. Honda Expands R&D Capabilities in America
with Groundbreaking for Acura Design Center in California
Photo: Honda
Acura Design Center
to play critical role in creation of future products
TORRANCE, Calif.
- Honda broke ground today on a new $15 million Acura Design
Center, the latest expansion of Honda's product design and
development capabilities in North America. The Acura Design
Center, scheduled to open in summer 2007, will play a critical
role in the development of new concepts and designs that
will lead directly to future Acura products developed in
North America. The facility will be located adjacent to
Honda R&D America's existing Los Angeles Center, which will
continue to research and design future Honda products.
Separately, the company
is opening a new advanced design studio in Pasadena that will work
to advance new future design concepts, giving Honda four R&D facilities
in California.
"As we continue to
deepen our roots in North America, Honda's U.S. R&D operations will
play an increasingly important role in meeting the needs of our
customers in North America and globally," said Hirohide Ikeno, President
of Honda R&D Americas. "The creation of this new facility will lead
to the development of distinctive and leading edge designs that
will further strengthen the appeal of Acura products."
Attending the ceremony
was Mr. David Crane, special advisor for jobs and economic growth,
Office of the Governor, State of California. "Honda's continuing
growth and investment in California speaks to the vitality of this
state as a center for the creation of new products and technologies
that benefit the lives of consumers here and around the globe,"
said Crane. "I would like to commend Honda for their ongoing vision
and commitment in making California the place where the latest trends
in design are born."
The groundbreaking ceremony
was conducted on the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Acura brand.
Launched on March 27, 1986, Acura was the world's first Japanese luxury
nameplate and the first Japanese luxury automaker to design, develop and
manufacture its vehicles in North America, beginning with the 1997 Acura
CL coupe. Today, nearly two-thirds of all Acura vehicles sold in America
are researched, designed, developed and manufactured exclusively in North
America, including the Acura TL sedan and Acura MDX luxury sport-utility
vehicle.
"The Acura brand is stronger
today than at any time in its twenty-year history," said Dick Colliver,
executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and the Acura
Division. "The addition of the Acura Design Center will play an important
role in the continuing evolution of Acura, further distinguishing Acura
in the marketplace and ensuring that we continue to deliver products ahead
of the times and ahead of the competition."
