Local officials await Honda site decision

Honda may be keeping a veil of secrecy over where its NSX sports car will be assembled, but Marysville and Union County officials are considering all news good news.

“Any time one of our employers does well, is expanding and adding on to its capacity, that’s a good thing for the city and the county,” Marysville Mayor John Gore said. “When something is good for Honda — and expansion, especially in this economy, has to be considered good — well, then, that’s good for us.”

Honda announced last week at the North American International Auto Show that it was resurrecting its high performance sports car, the NSX, which was manufactured in Japan from 1990 through 2005 and last sold for roughly $90,000. The company said the research and development and the assembly of the car would take place in central Ohio but declined to be more specific.

“We are not saying at the moment where we’ll be building the NSX,” said Ron Lietzke, assistant manager of media relations for Honda. “We expect to make our preparations in due course and to begin manufacture of the NSX in three years.”

Honda also unveiled the ninth generation of its Accord Sedan and Accord Coupe at the auto show in Detroit. The Accord will be assembled in Marys-ville.

“We’re certainly anticipating Honda’s final announcement,” county commissioner Steve Stolte said. “We had discussions this week with Eric Phillips over at the (Union County) Chamber of Commerce, making sure he’s staying on top of the story. He’s had a number of conversations with Honda personnel of late.”

Lietzke said the new NSX, a high-end, low-volume endeavor, will not be manufactured at an existing plant in Marysville or west of Columbus in East Liberty, Ohio. Rather, it will be built at its own facility. (Honda owns more than 8,500 contiguous acres of property in Liberty and Allen Townships in Union County and in Jefferson, Perry and Zane townships in Logan County.)

“That’s a real positive thing is that Honda owns 8,500 acres up here,” Stolte said. “That doesn’t guarantee they’re going to locate it here, but I’d think that gives us a leg up on a lot of other communities.”

Gore said Honda could not tell him yet how many jobs the NSX facility might add or what level of expertise assembly line workers would need to land a job there.

“No matter where they build the NSX, there should be an opportunity for the employees at the Marysville assembly lines to work there with a commute, which in turn could open up jobs here,” he said.

Honda currently employs 13,500 Ohioans and has invested more than $8 billion in its operations in the state. The auto manufacturer also purchases nearly $7 billion in parts and materials from more than 150 Ohio suppliers.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) lauded Honda’s decision “to add to its impressive history of Ohio manufacturing at its East Liberty and Marysville sites” and predicted the move “will give a much-needed boost to the local economy and will help create hundreds of jobs needed in the area.”

The first Honda Accord that rolled off the assembly line at Marysville in 1982 was on display at the car show, on loan from the Henry Ford Museum.

“Honda associates in Ohio have been building high-quality Honda and Acura vehicles for nearly 30 years, so this news in many ways is a culmination of their determined efforts,” said Hidenobu Iwata, head of Honda’s North American manufacturing operations and president of Honda of America Mfg. Inc.

Definition: a unique automobile designed to draw attention to the brand
Example: People come to see the halo car and then buy one of the regular models
Etymology: allusion to the vehicle's putting a "halo" over the brand name