Honda Motor Co. will build a new Acura sport-utility vehicle at one of its Ohio factories. The unnamed model will be smaller and less expensive than the MDX, which starts at about $35,000. The automaker wouldn’t say which of its two Ohio auto assembly plants, Marysville or East Liberty, will build the SUV, slated to begin production in 2006.
– Automotive News reports that Mitsubishi will eliminate its Diamante sedan and five-seat Montero Sport sport-utility vehicle. The magazine, citing a Mitsubishi source, also says the seven-seat Montero Sport will be dropped after the 2006 model year. Mitsubishi sold more than 66,000 Montero Sport units in 2000, but sales fell to about 20,000 units last year. For the first six months of 2004, Mitsubishi sold 2,571 Diamantes, down from 5,612 from a year earlier.
