While all the talk is about the crisis in the US automotive industry, Japanese car makers continue to pull ahead of the pack as Honda celebrated the opening of a new plant in Greensburg, Indiana.

The plant, which will eventually manufacture around 800 Honda Civics a day, was opened amid widespread celebrations across the area with Governor Mitch Daniels and other dignitaries attending the celebratory opening event which included a makeshift stage, lights and music.

The first Civic to come off the production line was greeted with applause, but there were louder cheers among the environmentally enthusiastic when Honda also announced that it will be building a number of Civic GXs at the plant.

The GX is an environmentally friendly version of the Civic, which already has a hybrid model that has proved a huge worldwide hit. Now Honda will be hoping for similar success with the GX – a car that runs on natural gas.

While the future of that model remains to be seen there is no denying Honda’s success as the opening of the plant reflects continued growth despite the weakened global economy.