Honda marks 30 years of US production

Japanese automaker Honda marked its 30th anniversary of building vehicles in the United States with a $200 million investment that will create 200 jobs at Ohio engine and transmission plants. That will bring to $12.5 billion the amount Honda has invested in its US operations since it produced the first Japanese car built in America on November 1, 1982. Honda currently has the capacity to build 1.63 million cars and trucks a year in North America at seven automotive assembly plants, three engine plants and two transmission plants. A new plant in Mexico and plans to expand production in the United States will increase capacity to 1.92 million vehicles a year by 2014. The bulk of Honda's capacity is in the United States, where it currently employs more than 26,000 people in manufacturing, sales, and research and development.