Honda North America put the town of Greensburg, Indiana on the map last week when it decided to build its sixth auto assembly plant there, representing an investment of about $550 million.
"Site selection is the prime directive for real estate professionals and the brass ring for prospective selectees. For months after the Honda subsidiary let it be known that it wanted to build a new assembly plant in the Midwest, states across the region had vied for the big prize.
When Honda's new auto assembly plant is fully operational, sometime after opening in 2008, it will create about 2,000 new jobs for the area. Considering the multiplier effect of three, four or more times, Decatur and the surrounding counties will taste more prosperity than most Midwestern regions.
...So it was in Greensburg, seat of Decatur County, southeast of Indianapolis along I-74 toward Cincinnati. With about 25,200 people, Greensburg certainly counts as small-town Midwest, and recent years haven’t been good for such places."
Thanks to Peter Slatin
FULL STORY: Honda Hondles Detroit

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