Tuesday, November 26, 2002
The company is bringing its first light-truck production to Ohio.
EAST LIBERTY, Ohio (AP) -- Honda Motor Co. hopes sales of its new Element, a light-duty truck that resembles an SUV, are as active as the motorists the automaker expects to drive it.
Honda will begin mass production of the Element today at its plant in this western Ohio village. It will be the company's first light truck built in the state.
Honda said the vehicle will be practical for its targeted buyers: young adults with active lifestyles.
"It has a great deal of utility," Honda spokesman Ron Lietzke said. "It is also a vehicle that can be used for a lot of fun things ranging from snowboarding to surfing. The interior is very easy to clean."
Increase in jobs
Lietzke said production of the Element will result in a slight increase in jobs at the East Liberty plant, where 2,550 workers make the Civic.
David Cole, director of Altarum's Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, expects the vehicle to be directed at young adults who may not be able to afford more expensive sport utility vehicles.
"It might be attractive to young people," Cole said. "It's kind of quirky, funky, but very practical. It's very creative, very functional and very inexpensive."
The Element is shaped like an SUV, with an enclosed rear area. But the floor inside is like the bed of a pickup truck. The vehicle has removable seats and is designed to make loading and unloading through the side doors easy.
A 160-horsepower, four-cylinder engine used in the Honda Accord will power the Element. It will have optional four-wheel drive, seat four passengers and get up to 26 miles a gallon on its automatic-transmission models. The base price will be $16,100.
Cole said the only similar vehicle is the Pontiac Aztek, a big-bumpered, 185-horsepower SUV that sells for $20,500 to $23,500.
"There's nothing quite like it," Cole said of the Element. "We'll see what the market is."