Honda Crosstour CUV Due This Fall

As Widely Speculated Online, American Honda Motor Co. Inc. says it will debut a new cross/utility vehicle this fall, the '10 Accord Crosstour.

“A lot of people speculated this is an identical vehicle to the Acura ZDX and that's not true,” says Chuck Schifsky, American Honda's Detroit-based spokesman.

“A lot of people speculated (the Crosstour and ZDX) were badge-engineered, and typically we don't do that,” he says, pointing out the different all-wheel-drive systems on the similarly sized Honda Pilot and Acura MDX CUVs.

The Crosstour will be based on Honda's Accord sedan/coupe platform. Schifsky does not divulge production specifics.

The addition of a third variant to the Accord lineup is at odds with rival Toyota Motor Corp.'s recent decision to nix the Camry Solara coupe. However, Toyota's new Venza CUV is based on the Camry platform and assembled alongside the sedan at Toyota's Georgetown, KY, plant.

Honda sold Accord wagon variants in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the U.S. but killed a wagon version from the Accord lineup by the end of the decade. The auto maker still offers Accord wagons in Europe and Japan.

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