I was at the Honda plant in Marysville in June '01 for the "Honda Homecoming" motorcycle rally, and took a plant tour of the auto plant.

First of all, they make Accords and Acura TLs on the same line. That was really interesting. I was surprised to see that EVERY Accord and TL that comes off the line immediately gets driven over to a dyno and is run up to redline in every gear and reverse. They said that they make sure every car that ships makes the right amount of power. Any car that doesn't make the cut gets taken to the side and torn down for inspection.

The plant our guide said that modern engines are built to such tight tolerances that break in is fairly instant and these parts are built to take and thrive under such use.

So I won't worry too much when I take delivery of my '03 Accord LX tomorrow. I'll just drive it normally.

However, I always feel it's not a good idea to beat on machinery it you want it to last. Running smoothly up to redline is a lot easier on parts than on/off jerkiness and abrupt throttle inputs.