View Poll Results: What should they do?
Kill it with fire
14
31.11%
Redesign it and keep car based
11
24.44%
Redesign it and turn it into a real truck with a V-8 option
16
35.56%
Go back in time and add a beak
4
8.89%
Voters: 45. You may not vote on this poll
Why Honda's Ridgeline pickup is driving off into the sunset
09-11-11, 09:18 PM
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Why Honda's Ridgeline pickup is driving off into the sunset
Well many of us saw this coming years ago
The Honda Ridgeline is a good example of what happens when an automaker abandons a model.
After much fanfare with its introduction in 2005, little was done to upgrade the mid-sized pickup. Ridgeline's plummeting sales are no surprise considering the lack of sheet metal changes and significant engineering improvements over the seven-year period.
The pickup's best year was 2006 when 50,193 sales were tallied. After that point, it's been all down hill. Last year, sales for the 12-month period totaled a 16,142, a 2 percent drop from the previous year. This year's sales through August nosedived 49 percent, to 5,776 vehicles.
While the Ridgeline does not fill everyone's pickup needs, nor was it intended to so, it is a credible pickup. Despite the fact that it was developed off a front-drive platform, it has a 1,500-pound-plus payload capacity and tows up tow 5,000 pounds. Four-wheel drive is standard.
And, from what I hear, Ridgeline owners like the pickup, especially the towing capability, the ride, the handling, and the standard tailgate that swings down or to the side like a door.
Honda doesn't talk about future products. But Automotive News reported last month that the Ridgeline will be discontinued in about two years. Based on conversations with industry sources, the story said a smaller pickup is under consideration, derived from the CR-V platform.
Presuming less payload and towing capacity than the Ridgeline, I can't imagine why a smaller pickup based on a front-drive platform would be a more successful product formula for Honda.
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/2011...#ixzz1XhzYXydO
After much fanfare with its introduction in 2005, little was done to upgrade the mid-sized pickup. Ridgeline's plummeting sales are no surprise considering the lack of sheet metal changes and significant engineering improvements over the seven-year period.
The pickup's best year was 2006 when 50,193 sales were tallied. After that point, it's been all down hill. Last year, sales for the 12-month period totaled a 16,142, a 2 percent drop from the previous year. This year's sales through August nosedived 49 percent, to 5,776 vehicles.
While the Ridgeline does not fill everyone's pickup needs, nor was it intended to so, it is a credible pickup. Despite the fact that it was developed off a front-drive platform, it has a 1,500-pound-plus payload capacity and tows up tow 5,000 pounds. Four-wheel drive is standard.
And, from what I hear, Ridgeline owners like the pickup, especially the towing capability, the ride, the handling, and the standard tailgate that swings down or to the side like a door.
Honda doesn't talk about future products. But Automotive News reported last month that the Ridgeline will be discontinued in about two years. Based on conversations with industry sources, the story said a smaller pickup is under consideration, derived from the CR-V platform.
Presuming less payload and towing capacity than the Ridgeline, I can't imagine why a smaller pickup based on a front-drive platform would be a more successful product formula for Honda.
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/2011...#ixzz1XhzYXydO
09-11-11, 10:32 PM
#4
Lexus Test Driver
I think the basic idea is okay. But the current design has not changed at all since 2005. To leave any model linger that long IS A DEATH WISH. It's not the niche that's the problem, it's the damn brand screwing up again. The Ridgeline was a good idea, but everyone who wanted one, already got one. The time to update it is long passed.
Last edited by Fizzboy7; 09-12-11 at 11:28 PM.
09-11-11, 10:56 PM
#7
Power of a V6 but thirsty as a V10. I like the Ridgeline but its major downfall is is the power train. It's a HEAVY truck. Honda's formula has always been the same. Either we use a 2.4L I4 or a 3.5L V6. They cannot use the same darn engine in every vehicle and expect it to perform. My uncle has a Ridgeline and it's a neat truck. I see the utility in it, just not the power.
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09-12-11, 01:06 AM
#9
Recovering Lexus Addict
Mid-sized pickups have been attractive to automakers, but they don't seem to be successful. I don't know if it's a fundamental flaw in the design or lack of investment by the companies. I had a Dodge Dakota, and it was a very useful pickup - when it wasn't being repaired. It could have used a bit more room and comfort in the cab, but the size of the bed was useful and the low height made reaching into the bed easy.
