Business

It was a great night for Soichiro Honda, 82, founder of the company that bears his name. Before an audience of 800 auto-industry elite in Detroit last week, Honda was the first Japanese carmaker to be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame, where his name will join those of Henry Ford and Walter P. Chrysler. "As I stand here, it feels as if I am standing on a cloud," said Kaminari-san, or Mr. Thunder, as he is known to his workers. His company has put 1.4 million American-made Hondas on the road and sold 5.1 million imports since 1970. Said he: "I found doing business here much easier than in Japan. Our company in Ohio has been so well accepted that I believe it is an American company in substance."