I was talking with dad about the new Honda pickup(which I think will debut in 05) his one friend went and saw it over at Research and Development(which if you even thought about taking a pic of it you'd get tackled and they destroy the film right there cause Honda is VERY tight lipped about their new models ) but his friend said it's like the Chevy Avalanche with the 4 doors and little bed. he thought it had the convertible midgate(where if you have something a little longer you could flip it down for that or if you have 5 people you could flip it up to haul the guys and still have a little bed). BUT HERE'S THE BIG NEWS dad thinks 06(or something like that) they will offer a V-8 compete against the Tundra and Nissan soon will have a pickup out. If this is true I'm going to run my Accord till it dies then get the "wannabe Honda Avalanche" cause I kind of like the Avalanche(it's perfect for guys with a family but don't want a LONG pickup) but I told myself I'd try to steer clear of American made car dealers at all cost. so I'm counting down the days till they debut the Honda pickup :P

 

if its gonna look anything like the pilot then NO thanks...

pilot's styling looks 10 yrs old and it was built BRAND NEW from the ground up ....interior sux too

If this is the way they're gonna go with their truck then they had better stick to making cars.

 

I can't see Honda making a truck that can compete. They would have to design a whole new truck platform to be strong enough.

 

Source:
AutomotiveNews.Com
By: Mark Rechtin
June 24, 2002
No 'Me-Too' for Honda on V-8 & RWD

Company Cites Philosophy & Analysts Say Cost is a Factor


quote:
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Despite the auto industry's revived interest in V-8 engines and rear-wheel-drive cars, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. will stand by its contrarian reputation and resist both trends, a top engineer says.
Honda says smaller engines and front-wheel-drive vehicles fit the company's environmental conscience. But some industry watchers say that V-8s and rwd cars would be too costly for Honda.

Tomoyuki Sugiyama, executive chief engineer of Honda R&D Co. Ltd., said Honda can make its V-6 engines powerful enough to take on V-8s and make its fwd platforms as performance-oriented as other automakers' rwd vehicles.

"Other automakers have V-8 engines, so we would just become one of them. Technically, we can do a V-12 if you want. But this has more to do with the Honda philosophy in dealing with the environment, the future and energy consumption," Sugiyama said in an interview at the media introduction of the 2003 Honda Accord.

Honda Motor President Hiroyuki Yoshino has resisted calls for Honda to build a V-8 engine.

For nearly a decade, analysts have predicted Honda's entry into both V-8 and rwd segments because luxury vehicles such as the fwd Acura 3.5RL have fared poorly against its V-8-powered competition.

Honda insiders confirm the automaker has gathered reams of market research on V-8s and rwd, but recouping the massive development costs is overwhelming.

A consultant who declined to be named estimated that developing and tooling up both a rwd platform and a V-8 engine family would conservatively cost $2 billion. At that cost, even if Honda sold 100,000 such equipped vehicles a year, it would take 20 years to recoup its investment, the consultant said.

Dan Bonawitz, American Honda Motor Co. Inc. vice president of planning and logistics, agreed that the high costs are a barrier. "There is a significant investment involved, and you have to have the volume to get the return on your investment. The U.S. may have big horsepower V-8 bragging rights, but a lot is changing with the certification of fuel economy standards, the fuel supply and environmental regulations. We need to show other options."
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i think nissan on the other hand is dropping a big ole modified version of the v8 from the q45 into their truck.

 

http://www.pickuptruck.com/html/2004...nterview1.html

 

The article says Honda will need 20 years to recoup the investment @ 100,000 vehicles/year. I think Honda can verrrryyy easily cross this mark if it puts the v8 RWD in its volume sellers.

MDX/Pilot/ and the rumored truck. TL/CL/RL can also be fitted with RWD v8..they can move the TL into the 5series/E class range and let TSX take on the entry level segment

 

BTW, it might very well have a V8 but a GM 5.4L V8. There were several articles a while back talking about Honda buying V8 engines and transmission from GM Powertrain for their upcoming pickup.

