Whoever told you that was badly misinformed. All the major components are manufactured in the US, much of the design is done here (more and more every year), and a very large percentage of the purchased components (which make up more of a car than most people would think) are sourced from US suppliers - like my employer. Honda's our #2 customer, they keep many fine Michiganders working - and due to their firm belief in investing in the best assembly equipment possible, they've sure helped out a lot of local tool shops as well.

Interestingly enough, the domestic content of the Saturn VUE increased when they went to the Honda V6. The old Opel-based motor had significantly European content, while the new Honda engine is built in the US using predominantly US-sourced parts.

Of all of the OEMs in the auto industry right now, Ford and GM are the worst when it comes to trying to strong-arm suppliers into taking their work overseas - particularly to China (the giant sucking sound you hear is the "American" OEMs pulling work out of Mexico to send it to Asia). On the other hand, Nissan and Honda seem to be very big on the idea of building parts where you sell them - it keeps the local economy moving, it prevents logistical problems, and it lessens their exposure to currency flucuations (I'm thinking the Delphi's getting hammered by that last issue right now, considering all the Korean sourcing that they do).

Getting back on topic after that dramatic departure, I find it extremely difficult to consider the Honda Accord as "underrated". Yea, it's a spectacular car and I honestly feel that our '01 Accord Coupe is better than most cars that carry a price twice as large, but the Accord manages to get virtually nothing but positive press and they sell something like 400K/year. Doesn't sound "underrated" at all to me.

 

Yep, this one keeps bread on my table...