Saturn, Honda Pondering Pickups

New York--Saturn and Honda are considering making pickup trucks, according to a report in USA Today.

The national daily newspaper said both brands are known best for economy cars, and they have missed much of the decade-old U.S. truck boom for lack of trucks and truck-like models.

Honda is likely to come out with a pickup-style vehicle sooner, the paper said, noting that the automaker has distributed sketches of a concept vehicle called Model X, which is to be unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January.

Created by Honda’s US research and design units, Model X--named for the youth-oriented X Games--would be targeted at young men, typically college age, who need a versatile, reliable vehicle with an interior that is easy to clean. The newspaper muses that this contrasts with other automakers now targeting young female buyers.

The squared-off design is aimed at people who consider their vehicles tools for other activities, such as biking or surfing, USA Today reported.

If reaction at the Detroit show is good, the X could be built in the U.S. on the Civic car platform, perhaps as soon as 2003.

Saturn’s interest in pickups is less certain. “That’s one of the models we’re considering,” Saturn President Cynthia Trudell told the paper. She was launching the Vue, Saturn’s 2002 SUV that will be on display at the Washington, D.C., auto show later this month. The vehicle is to go on sale next fall, starting at less than $20,000.

The SUV is Saturn’s first truck and the third model of the four that Trudell said Saturn needs in the near future to round out its line. Saturn S is a series of small coupes, sedans and station wagons, and L is a series of midsize sedans and wagons.

“What’s the market going to do?” she wondered, explaining to USA Today why Saturn hasn’t yet decided what its fourth vehicle line will be. “You have to consider all options,” she was quoted as saying.