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"Ford Recalls Escape SUVs    Ford is recalling 132,243 2001-model sport utility vehicles to fix a seat belt buckle that could fail to latch.   The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been investigating complaints about the seat belts but only one minor injury has been reported as a result of the defect, according to Ford.   Ford has informed dealers of the recall and says it plans to mail letters to Escape owners next month.   Honda Pickup Predicted   Honda is expected to add a to its lineup, Reuters reported. The truck is said to be a derivative of Honda&amp;#039;s Pilot/Odyssey minivan platform and is expected to go into production at Honda&amp;#039;s Alabama plant next year.   Unlike a traditional body-on-frame pickup truck, Honda&amp;#039;s will have a short cargo bed behind a five-passenger compartment and will have car-like ride and handling, the story said, citing industry analysts.   &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s not going to be your rugged, workhorse pickup,&amp;quot; Joseph Barker of industry consultants CSM Worldwide told Reuters. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s going to be more driver friendly, it&amp;#039;s going to cater to families.&amp;quot;   DaimlerChrysler May Make Smart Move   DaimlerChrysler&amp;#039;s mini-car brand will launch a small sport-utility vehicle in the U.S. in 2006, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Paul Halata, president and chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz North America.   Halata told the WSJ&amp;amp;gt; that DaimlerChrysler plans to sell about 60,000 Smart vehicles annually in the U.S. once the brand is established and has a full lineup of models, including a coupe and a cabriolet. The Smart brand will be aimed at younger buyers than the Mercedes brand.   The Smart SUV will be assembled in a DaimlerChrysler factory in Brazil, Mr. Halata said.   Honda Posts 2004 Element Prices    Honda says that pricing for its 2004 DX model is unchanged from last year. Front-wheel drive models with a 5-speed manual transmission have an MSRP of $16,100, while DX models with a 4-speed automatic transmission are priced at $16,900. The Element DX equipped with 4WD is priced at $17,500 for manual and $18,300 for automatic transmissions.   The fully loaded Element EX front-wheel drive models start at $18,900 with a manual transmission and $19,700 with an automatic. The manual transmission EX version equipped with 4WD is priced at $20,300, and the automatic at $21,100. Driver and front passenger factory-installed side airbags are available on EX 2WD and 4WD models, and have an MSRP of $19,150 (2WD) and $20,550 (4WD) for the manual transmission and $19,950 (2WD) and $21,350 (4WD) for the automatic.   New for the 2004 model year, is the Element LX trim level \u2014 positioned between the DX and EX models. With prices starting at $17,100 (front-wheel drive with 5-speed manual transmission), the Element LX includes such features as air conditioning and a 4-speaker AM/FM stereo with CD player. LX models equipped with $WD carry a price tag of $18,500 for manual and $19,300 for automatic. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a9971/ford-recalls-escape-suvs/>