Honda just unveiled a new all-American SUV to take on Ford, Nissan, and Chevy

• Honda unveiled the all-new Passport SUV at the 2018 LA Auto Show.
• The five-passenger mid-size Passport will slot in between Honda's existing hot sellers, the compact CR-V and seven-passenger Pilot
• The Passport will go up against the Ford Edge, Nissan Murano, and Chevrolet Blazer.
• The Passport comes standard with a 280 horsepower, 3.5-liter i-VTEC V6 engine.
• The SUV was designed and developed by Honda's R&D teams in California and Ohio.
• The Passport and its engine will be built at Honda's Lincoln, Alabama factory.
• Expect the Passport to go on sale in early 2019 with a starting price in the neighborhood of $28,000.

Honda unveiled the all-new Passport SUV on Wednesday at the 2018 LA Auto Show. The Passport nameplate returns to the market after a 17-year absence. The original Honda Passport, a rebadged Isuzu Rodeo, was sold in the US until 2002.

"We saw an opportunity to deliver something that Honda is uniquely capable of making and the new Passport is in a great position to capture buyers looking for a more personal, powerful and capable Honda SUV," Henio Arcangeli Jr., senior vice president of American Honda Motor Company, said in a statement.

The new Passport will go up against established rivals such as the Ford Edge and Nissan Murano as well as the recently revived Chevrolet Blazer. The presence of the Passport also gives Honda shoppers a crossover SUV alternative to its stalwart Accord sedan.

Read more: 23 hot cars we can't wait to see at the 2018 LA Auto Show.

The five-passenger mid-size Passport will slot in between Honda's existing hot sellers, the compact CR-V and seven-passenger Pilot.

The Passport and the Pilot are both built on Honda's global light truck platform. In fact, both crossover SUVs have the same wheelbase, but the Passport is six inches shorter.

The new Passport will come standard with a 280 horsepower, 3.5-liter i-VTEC V6 engine mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel-drive is standard. But a torque vectoring all-wheel-drive system with intelligent traction management is available as an option.

According to Honda, front-wheel-drive Passports will be able to tow up to 3,500 pounds while all-wheel-drive models can pull up to 5,000 pounds. Available tech features include a 4g LTE wi-fi hotspot, wireless phone charging, Apple CarPlay/ Android Auto integration, and the Honda Sensing driver's safety assistance system.

The Passport is an all-American concoction. The SUV was designed and developed by Honda's R&D teams in California and Ohio. The Passport and its engine will be built at Honda's Lincoln, Alabama factory.

The 2019 Honda Passport goes on sale early next year. Honda hasn't announced official pricing yet, but expect the Passport to start around $28,000.