Japan's 2009 Honda Stream facelift

Here's a pic of a vehicle that I know a lot of you would like to have here in North America. At one point it looked like this small 7 seater 4cyl van was on it's way, but that looks to have changed to an Accord wagon this fall.
Source;
http://www.carspyshots.net/showthread.php?t=17349

Japanese Honda Odyssey Spotted Tested in CA

The above cell phone image of a JDM Honda Odyssey was spotted in Palos Verdes, CA recently. The car was wearing "3421" manufacturer license plates, which apparently Honda uses.
This is a older post from Edmunds.

Well this is a interesting development, I have been under the full impression that it would be the Honda Stream that would make its way to the North American market. Now, that's not to say that Honda is testing this vehicle for this market, they could be doing weather condition tests. Only time will tell.

Source;
http://blogs.edmunds.com/straightline/2008/07/jdm-honda-odyssey-spotted-in-ca.html

2009 or 2010 ?!? Honda Stream/Latitude

I get enough inquiries about this van that is currently not available in North America but has been rumoured to be brought aboard for the 2009 or 2010 model year (2009 seems unlikely, I haven't seen anything in Honda's ordering for the 2009 model matrix, although they could bring this vehicle over in limited supply and just 'drop ship' the vehicles into our inventory).

This is a van that would make a whole lot of sense for North America right now, people are looking for economical people-movers, and it doesn't get much better than the 1995-1998 Honda Odyssey (which is esentially what this van still is-a 4 cylinder, 7 passenger van).

Based on what Honda brought over to the malaysia, here is what I think will be brought over to us in North America;

-1.8 or 2.0 Litre sohc i-vtec engine with 140 - 160 horse power - 5-speed automatic transmission, with 4th and 5th being overdrive gears for better highway gas mileage.

-Front wheel drive

-Electric power steering and drive by wire throttle system

-MacPherson struts with a new side cancellation spring at the front, while the rear uses a compact reactive-link double wishbone.

-15" or 16" tires

-Tilt and telescopic steering wheel

-Air conditioning with micron filter

-Cruise Control

-Anti-lock Brake system with electronic brake distribution

-Front, side, and curtain airbags

-Available DVD and Navigation packages

-Both the second and third row seats can be folded down individually for a flexible seating configuration.

-Traction control with Vehicle stability assist

-Cd player with Mp3 playback and Auxillary input for i-pods etc.

-Keyless remote entry

-I hope they keep the 4-door aspect! (not a huge fan of sliding side doors).

-I'd expect a EX-L (leather package) with heated front seats.

Anyway, I think this van would be a sure winner in our market.

Here's a link to Honda's website on the van;

http://www.honda.net.my/models/stream.cfm

The Honda Stream or Latitude for the North American Markets in 2009?

According to the Temple of Vtec;

"Stream/Latitude (Crossover)
The buzz regarding bringing the Honda Stream into the US has been brewing for years, but we've yet to hear any sort of confirmation. Honda has been contemplating a crossover that would slot in between the CR-V and Pilot, and the Stream would almost be a candidate for that (at least in terms of passenger capacity), but it's based on the Civic architecture and is actually positioned below the CR-V in its home market. Whatever the case, we feel that Honda could capitalize on the US's renewed interest in small vehicles by placing the Stream into showrooms ASAP.

UPDATE: We've received word from a source that a new crossover is a go and it will be using the name 'Latitude'. Consistent with past rumors, it's also supposedly based upon the Accord architecture - so it's sounding less probable that it will simply be a re-badged Stream. It also sounds like that this may be one of the 2 "surprises". We're also thinking this will be positioned directly against the new Toyota Venza. Summary: An Accord-based crossover is supposedly on its way.

Available: 2009"

Here are some of my past articles on this subject;
http://thehondaportal.blogspot.com/2007/09/2007-honda-stream.html

http://thehondaportal.blogspot.com/2007/10/2010-honda-stream-update.html