Sigh! Japanese automaker Honda Automobile on Tuesday began destroying 1,000 cars that were damaged in this year’s floods to reassure customers that no vehicles damaged in the country's recent flood crisis will ever be sold. Most of the cars to be scrapped are mid-sized City sedans and Brio and Jazz hatchbacks. The scrapping process at Honda's plant in the central province of Ayutthaya is expected to take one month.
The cars that were scrapped were made at the Rojana Industrial Park when the industrial estate in Ayutthaya, 100 kilometers north of Bangkok. The factory was one of the hardest hit by the several months of record flooding, which only receded a few weeks ago. The devastating floods were the worst the country experienced in 50 years and left over 700 people dead.
A sorry sight. Vehicles are seen after floodwaters receded at the Honda factory in Ayutthaya province on Nov. 26. (Athit Perawongmetha / Reuters)
'While we were able to relocate many new cars that were awaiting shipment to a safe area, 1,055 vehicles that remained in the plant were finally damaged by the flood,' said Mr Pitak Pruittisarikorn, executive vice-president of Honda Automobile Thailand.
'We will not sell any of the damaged cars to customers, or sell or reuse any of the parts,' he added.
The factory has the capacity to assemble 240,000 cars a year and is the second-largest automobile factory in Thailand. Heavy flooding brought production to a halt and aerial pictures showed hundreds of new cars submerged in muddy water. Work stoppage has meant 60,000 vehicles were not manufactured over the past three months.
Submerged vehicles are seen at the Honda factory in Ayutthaya province, Thailand, on November 14. (Damir Sagolj / Reuters)
Apichart Weerawong / AP
Pornchai Kittiwongsakul / AFP - Getty Images
Pornchai Kittiwongsakul / AFP - Getty Images
Pornchai Kittiwongsakul / AFP - Getty Images
Pornchai Kittiwongsakul / AFP - Getty Images
Pornchai Kittiwongsakul / AFP - Getty Images
Pornchai Kittiwongsakul / AFP - Getty Images
I kinda like the basic idea of scrapping old cars if provided "heavy/generous" incentives to purchase a new one. It could be offered to dealerships also so they could get rid of the crap on most of their lots.
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...so much for the idea of "Reuse, Reduce, & Recycle". There were many metal and glass body parts, such as windows, doors, wheels, and hoods, that could have been cleaned and kept only for surplus/salvage replacement for such things as accidents. These items a flood wouldn't have negatively affected nor would it have caused any health issues. -Speaking as an owner of fully operational American vehicle(s) that predate the early 1970s.
DeleteFlood salvage car parts are never a wise choice. The only thing worse is buying a complete flood car. Oxidation can occur in many places on parts that you cannot clean including body panels. These cars were recycled. After a trip thru the crusher the remaining bale was melted down and recycled for the metal content. Thankfully none of these made it to the marketplace saving potential buyers untold grief..
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