The Honda 1300 is an automobile which was produced by Japanese manufacturer Honda from 1969 to 1972. The largest car ever manufactured by the company to that point, the front wheel drive 1300 was released as a sedan and coupé intended to compete primarily against Japanese automotive stalwarts such as the Toyota Corona, Mazda Capella, Mitsubishi Galant, and Nissan Bluebird. An ambitious project spearheaded by Soichiro Honda, it was plagued by engineering delays and high price compared to its competition. However, lessons learned from it would lead to the successful debut of the Civic in 1972 and the 1300's successor, the Honda Accord, in 1976. History During development frequent changes, sometimes made on a daily basis, hampered production. Mr. Honda was adamant the engine needed to be air rather than water cooled, arguing that "since water-cooled engines eventually use air to cool the water, we can implement air cooling from the very beginning." In May 1969 final specifications and prices for the Japanese market were announced. There were originally two engine versions, being the "Series 77" with a single carburetor engine and the "Series 99" with a four carburetors unit: the less powerful car was listed with four levels of trim offered, of which the top three were also available with the four carburetor engine. The manufacturer's ex-works prices ranged from ¥488,000 for the entry level "Series 77" standard saloon to ¥710,000 for the "Series 99" Custom saloon. Automatic transmission and air-conditioning were optional. Six of the seven versions offered were priced comfortably above the less powerful Toyota Corolla 4-door deluxe, then retailing at ¥520,000: for this price Toyota included delivery to the Tokyo area. The car had been introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 1968, but production only got under way during the early months of 1969. In May 1969 the Honda 1300 went on sale in Japan. It was reported at the time that launch was delayed by a couple of months because company president Soichiro Honda found the styling of the car as presented at the Tokyo Motor Show the previous year unacceptably bland and called for a redesign. It was not lost on contemporary commentators that Honda himself at the time owned and frequently drove a Pontiac Firebird, and the split air intakes on the front of the Honda 1300 as it came to market suggest that Honda design personnel were also aware of