

12

Triumph?

13

Harley Davidson used to make golf carts (they may still) does that count?

14

As has BMW, for the Nazis (or German Armed Forces in WWII, to be more accurate).

15

Dodge makes one (kinda, at least ONE)

16

I don’t know much about BSA except that they did/do make cars and motorcycles. Isn’t Triumph one of their makes?
Where’s Uncle Vinny when you need him? IIRC he rides them Brit bikes.

17

Honda started out manufacturing motorcycle parts just after WW II, shortly thereafter they began building complete motorcycles and then cars. I don’t know anything about Suzuki’s history, so I can’t help you there.

The reason most automakers don’t build motorcycles is because of the expense of tooling up for such an operation. It would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to set up factories, train personnel, establish dealerships, etc. And for what? To go up against Harley, Honda, Suzuki, and others who’ve well established name plates in the world of motorcycling? How is a Chevy motorcycle going to be as cool as a Harley? At the moment, car makers aren’t exactly flush with cash, that’s one of the reasons they’re selling cars with such low interest rates these days. GM’s pension fund is supposedly seriously underfunded and they’re desperate to get buyers into the showrooms.

Oh, and the only connection between Ford and Harley is that Ford ponied up a bunch of money to Harley for the use of their name on one of Ford’s trucks. It’s the same kind of deal that Ford’s worked out with Eddie Bauer and Cartier. Harley occassionally does design studies on car designs, but the ones I’ve seen ain’t pretty, so it’s unlikely that they’ll be getting into the car business anytime soon.

18

Some (rather irrelevant) facts:

  • Motorcycle engines are technologicaly always one step ahead from car engines

  • Some of the first Honda cars were really tiny and had motorcycle engines. (S600, S800)

  • Honda makes the best small-to-medium capacity naturally aspirated car engines (K20, F20, H22, even the older B16 can give some lessons to modern engines) . It is not a coincidence.

  • Most high performance engines that Toyota puts in their cars are made by Yamaha (the VVTi/VVTLi naturaly aspirated series).

19

Don’t forget Mazda. A fellow I knew had a Mazda bike with the Wankel rotary.

20

Peugeot used to make mopeds, if that counts.