Honda has no time for a summer vacation. Among the items on its to-do list: deliver all-new Honda Pilots and Civic Type-Rs, plan the media and market launches for the 2016 Acura NSX, juggle lawsuits and government investigations over faulty Takata airbags, and ace its first Formula 1 season in seven years as the engine supplier to McLaren. And a new CEO will be overseeing all of this, as well as everything else Japan's third-largest automaker has on its docket.

Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP Getty Images

Takanobu Ito (above, right), who played a huge role in engineering the original NSX, is stepping down after six years as Honda CEO. He will move into a director position and remain on the company board, while managing officer Takahiro Hachigo (above, left) will move up to the number-one slot. Both men have served Honda each for more than three decades (Ito since 1978 and Hachigo since 1982) and have held top positions within R&D and at the Suzuka factory.

During his tenure, Ito expanded Honda production to Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, Indonesia, India and China. He kept the innovative HondaJet flying—which, after decades of development, is now on its final checklist to FAA approval—and approved the Earth Dreams family of engines and overhauled electric powertrains now appearing on the Accord and various Honda hybrids. Also, the man digs 130-mph lawnmowers and supports smart, off-the-grid homes.

Hachigo led product development for the first-gen Odyssey and later for the second-gen CR-V before bouncing to purchasing and R&D management and most recently to roles in China and the United Kingdom. What we like most about Hachigo's bio, according to Honda's press release, is that he began his career "principally as an engineer in the area of chassis design." We'll take chassis and powertrain guys in leading roles over spreadsheet-types every time.

We don't think Honda's latest troubles led to Ito's departure—he's not leaving the company, remember—but it's clear that 2014 was a particularly rough year for Big H. Honda's safety record, at least with airbags and recalls, took a massive blow after the U.S. fined the company $70 million for poor record-keeping of accidents and defects. The company has been at the center of Takata's exploding-airbag saga; they've killed at least six people—all of them in Hondas—and Honda has not been as transparent with regulators regarding the severity of the problem when its vehicles were first recalled in 2008. Further allegations from former Takata employees claim Honda knew of the problem starting in 2004.

Honda

In Mexico, quality and supplier troubles, along with parts theft, forced Honda to delay Fit and HR-V production by several months. And new product has been a bit dicey over the past few years, too. The current-generation Civic was so disappointing at its launch for 2012 that Honda rushed a refresh one year later, and the Acura brand continues to wander in the wilderness. It would be easy to blame these issues for Ito's departure—they're certainly as well-known as his accomplishments—but without insider knowledge of Honda's insular corporate culture, we're inclined to think the man just wants to slow down a bit after 37 years at the same company. We'll be curious to see the first moves from a Hachigo-led Honda.

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