Honda Motor Company has announced that it will add the Pilot, a mid-sized sport utility vehicle to it's U.S lineup in mid-2002. Honda spokesman Yuzuru Matsuno said the Pilot will be shown at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2002.

The Pilot will be built in the company's Alliston, Ontario plant. According to Honda, the Pilot will share some frame and chassis parts with the MDX and Odyssey minivan. The Passport will be dropped from the Honda lineup after the current model year.

The vehicle will feature seating for up to eight passengers, a six-cylinder engine and a four wheel drive system. In addition, the Pilot will couple "low emissions" technology with large passenger and cargo hauling capacity.

The light truck segment accounts for over half of all passenger vehicle sales, and yields most of the profits for automakers.