From The Car Connection

Detroit Show Could Bare Honda Pickups

Honda will float the idea of pickup trucks wearing its badges at the Detroit auto show in January - but the company is already far along in developing a casual-use pickup for both Honda and Acura brands, according to one report. Honda Motor president and CEO Takeo Fukui disclosed the pickup truck approach in Automotive News (November 17), telling a Tokyo interviewer that the pickup will be offered in Honda and Acura editions with 50,000 to 60,000 units a year to be sold in the U.S. According to Fukui, 58, no decision has yet been made as to whether the pickup would be built in Alliston, Ontario, or the new Odyssey minivan plant in Lincoln, Alabama, but there will be a distinction between Honda and Acura models with Acura being the smaller of the two.

The pickup will mark a truck market entry for Honda, responding to steady growth of a segment it has not previously entered. Fukui, former chief of Honda's R&D section, said the pickup would "offer a comfortable ride like a passenger car, good fuel economy and space utility. We're not aiming it at buyers of Big Three pickups because we're not out to antagonize the Big Three," Fukui said. Future Acuras will look decidedly different than Hondas, according to Fukui, which would be "distinguished from other Japanese brands." -Mac Gordon

- the notion of an Acura pickup is news to me. Did anyone hear anything about or expect this?

 

I remember hearing rumors about the Acura being more of a SUV/truck hybrid, similar to the Escalade EXT.....only smaller.....Maybe they can kill two birds with one stone, and this would take the place of acura's smaller RDX SUV, and add a short pickup bed to the back of it. :dunno:

 

:rant::rant::rant:
WHat a bunch of Pussies. They have no balls whatsoever "...we're not out to antagonize the Big Three" :nervous: . So because they are scared, they choose to enter a segment where the profit potential is far less than the fullsize segment. I never thought I'd see the day where Honda would bow down like this. That being the case, they better go ahead and tell the Nissan boys to stop what they are doing, because they are just wasting their time.Or maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way. Maybe they want to dominate just this segment just as the Big 3 dominate the fullsize segment.

A Luxury pickup truck I can understand somewhat. Escalade EXT, I can understand because its a pretty big ute. But An acura pickup truck that will be smaller than the Honda version?? :wtf:

I'm sorry yall but I just can't picture this. A truck, that rides like a car, gets good fuel economy, and is not full sized.


Ahh forget it I'll just keep me big trap shut until I see some specs, and photos of the darn thing. Honda may surpise the world afterall.

 

Actually I'm kinda wrong about a few things. Honda can make a truck ride like a car, since they make some of the best suspensions for their cars. Also I remember riding in the Avalanche, and that thing road smooooth. It had an excellent ride quality to be so big. For the fuel economy part, I'm thinking Hybrid (IMA). So it just might work out as long as it is marketed correctly, and not trying to be something that it isn't (ie Towing big ass boats, and hauling mounds of topsoil and bricks...).

 

If previous rumor is true, it'll ride on the Accord platform. That is what will give it a smooth ride. It's not really a truck. It's an SUV w/ 1/2 of the roof cut off. I don't think IMA will be in a truck. It's too expensive for such a cheap vehicle. I mean a Full Size Titan w/ a V8 starts @ 22k, how can you justify a smaller truck for much more. If you don't care about towing capacity of a truck, then why don't you just get a SUV like the MDX or Pilot. I think this is very shameful on Honda part. It's pretty much taking the Toyota's approach to the truck market.

 

I think Honda is putting the money on the "EXT" trend as well, which seems to be another luruxy trend after crossover.

 

I've seen sketches and photoshop pictures of a Honda Pilot with a pickup bed in the back....don't know if that will be what Honda is wanting to release.

An Acura pickup truck???:barf:

If I want a "Real" truck I'll just buy a Chevy Silverado, Dodge Ram HEMI, or a GMC Sierra.

 

If you think that Honda can take on the full size trucks the first time around, you are mad. They need a steeping stone to build some kind of rep. Sitting back and seeing if Nissan makes it is another good idea.

 

Call me mad , but yes I do think that they can do it the first time around. They can take them on in a sense that they can produce a competitive product that can be superior to the current big three offerings. I've said it before they have the money, and the best engineers on their side to pull it off. Looking at the MDX, Pilot, and yes the ugly Elements sales success, I can't see why they wouldn't do it. Better yet what is so special about Nissan that allows them to do things that Honda won't, they are basically working with one arm tied behind their back, and yet they are still bringing out funk.

IMO sitting back and waiting on someone else to do it is a bitch move. Just like how they decided to revamp Acura's lineup to gain an image after seeing Infiniti do the same thing (which they admitted to). Maybe I should do the right thing and mail all of Honda's top personnel a skirt and a box of tampons..scary ass.

If this is how they are going to go about doing things in the future they will definately have a rep.....tender :ghey:

 

Leaping into the fullsize segment means having to compete with the big 3 in raw horsepower, torque, and towing. Never going to happen, and Ford and GM will both have a field day with ads pointing it out.