The Ridgeline has a very comfortable cabin and the bed, while small, is fairly useful. The locking under-floor storage compartment eliminates the need for a pickup box for gear. Plus, the dual-action tailgate can swing out of the way making access to the bed much easier than reaching over a lowered tailgate. I think what the Ridgeline needs is improved styling and a powertrain that offers over 30 MPG while retaining its utility.
The Ridgeline has a very comfortable cabin and the bed, while small, is fairly useful. The locking under-floor storage compartment eliminates the need for a pickup box for gear. Plus, the dual-action tailgate can swing out of the way making access to the bed much easier than reaching over a lowered tailgate. I think what the Ridgeline needs is improved styling and a powertrain that offers over 30 MPG while retaining its utility.
09-12-11, 07:06 AM
#11
Lexus Champion
I can't tell what's worse: A Honda Ridgeline (in its current form) or a Cadillac Escalade
Still, I'm guessing that humanity would be better off without those two abominations
Still, I'm guessing that humanity would be better off without those two abominations
09-12-11, 07:19 AM
#12
Out of Warranty
The Ridgeline is an outstanding concept that delivers exactly what the majority of suburban cowboys need in a truck, decent, if not outstanding economy, first-class utility, comfort, and flexibility for running those manly trips to the big-box store or bringing home a load of brie for the family.
Unfortunately, and typical of Honda, they are building what we NEED and not what we WANT. Suburban cowboys want the IMAGE of a pickup truck, you know, big tires, bulging flanks, massive ground clearance rugged good looks, the machismo of a cowboy or an ironworker with the horsepower to back it up. Honda fed all of the demographic data for the average white-collar pickup owner into the computer, and they got the perfect set of data points out. What they missed was the soul of the pickup in American culture. The Ridgeline may have cupholders but the folks who laid out that cockpit probably never considered them being used as restraining mechanisms for your spit cup.
The pickup is the preferred ride of the Marlborough Man in all of us, the free-ranging, two-fisted, hard drinking, harder loving man composed largely of independence and grit. The Tundra almost got it right once it got to a "full sized" pickup platform, but it's still a little too effete for most of the demographic that places image above function.
Ask yourself, "What would John Wayne drive?" Do you honestly think it's a Ridgeline? Even my daughter who desperately wants a pickup won't consider a Ridgeline. "This is TEXAS", she says with a poorly-concealed sneer. That kinda sums it up.
What Honda produced is a tall minivan with the third-row seat out in the open air. A big-box body on roller skate wheels with a V6 and auto tranny. Nevermind it's an AWD, or that it does have a vestigial bed out back, it may be perfect for running to the store for a case of beer and a bag of charcoal on Saturday morning, but it won't gain you much respect in the parking lot of the local honky-tonk on Saturday night. Honda totally misjudged the market.
Unfortunately, and typical of Honda, they are building what we NEED and not what we WANT. Suburban cowboys want the IMAGE of a pickup truck, you know, big tires, bulging flanks, massive ground clearance rugged good looks, the machismo of a cowboy or an ironworker with the horsepower to back it up. Honda fed all of the demographic data for the average white-collar pickup owner into the computer, and they got the perfect set of data points out. What they missed was the soul of the pickup in American culture. The Ridgeline may have cupholders but the folks who laid out that cockpit probably never considered them being used as restraining mechanisms for your spit cup.
The pickup is the preferred ride of the Marlborough Man in all of us, the free-ranging, two-fisted, hard drinking, harder loving man composed largely of independence and grit. The Tundra almost got it right once it got to a "full sized" pickup platform, but it's still a little too effete for most of the demographic that places image above function.
Ask yourself, "What would John Wayne drive?" Do you honestly think it's a Ridgeline? Even my daughter who desperately wants a pickup won't consider a Ridgeline. "This is TEXAS", she says with a poorly-concealed sneer. That kinda sums it up.
What Honda produced is a tall minivan with the third-row seat out in the open air. A big-box body on roller skate wheels with a V6 and auto tranny. Nevermind it's an AWD, or that it does have a vestigial bed out back, it may be perfect for running to the store for a case of beer and a bag of charcoal on Saturday morning, but it won't gain you much respect in the parking lot of the local honky-tonk on Saturday night. Honda totally misjudged the market.
09-12-11, 07:56 AM
#14
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
i think the ridgeline is innovative and fills a need, but as it hasn't been updated and doesn't have decent fuel economy, it would need an overhaul to survive. the market does not need another v8 truck though, honda was right to do something different.