I find this to be a sad announcement, IMO Honda has been one of the best lawn mower manufacturers in the world. The small engine world is full of so many junk machines it is becoming difficult to find quality lawn care machine these days. I believe that buying the very best machines is always the least expensive.
Many years ago I had a part time business doing small engine repair and had to go to school to get a State small engine repair certification because I had was doing service work for our local Sears Store. I was living in a very remote rural area at the time so there were chain saws to be repaired and chains sharpened by the truckload every week. I have seen my share of low quality small engine machines.
Check out this video for the details.