ILX Under Construction
Odometer (Legend): 516,247
Odometer (ILX): 17,041
17,000 down; 483,000 to go.
How cool would it be to see your vehicle during its assembly process? Back in April I visited the Honda Manufacturing of Indiana (HMIN) facility in Greensburg, Indiana just south of Indianapolis. There, I was able to watch the line-off event of the 2013 Acura ILX and get an exclusive tour of the facility.
Just a few weeks later, my very own ILX (Production #000082) was set to roll down the assembly line. The date fell on a Thursday and I was not able to be there in person for its birth, but I did ask the nice folks at HMIN to document the occasion.
They followed through and provided me these amazing pictures of my ILX being built in exactly the configuration that I’d ordered it: Silver Moon exterior, Black interior, and equipped with the 2.4 Liter engine and 6-speed manual transmission. Come along with me and enjoy the pictures as much as I did.
Pretty sweet. It’s been about 5 months since my ILX was born and the people in Indiana have been busily producing more. My local dealership looks like this now. They’ve got 6 0r 7 ILX 2.0 automatics, 3 hybrids, but zero 6-speeds currently.
My friend Brent is working on a deal to pick up a 2013 ILX in Polished Metal Metallic now that the lease on his 2009 TL is up. Hope he joins the ILX fam son!
In Legend news – The old high miler got an oil change this past weekend at 516,168 miles from Acura of Tempe. In contrast to the days when I used to drive this car 1,000 miles a week, this time it took me 5 months to rack up 3,000 miles! Needless to say I’ve put the ILX to use and given the Legend a rest.
Dana, my service advisor, knows the drill well! No wash, 5W30, and I’ll be waiting in the customer lounge until it’s finished!
Here’s the report that was provided. Some oil leaks were noted but they must be slight as I’ve never seen a drop of oil on my garage floor and the level’s always good when I check it.
Happy Friday!
drivetofive 
October 18, 2012 at 8:39 pm
I am proud to be the grandma of Alex! Happy Friday!
October 19, 2012 at 5:55 am
Right back atcha! TGIF!
October 18, 2012 at 10:49 pm
cool pictures. my twin of yours is probably in that assembly line picture as, as well.
October 19, 2012 at 5:56 am
Awesome, Eric! Is your silver moon ILX an early production VIN like mine too? What are your last 5 digits? Glad you enjoyed the pics.
October 20, 2012 at 12:16 am
00619 so change that probably to “I guess MIIIGHT be”
October 19, 2012 at 8:10 pm
That *IS* pretty cool to be able to go see your vehicle as its assembled!
For me, I know that 99.9% of the painting is done by robots, but it would still be cool to go see how the paint department works
October 21, 2012 at 7:57 am
Dave, even though robot-operated, the paint booth area is still really cool to watch! I edited the post and re-linked the video from my visit to the plant. I wish I lived closer to Indiana so I could swing by and see how things are going. I wonder what production number ILX they’re on now or how many they’re building per day.
October 20, 2012 at 7:30 am
This is really cool. I wish car companies could provide this service as an option for customers. For example, if you custom order your car, on the options list there would be a box you could check to document the birth of your car via pictures. I definitely would have chosen this if available when i got my car.
October 21, 2012 at 7:59 am
Carlos, same here. I know that they do something like that at the Bowling Green, Kentucky Corvette assembly plant. New owners can pay a little extra and actually go watch their Vettes be built (and I think be the first to turn the key in the ignition). It’s a great idea.