Toyota, 2/28/07

The Washington Post looks at Toyota's decision to build an SUV assembly plant in Mississippi. The theme is that Toyota has picked up two more U.S. senators in its bid to head of protectionist legislation.

Back in 1996, before Toyota announced it would build its plant in Putnam County, I was visited by Atsushi Honda, the Japanese reporter who broke the story. I drove him over to Buffalo, because he wanted to see where the plant would be built. While there, we talked about various things. He said he thought one reason Toyota put the plant in West Virginia was to get more political influence. At the time, it had plants or was building plants in California, Kentucky, Missouri and Indiana. Since then, Toyota has added Texas, Alabama and now Mississippi to that list. That comes to eight states and 16 senators.

You can't blame Toyota. As the Post article says, a plant in Tupelo is worth more than a lobbyist in D.C. when Toyota needs something from a senator.

Look at other Japanese automakers, too. Honda is in Alabama and Ohio. Hyundai is in Georgia. Nissan is in Tennessee and Mississippi. That's at least three more states and six more senators.

For what it's worth, Mr. Honda died a few years back of heart disease. He wasn't that old.