Thursday, January 22, 2009

Temple of VTEC; New Spy Shots of the Accord-based CUV

Nice find from www.vtec.net ....
For the second time in several months, we've caught a development vehicle for an ALL-NEW Honda Accord-based crossover! This vehicle program has been rumored for quite a while now and these pics are the first proof the project has finally been green-lighted.

At first glance, this vehicle may look like nothing more than the European Honda Accord Tourer. Closer inspection reveals that is not the case. For starters, the U.S. market Honda Accord front end has been grafted onto the body. While most of the body on this mule is non-production, this front end may actually be close to the final design of the nose we see on the production CUV.

We can also see fender flares that have been tacked onto the body and covered with tape that matches the color of the paint. These flares indicate that the wheel track has been widened slightly. Looking directly behind the rear doors, it quickly becomes apparent that a few extra inches of sheet metal and glass have been added to the body, suggesting the final product will be a few inches longer than the current European Accord Tourer. This development vehicle is also riding higher than a standard Accord Tourer and actually resembles and Audi allroad in person.

Based on the Honda Accord chassis, this all-new crossover vehicle will start production in the 4th quarter of 2009 at the Marysville or East Liberty factory. The Accord CUV will slot in-between CR-V and Pilot and will look to do battle with Toyota's new Venza CUV.

For more on the Priddy article, follow the link;
http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=810703

Here is a link to my previous posts on the subject;
http://thehondaportal.blogspot.com/2009/01/hondas-next-crossover-vehicle-expected.html

http://thehondaportal.blogspot.com/2008/11/car-driver-2010-accord-cuv-pics-from.html

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