Acura to build small assembly plant in Ohio

DETROIT — Acura will build a small assembly plant in central Ohio, near the other Honda assembly operations, for a new supercar to launch in three years, the company announced Monday.The company did not detail the number of jobs the plant will create or its size. It will not seek any state tax incentives to build the new plant, Honda of America Ron Lietzke said. The operation will produce a relatively low volume of vehicles, serving a niche market, Lietzke said.Company officials made the announcement at the unveiling of a new Acura NSX supercar concept car at the North American International Auto Show Tuesday, where they also unveiled two other concept cars. It was the first time Acura had a news presence at the show since 2007.The original Acura NSX sports car was built at Honda plants in Japan from 1990 to 2005. The new NSX will combine luxury with sustainability, said Gary Robinson, Acura spokesman. Most of the car's design is being kept secret, but it will include a V-6 engine and sport hybrid all-wheel drive system.“This is a lot of what we want our brand to be about, combining the passion and excitement of luxury with a sustainable approach. We think people have struggled to combine those. People are good at one or the other, but our brand will be about both,” Robinson said.The sports car will be developed in the United States, mainly at the Ohio Center of Honda R&D Americas Inc. Honda began research and development activities in Ohio in 1985.“We're very exited to bring the NSX back to the market. We're really proud to say it's going to be manufactured in Ohio. It means a lot to us. A number of our Acura products have been designed and produced in Ohio,” said Jeff Conrad, vice president and general manager for Acura.The new car will be made at a “unique advanced manufacturing operation” near Honda's current auto production, company officials said. They did not release a specific location and said that announcement would be made at a later date.Moving the development and manufacturing of such a highly engineered sports car to Ohio says a great deal about Honda's workforce here, Conrad said.“That fact that we're willing to bring a pinnacle vehicle such as the NSX to Ohio, to say we have the engineering talent to totally develop that vehicle and manufacture that vehicle there, makes a pretty bold statement,” Conrad said.You can comment on this story at www.limaohio.com.