Honda's first tiller, the F150 launched in 1959, was distinguished by a bright red body.


Unfortunately there is no surviving documentation to indicate who chose the distinctive color for the product.


Interestingly, the Cub F Type auxiliary bicycle engine, a compact and lightweight reliable motor with a striking design that was released in 1952, was marketed as "the red engine with a white fuel tank," suggesting that the choice of red was already popular with consumers. Honda had firmly established itself as the company that made red engines.


At one point Soichiro gathered his agricultural machinery engineers together and said, "There are plenty of products other than motorcycles that people would find useful. So I want you to think of ways that we can use science and technology to reduce heavy labor in the farming and fishing industries in particular."


The result was the F150 tiller, painted in the distinctive red color referred to in-house as R2. With its many user-friendly innovations, the F150 proved to be a massive hit product in what was a relatively crowded market segment. And from then on, Honda tillers have always been red.