Strannik

Honda To Move Output Of Inspire Sedan To Japan From U.S.

It talks about Inspire... but I am keeping my hopes high. My TL is the first car I bought that was not made in Japan, and all of my previous rides (made by Mazda, Nissan, Toyota) were great. All quality issues TLs are having just reaffirming my opinion of Japanese made cars - better than American made!

http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/030608/2352000472_1.html

VtecMW

According to this article, we should see the new TL/Inspire on or before June 18th. I am really looking forward to its introduction.

fsttyms1

i hope its made in japan, the build quality would be higher.

fahoumh

from this site, the new Inspire looks a lot like the USDM Accord:

http://www.honda.co.jp/newINSPIRE/scoop/index.html

doopstr

From the way the article reads I think the TL will still be made here. Perhaps they think the TL is going to be hot and they don't want to have prodcution problems because of having to make Inspires.

Perhaps shipping Inspires to Japan was getting too expensive.

UA5-TL

But then if you think about it Shipping Inspires to US will get expensive instead....

fahoumh

the new Inspire will be based of the USDM Accord and no longer the TL

amfjabe

This article has been released here in Japan on June 8.

New Inspire made in Japan will be only for Japan and new TL are still made at HAM Ohio.
The production plan of Japan made Inspire is 30,000 / year.

The major reason of transferring manufacturing of Inspire from USA to Japan is because the rates of operation of HONDA plants in Japan are much less than 100% even though the ones of US plans are full.

As a personal opinion, I am very proud to have an American made HONDA.
In Japan not so many American made vehicles could be found.
Even though my Saber is completely for Japan, I feel something "American" when I drive it.
I really like the feeling.

I will have my American made Saber as long as possible.

BLEXV6

While I agree with your thought that Japanese built cars are better, quality wise, the main gripe on the TL is the failing trannys. Are they not manufactured and designed in Japan?

BTW, my best car, 1992 Accord EX was built in Japan. Not a stitch of trouble.

fla-tls

I always appreciate your posts. It's great to hear the opinion of a person in Japan once in a while. It's great to hear the comments from such a different point of view.

Keep posting!

amfjabe

fla-tls,

Thank you for the comment.
That encourages me as I am a native Japanese and not a native English speaker.

I do always enjoy this forum as all of the members will be fans of HONDA as same as I am.
I am very happy to be involved in this forum.

I will keep posting and if any of you have something I can do for you from Japan, please feel free to let me know.
I will be more than happy to be able to do something for American friends.

fla-tls

You're more than welcome.

BTW - as far as being a Honda fan. I am currently the proud owner of a Honda car (essentially), a Honda lawnmower, and a Honda generator.

The superiority of the quality of each product is undeniable.

amfjabe

I am not familiar with lawnmowers and generators, but it is a great pleasure to know that those HONDA's are also recognized by US people as good products.

I live in a convenient but crowded Yokohama city of Japan.
Then it is my dream to live in a house that has a lawn yard where I can use a lawnmower.

Sorry I have digressed from this subject.:p

UA5-TL

Well i agree with having the TL's being made in America if it wasn't then Honda won't have made those Eaglemark Emblems that say Honda of America..those are kewl!

Strannik

Yes, it is a MAIN gripe, but all lesser stuff adds up. I am at 40K miles now, and this is the first time I did not have to have something fixed under warranty. But I already starting a list of things for dealer to fix during my next visit. Comparing to other cars, it seems that build quality just not the same, with all those rattles, squeaks, etc.

About tranny - this is not a build quality issue, but rather a construction defect. Can happen to anyone - Mars Polar Lander comes to mind.

acur8

I saw an Inspire on Saturday -

I KID YOU NOT - It was at the 7-11 on Little Neck Parkway and Hillside Ave. (Queens). Noticed it as I was driving by.I thought it was a TL with yet another Acura-club modification. Dark blue just like the pics. I N S P I R E
across the back instead of A C U R A

Tom Blasing

From a report that someone else here posted a link for (33 page print out) it said that the clutch plate and disk for the 3rd gear clutch pack had insufficient sanding to create the proper amount roughness. Also the tube that feeds transmission fluid to that pack was not up to Japanese specs causing it to overheat and go kaput. These failing parts that were American made had a 0.22% failure rate as compared to Japan's 0.08%. This type of failure accounts for about half of the tranny failures that we're seeing. Just FYI. I was thinking about getting a trans cooler to combat this overheating but it wouldn't do any good since the parts in question aren't getting any (or enough) fluid to begin with.

A funny FYI I noticed a few days a go.....I was look at one of the fuse boxes under the hood (passenger side) to see what kind of fuses to get as back-ups. I looked at the relays and found them stamped "Tyco". I don't have a problem with this but it I did get a chuckle from the company that gave me many hours of bewilderment when I was 7-22 years old with HO gauge model trains. I didn't even think about the accounting stuff that the news media was reporting on about them.

doopstr

The real test is was the steering wheel on the right side?

acur8

Doopster-

Good question. I didn't notice, I was drivng by and was more
startled by the I N S P I R E on the back than anything else, and also by what looked like ( and what I now know was not an optical illusion) the Honda H on the back instead of the Acura A.
As I said I thought it was one of you crazy kids with your club mods and not a whole different model.