Less lard than a ‘lade
Less gothwhore looking than a Extra Plastic Avalanche
Classy like an El Camino.
Meh.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Honda Motor Co. officially entered the truck market Monday with the 2006 Ridgeline mid-size pickup.
An 8.5-cubic-foot trunk under the pickup’s bed is one feature which sets the Ridgeline apart from others in its class, including the Dodge Dakota, the Chevrolet Colorado and the Toyota Tacoma. The trunk even has a drain so owners can fill it with ice while tailgating.
The Ridgeline also has an innovative tailgate that can either open flat or swing open from the side.
The Ridgeline has a 3.5-liter, 255-horsepower V6 engine and can tow up to 5,000 pounds. Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., said the Ridgeline also has the best fuel economy in its class, with 21 miles per gallon on the highway and 16 in the city.
Colliver said he believes the Ridgeline will attract not only pickup owners but owners of sport utility vehicles and cars who are attracted to its cargo capacity and car-like interior. The Ridgeline will be manufactured in Ontario.
Colliver estimated that Honda will sell 50,000 Ridgelines this year.
The vehicle will go on sale in March and will cost between $27,000 and $30,000.
me likee.
It’s NOT a truck, though, any more than a CRV (car innards) or an MDX (Odyssey platform) are real SUVs. At least it has a name instead of “today’s alphabet soup mix.” And, the little trucklet bum is way more useful than an S[L]UT
It does have a little funky el camino thing going on, but another way to say that is Subaru Baja, Subaru Brat.
In general, I’m a strong fan of Honda – I’m currently driving a ’93 Accord with 275,000 miles on it, and wouldn’t mind getting my hands on a couple of Acuras – but I think they really laid an egg with this one. I’m obviously out of step with the taste of the average American, given my shock at the results of the last elections and my complete inablilty to understand the allure of the Expedition/Tahoe/Durango/etc. But I think this vehicle will have the same success (lack thereof) as the Baja, T100 and the first gen Odyssey. It will get a few people who want something different, or something Honda. But it’s got no pickup utiltiy (8.5 cft – WTF?), too big for a car, and no SUV cache (for the unimaginative masses who actually think there is such a thing.)
I could be wrong – it has happened before.
Now if they put in a 440 with an 8bbl…….
Uh, OG?
8.5 is the size of the trunk UNDER the “pickup” bed.
Honda is the master of 1st generation mistakes. Their execution is usually good, but their initial concepts
I think that the lack of a solid rear axle will be fatal to it as a “truck,” IFS is OK on a light duty truck, but you need a beefy live axle in back for the real truck work.
The “pimp my truck” or /crossover market may make room. All those Asstek/Rendezvous shoppers that didn’t materialize need to land somewhere. Not the same cachet as an “Excalade,” or
210Hummer but you can spend the 30K difference in 26s and plasma monitors and shit. and be blingin’ down teh boulevard just the same.OK, I realized I was an idiot about 5 seconds after I posted that comment (only took me 42 years), but as there didn’t seem to be any way to UNpost it I figured I let my dumbass flag fly and see who noticed. Not that I doubted for a second that you would.
Don’t be so hard on yourself. This blog exists as a panegyric to idiocy, so any exemplars you offer are like beer cans for the window.
Oh, and there are “preview” and “edit” buttons for your commenting pleasure. And shit.
my Saturn vue’s not really an suv either, but that doesn’t make me love it any less.
okay, maybe a little. but it did come with 0% financing, so i ain’t kicking it outta bed for eating crackers.
There’s a visual I didn’t need. I kinda like those Vue redlines, as long as their axles stay on