AUTOS

Honda to Close 4 Auto-Handling Plants: American Honda Motor Co. will soon begin using San Diego as the port for all Japan-made Hondas bound for North America, except those destined for the Los Angeles-area showrooms. Those vehicles will continue to move through the port of Los Angeles. Later this summer, Honda will begin processing 55,000 vehicles per year at a new 40-acre facility in National City on San Diego Bay, pending approval by the San Diego Port Authority. The facility will be operated by Pasha Inc., which already off-loads Isuzu and Volkswagen vehicles headed for West Coast markets. Honda will close four vehicle-handling plants--three on the East Coast and one in Richmond, Calif.--as a result of the consolidation.