With Honda Motor Co. profiting on strong sales of its hybrid and compact cars and its former Formula One team inching closer to a championship, some racing fans might be asking "what if" about the automaker's painful decision to exit the sport.

But Honda President Takanobu Ito said Monday the company has no regrets about the decision. He said a bold and timely decision was needed to shield the automaker from the economic crisis and prepare it for massive investments in environmental technology.

"We are still managing as if we were treading on thin ice," Ito said in an interview. "The auto industry is still in great fear."