Dealerships begin selling new Honda Pilot

Dealerships across North America started to sell the 2009 Honda Pilot Thursday - the model that is made exclusively at the Alabama plant.

Honda Manufacturing of Alabama officials opened their doors to models of the vehicle and the plant to the media Thursday to celebrate the start of sales for the upgraded version of the sport utility vehicle.

The 4,500 workers at the Lincoln plant made 8,000 Pilots since rolling the first one off the assembly line April 15. Those new versions were shipped to sales lots across the United States, Canada and Mexico, spokesman Mark Morrison said.

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The plant also makes Odyssey vans and will begin manufacturing Honda's new pickup truck called the Ridgeline in early 2009, officials said.

When asked about gas mileage for the new Pilot, which has a boxier, sportier look, New Model Division Manager John Fuller said it gets 22 miles per gallon when driven on the highway, which is an 8 percent improvement on fuel economy.

Fuller said the company knew the rising gas prices were a concern for drivers, but the ability to fit eight people in the Pilot should cut back on the need to use a second vehicle to transport a crowd.