Motor Trend magazine recently hosted a very intriguing interview with the head of R&D at Honda, Kotaro Shige. And, you can push your visual of a stoic 'suite' out of your mind. According the Motor Trend, Shige is Honda's 'Rock-Star Exec' and 'the Jimmy Page of Japan's auto industry'.

We don't think Motor Trend was being gracious for the sake of it either. Sure, Shige has been working at Honda since the late '70s. But, it seems there's actually quite a bit of truth to the comparisons. For example, in his teens, Shige was a member of a band inspired by the Ventures, Eric Clapton, and Cream.

More recently, he married a woman so much younger than he that some would raise their eyebrows. Exuding vibrant energy with a hint of a rocker's persona, he's anything you'd expect a top exec to be. And, we at Tameron Honda find it quite invigorating.

While Motor Trend's interview with Shige gives us greater insight into who exactly Shige is, both within and outside of his role at Honda, it also sheds some light into what we can expect to see from the Big H in coming years.

For example, Shige conceded Honda is considering upgrades to the CR-Z. Perhaps more exciting, he also revealed Honda is considering adding other smaller cars to its lineup. "We want to promote our environmental technology globally mainly through hybrids. But we will do small cars too," he said. "That's my area of focus now. The move in the world is towards smaller cars so we must follow that - downsizing."¹

If you're interested in more Honda news, be sure to stay tuned. Tameron Honda, located at 1675 Montgomery Hwy in Birmingham, Alabama, is dedicated to keeping you up to date.

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