This combination would be a interesting marriage. Honda build quality with the ruggedness of a heavy duty GM Powertrain... You get the quality of the Honda interior and build but with the needed power and torque from a domestic V8 (which is very sturdy)

 

They make it sound like Honda could never afford to make a RWD/V8 layout. How in the world can Infinit/Lexus and all other luxury car companies afford to do it then?

20 years to recoup the cost of building it....that sounds crazy to me.

 

A great marriage..maybe...but i heard they were already divorced (hehe). I thought i read somewhere that GM cancelled their orders of engines or whatever.

 

Ah, I hadn't seen that... Oh well, I hope it isn't true as I would like to see that combination!!

 

it's interesting in light of the new Saturn SUV that will feature the honda 3.5L v6

 

i don't know if i'll buy it if they put a 5.4 GM V-8 in it. I know it would be a Honda body and Honda tranny and Honda everything else but the whole thing me being a hardcore Honda/Toyota fan I couldn't break rank from Honda or Toyota even though it was a Honda with a GM motor:P

 

I doubt honda will ever put such a high displacement engine in their truck/car. i am hoping for a in house 4.0 or 4.3 litre

 

Just doesn't sound right.

 

I don't think honda will have a true RWD truck it will be like the MDX,Pilot and CR-V where most of the time you'll have it in 2wd. so the front wheels are pulling you then you kick in 4wd your rear wheels will start helping. (which I like better than rear wheels first then front end). but I don't see honda changing to rear then front.

 

I don't understand why Honda is bothering developing a Pickup. There's going to be too much competition with Nissan entering the Full size truck market, and Pickups are one area where the Domestics have the upper hand. They have years and years of development, excellent drivetrains (the new Hemi is sweet) and rugged chasis...

I think Honda's R&D would be better spent on creating world class RL

 

Incorrect, I stated the powertrain which includes the tranny. At this point I doubt Honda could build a reliable tranmission which could handle 350+ lb/ft torque.

 

cusdaddy i think your wrong. I had 2 Dodge pickups before Toyota brought out the Toyota Tundra(the only reason I didn't go Toyota before I did is they didn't offer a V-8 until the Tundra came out.) anyhow both Dodges were a POS. the dealer was a butthole(and this was a 5 star dodge dealer and won all kinds of presidents award whatever that's worth) it seemed like it was on the jack more than it was on the road. It leaked oil like there was no tommarrow. there is NO WAY i'd go back with a domestic truck. and it's not just me. I talked with a friend who has a newer Dodge Ram(a 99 or 00) he's on his 3rd transmission(and biggest thing he pulls/haul is a snowmobile or 4-wheeler and he doesn't hot rod it unless he has to get around someone in passing lane and that shouldn't blow a tranny for that)and he takes good care of that truck every 2500-3000 miles he gets oil changed. he talked like here soon he was gonna trade it on a Ford or Tundra. my fire Chief has a 00 Ford super duty 3/4 ton Power stroke 5 speed with 4x4. It's a nice truck but about a year ago it dropped the clutch.(and the stupid Ford dealer wouldn't replace it cause he pulls a horse trailer with it so his pickup was at his barn on jacks for a week.) then Chevy(which is my favorite of the 3 domestic) but my best friend's Grandpa bought a brand NEW silverado he was pulling a camper (he was about 30-40 miles from Bud's Chevy)(that's the dealer he bought his silverado from) he noticed the oil pressure dropped pretty bad. so he pulls over and he pops the hood and the blew oil line. so he calls Bud's Chevy and says look my oil line blown(it was a slow leak) I need to get it to you guys do you want me to put it on a rollback and get someone to pull my camper home. Bud(the owner of Bud's Chevy) said no drive it as far as you can. no sooner than he got into the parking lot at Buds the motor of course locked up cause all the oil was out the pan. the dealer replaced the motor free. but if they would have had 1/2 of brain they would of said we'll send a rollback for you and just have to replace the hose or oil pump or something like that instead of the whole motor