Honda's New Pickup

Jelly · Jan 10, 2005

2006 Honda Ridgeline

Specs
Technical
• 255-hp, 3.5-Liter, 24-Valve SOHC VTEC® V-6 Engine
• 5-Speed Automatic Transmission
• Variable Torque Management® 4-Wheel Drive System (VTM-4®)
• Locking Rear Differential
• Heavy-Duty Automatic-Transmission and Power Steering Coolers
• Heavy-Duty Radiator with Dual 160-Watt Fans
• Fresh-Air Intake
• 4-Wheel Independent Suspension

Safety
• Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with EBD and Brake Assist
• Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA®) with Traction Control
• Front, Side and Side Curtain Airbags with Rollover Sensor
• Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
• Power Door and Tailgate Locks
• LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children)

Audio
• 100-Watt AM/FM/XM®-Ready/CD Audio System with 6 Speakers

Interior
• Power Windows, Door Locks and Mirrors
• Multifunctional Center Storage Console with Sliding Armrest
• 60/40 Lift-Up Rear Seat with Underseat Storage
• Power Sliding Rear Cabin Window

Exterior
• Dual-Action Tailgate
• In-Bed Trunk™
• Automatic Heated Wiper Zone
• Remote Entry System
• Large Foldable Side Mirrors
• Privacy Glass
• Integrated Bed Lights (4) with Auto-Off Timer
• Heavy-Duty Tow Hooks (Front and Rear)
• Hidden Roof-Mounted Antenna

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/lokitcom/06ridgeline_rtl_pr-013.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/lokitcom/06ridgeline_rtl_pr-015.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/lokitcom/06ridgeline_rts_pr-022.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/lokitcom/06ridgeline_rts_pr-023.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/lokitcom/06ridgeline_rtl_pr-002.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v611/lokitcom/06ridgeline_rts_pr-030.jpg

buster · Jan 10, 2005

It's a shame it's so UGLY. Looks like a Chevy Avalanche. Like the Tacoma better.

integrare · Jan 10, 2005

I like the idea of an in-bed trunk - I don't like leaving my workout equipment in the cab.. it makes it smell like a locker room in there

GreenElixer · Jan 10, 2005

As a '03 Civic EX owner...all I can say is

...uugh...that hurts!

I was thinkin' about a truck sometime in late '05 or early '06... Tacoma here I come!

HOndaGuy · Jan 10, 2005

I may love honda, but that is just plain *****!!!!!! Ill take a tacoma 6 speed manual any day over that!!!!!!!!

srivett · Jan 10, 2005

The box shouldn't be part of the body. How are you going to make it into a trailer when the thing wears out?

Steve

Jelly · Jan 10, 2005

Looking at the specs, there's a lot of neat stuff going on that's new to the pickup market, but the overall package and looks are gonna kill the deal for a lot of people. If they would have just given it a "conventional" bed...

XS650 · Jan 10, 2005

If you look at it as a real pickup it bombs, if you look at it as an SUV with an open cargo area, it has a market.

If it grabs anyones market share, it will be SUV company's share.

MAJA · Jan 10, 2005

quote:

How are you going to make it into a trailer when the thing wears out?

Good one. Anyway, yes it is *****. Now, if Honda stepped up and offered a serious truck to compete with the Dodge Cummins, Chevy Duramax, and Ford Powerstroke, I, and all the rest of us, should take notice.

T-Keith · Jan 10, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by XS650:
If you look at it as a real pickup it bombs, if you look at it as an SUV with an open cargo area, it has a market.

If it grabs anyones market share, it will be SUV company's share.

Exactly, it's more of an SUV competitor. It really isn't a pickup any more then a Subaru BAJA is.

kenw · Jan 10, 2005

boys, face it; the pickup market hasn't been for pickups in eons.

Leather seats? paper-thin sheet metal? Alloy wheels? Sunroofs? Riceboy stickers??? You call these trucks???

95% of the pickups (and I'm talking traditional ones, like F150, Silverado, Ram, etc) never go anywhere except to the office park or grocery store. Sure they're nice to have if that's what you want. But they do tend to cost an awful lot for the farmer who needs to toss a few bales out back for the cattle in the back 40. And they attract dents like flies on a cow pattie.

I never knew a hefer that was impressed by a 4x4 sticker and racing stripes....

so obviously the "new pickup" market is exactly where this pup is headed and will probably do quite well. Toyota is doing quite well with theirs, and they plopped their new factory right in the middle of Bubba Country in San Antonio, Texas. That's not a lob across the bow, that's a point blank at the magazine....

Why anyone would want one is beyond me, but it's their money. I'm a car guy, myself, but if I wanted a truck, I want a real truck that I don't have to coddle. But probably not in my lifetime.

mikep · Jan 10, 2005

Yuk!

Looks like they decided to cross a Chevy Avalanche with a Pontiac Aztec.

VNT · Jan 11, 2005

Looks aside, it is about as useless a truck as***** on bulfrog.

I wonder if the transmission will suck as bad as the ones in the Oddys, Pilots and MDX's.

My guess is they dont have the tooling to do a real body on frame design and this is what resulted. It wont steal many sales from traditional pickups, only canibalize sales from Honda cars, ie only Honda people will purchase.

