Honda To Introduce New Midsize Unibody Pickup Truck in 2005
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| Will Honda's midsize pickup truck look anything like its Spocket concept car? Probably not, but expect it to exhibit better handling dynamics than any other pickup truck. (Photo: Honda) |
It may seem like a no-brainer decision to anyone on the outside, but Honda has had its reasons for staying out of the pickup truck market over the years, at least up until now.
With rivals Toyota and Nissan now in the mid and full-size pickup game, Honda has decided to step into the midsize arena with a future model based on Honda Pilot and Acura MDX architecture - that were both derived from the Odyssey minivan - that's set to debut in 2005 as a 2006 model.
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| Honda CEO Hiroyuki Yoshino hinted at the automaker's pickup truck plans last August, saying that if Honda decided to produce a pickup it would be unconventional. |
The Japanese company's SUVs are unibody designs, rather than the traditional pickup truck body-on-frame configuration, excellent for ride and handling but limited when it comes to towing and payload. But that's OK. The new Honda pickup will be less rugged than competitive trucks, helping to separate it from the crowded light truck market while making use of the brand's existing platforms.
In an interview last August Honda CEO Hiroyuki Yoshino hinted at the automaker's pickup truck plans, saying that if Honda decided to produce a pickup it would be unconventional.