Quote Originally Posted by SPQR View Post
The Accord sold in Australia is made in Thailand. Due to the free trade agreement with Thailand, there is no import duty for cars from Thailand! That's why Honda is manufacturing the cars there.

The $15K is how much more we pay in Australian Dollars for the Accord V6 compared to what North Americans pay. The North American Accord is made in North America at North American labour rates (much more than Thai labour rates) and yet it still manages to be cheaper than our Thai built version.

Put simply, we are being massively ripped-off.
The other thing to consider is market placement, Honda in Aus is primarily seen as a premium brand, Honda in the US is more mainstream, and cross shopped with the Toyota Camry.
Acura covers the premium market stateside.
Also consider the sheer volumes in which Hondas US factory pumps out just for their market, Aus bound cars by comparison are small fry when they have to engineer specific features to cover our ADRs.