As the saying in business goes, it’s all about location, location, location.

And the deciding factor behind Honda choosing a site in Greensburg, Ind., instead of Fithian was location.

Fithian was one of four sites in the Midwest vying for a new $400 million auto assembly plant that will produce 200,000 cars a year and create 1,500 new jobs when it opens in 2008.

State Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, said Honda obviously thought roads, utilities, railroad and labor market were adequate.

“We put together a world-class site,” Black said. “It came down to some direct cost issues. They’re very cost conscious.”

Black, Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer and Vermilion Advantage President and CEO Vicki Haugen talked about the Honda plant that got away at a news briefing Wednesday morning at the Vermilion Advantage office.

Haugen said incentives and workman’s compensation did not deter the project from locating here, which were factors in Dollar General’s decision not to open a distribution center here last year.

“Everything that could be done was done,” she said.

“Geography got us into the search, our site kept us there for 10 weeks and geography was ultimately our demise,” Haugen said.

The proximity of Honda’s suppliers to the east side of Indiana dictated the automaker’s decision, she said.

Talks with Honda were still active as of Monday.

Haugen, who became teary eyed during the press conference, said she’s proud of the process that took place.

“It was truly a team effort,” she said. “Obviously, we wished for different results.”

Ten weeks ago, Illinois was invited to get involved in a project named “Project Hercules.” Haugen said. The project sought a site in a very defined area in east-central Illinois.