VNT

Matt_S · Jan 11, 2005

I agree it's ugly, but there are a few items of interest:

quote:

• 255-hp, 3.5-Liter, 24-Valve SOHC VTEC® V-6 Engine
• 5-Speed Automatic Transmission

Hmmm, the minivan motor. I wonder how the VTEC will hold up under towing loads. Would like to know more about the transmission and drivetrain. Possibly a heavy duty, 4WD adaptation of what's in the minivan, too? Possible 4WD Odyssey on the way?

quote:

• Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA®) with Traction Control

Haven't seen that in a pickup before.

quote:

• Automatic Heated Wiper Zone

Why doesn't my car have this? I'd much rather have that heated than the stupid side mirrors, which has proved useful once in 4 1/2 years.

I wonder how this'll sell.

jsharp · Jan 11, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by srivett:
The box shouldn't be part of the body. How are you going to make it into a trailer when the thing wears out?

Steve

Ford built an F100 pickup that way for a while in the 60's. With a one piece body/bed. One of the old farmers around here had one and said he hated it. In his words - "Everytime you'd drive through a ditch the doors would fly open."

MAJA · Jan 11, 2005

quote:

I never knew a hefer that was impressed by a 4x4 sticker and racing stripes....

You are giving us Texas boys a bad rap, at least spell "heifer" right. Sorry, just picking on you. I agree that most of todays trucks are lightweights, as far as farm/ranch work goes.
On a dealers lot, its hard for the old farmers in my area to find a new single cab, 2 wheel drive, 3/4 ton farm truck. Most are extended cabs or four doors, with 4x4 stickers, carpet, leather seats, satellite radios, alarms, etc. I work with an old guy that just bought a farm truck to feed cows and fix fences for $45K plus with leather seats, carpet, and all the luxury stuff. The cab is also about 40 inches off the ground, so he has to almost run and jump just to get in it. But, I just cant see anyone throwing a ton of cow manure in the back, or throwing old rolls of rusted barbed wire on the hood while fixing a fence somewhere.

1sttruck · Jan 11, 2005

I had a hard time finding a basic truck when I was looking. When I was unsure about what model, before I saw the light :^), one Ford dealer said that only hicks and farmers bought the type of truck that I was looking for, and that it would be a special order. I wanted rubber mats, manual crank windows, a manual transmission, a diesel, short bed in order to be able to park in a few more normal spots, a quad/crew cab as we have five in the family, and a 4x4 since as one gentleman put it "the worst snow vehicle known to man a diesel 2wd pickup".

I ended up with what I wanted, an '03 Dodge 2500 short bed quad cab, and it has also the preferred cloth seats, and it has air. It was less than $26k, evidently due to a special order for 40 of that model by the dealer, and some incentives that were available at the time. It was the 2nd to the last of the 40. He said that they noticed that the government had ordered a number of that configuration, and they thought that it would be a great work truck. The only things that I wish it had were a selectable locker, which isn't available, a wide view driver's side mirror but that's not available in the US, and a galvanized body instead of paint, but that's not very common :^).

The family much prefers it over either Taurus sedan on trips, and I haven't had so much fun driving since my motorcycling days.

XS650 · Jan 11, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by 1sttruck:
I had a hard time finding a basic truck when I was looking. When I was unsure about what model, before I saw the light :^), one Ford dealer said that only hicks and farmers bought the type of truck that I was looking for,

If you're looking for a practical truck, it's hard to get a better confirmation of your choice than that.

kenw · Jan 11, 2005

quote:

Originally posted by MAJA:

quote:

I never knew a hefer that was impressed by a 4x4 sticker and racing stripes....

Click to expand...

You are giving us Texas boys a bad rap, at least spell "heifer" right. Sorry, just picking on you. I agree that most of todays trucks are lightweights, as far as farm/ranch work goes.
On a dealers lot, its hard for the old farmers in my area to find a new single cab, 2 wheel drive, 3/4 ton farm truck. Most are extended cabs or four doors, with 4x4 stickers, carpet, leather seats, satellite radios, alarms, etc. I work with an old guy that just bought a farm truck to feed cows and fix fences for $45K plus with leather seats, carpet, and all the luxury stuff. The cab is also about 40 inches off the ground, so he has to almost run and jump just to get in it. But, I just cant see anyone throwing a ton of cow manure in the back, or throwing old rolls of rusted barbed wire on the hood while fixing a fence somewhere.

Sorry, I still think faster than I can type and both are slowing down quickly.... yep, caught that spelling after the edit deadline passed (and why is there a time limit for editing???) You should have seen the ones i DID catch....woohoo!

a friend at work has to drive the F250 dual cab 4x4 diesel to work. They only use it to haul a trailer, which it is great for. But the other 360 days of the year, SHE has to drive it on freeways across town to work. He gets to drive the NEW Ford 500....i can here when she leaves, tho...sounds like the thrashing machine is firing up for the back 40...

Like the day laborer with 14 kids and 3 generations under the same roof. Mr Macho has to have his pickup, forcing all the kids into the rear. I guess when they get bounced out and die, they'll just make more....

show me a family man with a minivan and i'll show you real man confident in his manhood.

[ January 12, 2005, 03:02 PM: Message edited by: kenw ]

srivett · Jan 12, 2005

Jsharp:
My old shop teacher told me about the time they put a NEW unibody jeep on a hoist. They had the doors open and it folded in half! This was probably 50 years ago but he hasn't begun to forget that one...

My preference is to keep a good FWD car on the road for a daily driver and keep an old RWD van in the back yard for hauling junk, etc. I wouldn't want a 4x4 truck even if I had a quad or a ski-doo as it's easier to load stuff into a van or onto a low trailer. Plus, the most damage you can do to a 1000$ trailer is 1000$!

Cheers, Steve

Honda's New Pickup

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