"The Pilot was designed to fill a large American demand for SUVs. Prior to the introduction of the Pilot, Honda only had the smaller CR-V based on the Civic, and the aforementioned Passport. However, the CR-V lacked in features many American consumers looked for in an SUV, which are overall size, passenger space, and towing capacity. The Pilot is at most designed to withstand light-duty off-roading. The Pilot has been a best-seller for Honda, with Honda selling over 100,000 Pilots in 2004."
-Wikipedia