Courtesy The Detroit News
Honda Joins Pickup Crowd with Sport Utility Concept
By Eric Mayne
Surprise.
After months of denying plans to exploit one of the auto industry’s most lucrative vehicle segment — pickup trucks — Honda Motor Co. is taking the plunge.
The Japanese automaker next month will take the wraps off a sport utility truck concept vehicle equipped with an open cargo bed, a new feature for Honda vehicles in North America, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Based on the same underpinnings as the successful Honda Pilot and Acura MDX SUVs, the SUT "will provide the world with its first glimpse of the direction Honda will take with a future production sport utility truck," the automaker said Thursday.
Honda spokesman Andy Boyd declined to comment on when the vehicle will be introduced, but analysts expect a 2005 arrival in U.S. showrooms.
Dealers such as Tony Jerome, president of Tamaroff Buick and Honda in Southfield, are confident of the vehicle’s appeal. Honda products are "bulletproof," he said.
"But I haven’t seen it," Jerome said. "Just some drawings. ... Honda is very, very close with their new products. They don’t really let you have a lot of lead time."
Discretion has been a hallmark of Honda’s approach to product development, said Mike Wall, auto analyst with CSM Worldwide. But the existence of a Honda pickup program was the worst-kept secret in the industry.
Buzz "was out there," Wall said.
With demand for traditional cars waning and light trucks growing in popularity industry-wide, analysts say Honda needs a pickup-like utility to continue its aggressive sales push in the U.S. market.
Among the top six automakers, Honda is the lone pickup holdout. And light trucks — which tend to generate higher profits than cars — represent a growing share of the overall vehicle market.
Through November, light trucks accounted for 53.8 percent of all U.S. vehicle sales in 2003, according to WardsAuto.com. In 1998, that share was 47.6 percent.
Honda won’t forecast demand for the new truck, but suppliers say the automaker expects annual sales in the range of 57,000 units.
Such acceptance would rival the sales performance of the Ford Explorer Sport Trac, considered the Honda concept’s closest competition. Through November, Ford sold 54,600 units of the Sport Trac, a mid-size SUV with a cargo bed.
Is Ford worried?
"Not at all," said Rod Locricchio, general manager of Mike Dorian Ford in Mount Clemens.
"The bottom line is price, payment, affordability. And I don’t care how strong it is, how tough it is, how good it looks. It’s all about price point."
Sport Trac’s base price is $23.690, excluding destination charges.
In keeping with its custom, Honda is mum on prospective prices.
Honda Joins Pickup Crowd with Sport Utility Concept
By Eric Mayne
Surprise.
After months of denying plans to exploit one of the auto industry’s most lucrative vehicle segment — pickup trucks — Honda Motor Co. is taking the plunge.
The Japanese automaker next month will take the wraps off a sport utility truck concept vehicle equipped with an open cargo bed, a new feature for Honda vehicles in North America, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Based on the same underpinnings as the successful Honda Pilot and Acura MDX SUVs, the SUT "will provide the world with its first glimpse of the direction Honda will take with a future production sport utility truck," the automaker said Thursday.
Honda spokesman Andy Boyd declined to comment on when the vehicle will be introduced, but analysts expect a 2005 arrival in U.S. showrooms.
Dealers such as Tony Jerome, president of Tamaroff Buick and Honda in Southfield, are confident of the vehicle’s appeal. Honda products are "bulletproof," he said.
"But I haven’t seen it," Jerome said. "Just some drawings. ... Honda is very, very close with their new products. They don’t really let you have a lot of lead time."
Discretion has been a hallmark of Honda’s approach to product development, said Mike Wall, auto analyst with CSM Worldwide. But the existence of a Honda pickup program was the worst-kept secret in the industry.
Buzz "was out there," Wall said.
With demand for traditional cars waning and light trucks growing in popularity industry-wide, analysts say Honda needs a pickup-like utility to continue its aggressive sales push in the U.S. market.
Among the top six automakers, Honda is the lone pickup holdout. And light trucks — which tend to generate higher profits than cars — represent a growing share of the overall vehicle market.
Through November, light trucks accounted for 53.8 percent of all U.S. vehicle sales in 2003, according to WardsAuto.com. In 1998, that share was 47.6 percent.
Honda won’t forecast demand for the new truck, but suppliers say the automaker expects annual sales in the range of 57,000 units.
Such acceptance would rival the sales performance of the Ford Explorer Sport Trac, considered the Honda concept’s closest competition. Through November, Ford sold 54,600 units of the Sport Trac, a mid-size SUV with a cargo bed.
Is Ford worried?
"Not at all," said Rod Locricchio, general manager of Mike Dorian Ford in Mount Clemens.
"The bottom line is price, payment, affordability. And I don’t care how strong it is, how tough it is, how good it looks. It’s all about price point."
Sport Trac’s base price is $23.690, excluding destination charges.
In keeping with its custom, Honda is mum on prospective prices.