In reality, though, the Crosstour is a Honda Accord with a big hatchback at the rear and optional all-wheel-drive, leather seats, power everything, an excellent sound system, a lovely carpeted cargo area with nifty little hatches and cubbies all over, all powered by a strong and fuel efficient 3.5-litre V-6 (271 horsepower).
You read that right. Honda is only offering the Crosstour with a V-6. That's not entirely unusual. The Edge is a V-6-only ride, as is the Murano and the Santa Fe
. On the other hand, Subaru has a four-cylinder Outback and Toyota can barely meet demand for its four-banger Venza.
Caution, thy name is Honda. But that's been the whole story of Honda for this past year.
More than a year ago, Honda began making radical moves to cut costs and align production with the falling demand of a global recession. To save money, Honda jettisoned its Formula One racing effort, offered buyouts to scores of workers, negotiated pay cuts with others, carefully revisited its new model development program and moved quickly to do its best at aligning production to falling demand. Honda's
problems have been compounded by a strong yen that makes exports from Japan expensive in Canada and the United States.
The result of all Honda's diligence: a profit last year and Honda is predicting a profit for the fiscal year that ends next March 31.
“This was a really tough year,” Honda Motor president Takanobu Ito recently told trade journal Automotive News. “We are barely making a profit. This is something we had anticipated from the very beginning, and our projection turned out to be true.
“Especially in the United States, our biggest market, the recovery, for us at least, is slow. And Europe's recovery is even slower. This is having a major negative impact on our corporate performance.”
But not as bad as Ito might lead you to believe. Honda is predicting an annual profit of $2.1-billion (U.S.) for the current fiscal year. Jerry Chenkin, Honda Canada executive vice-president, says Honda is obsessive about earnings; without profits, there is no money for new-model development. And without new models and new technologies, Honda will fall behind the competition.
You read that right. Honda is only offering the Crosstour with a V-6. That's not entirely unusual. The Edge is a V-6-only ride, as is the Murano and the Santa Fe

Caution, thy name is Honda. But that's been the whole story of Honda for this past year.
More than a year ago, Honda began making radical moves to cut costs and align production with the falling demand of a global recession. To save money, Honda jettisoned its Formula One racing effort, offered buyouts to scores of workers, negotiated pay cuts with others, carefully revisited its new model development program and moved quickly to do its best at aligning production to falling demand. Honda's

The result of all Honda's diligence: a profit last year and Honda is predicting a profit for the fiscal year that ends next March 31.
“This was a really tough year,” Honda Motor president Takanobu Ito recently told trade journal Automotive News. “We are barely making a profit. This is something we had anticipated from the very beginning, and our projection turned out to be true.
“Especially in the United States, our biggest market, the recovery, for us at least, is slow. And Europe's recovery is even slower. This is having a major negative impact on our corporate performance.”
But not as bad as Ito might lead you to believe. Honda is predicting an annual profit of $2.1-billion (U.S.) for the current fiscal year. Jerry Chenkin, Honda Canada executive vice-president, says Honda is obsessive about earnings; without profits, there is no money for new-model development. And without new models and new technologies, Honda will fall behind the competition.