Honda's awesome new Ridgeline commercials

[.RJ]

Well, they ARE marketing it as a "tough" truck. Can it at least haul 1/2 a ton of mulch from the outdoor products store to someones yard?

"tough" is subjective.

Who buys 1,000 lbs of mulch? I suspect that if you buy that much mulch, you've got much larger things to haul as well.

[HAULN-SS]

i dunno..i'd think a flowerbed would pretty easily take 1000 lbs of mulch. My uncle mulched around the trees in his back yard, and some pretty large flowerbeds, and it took a dump truck full. We have some flowerbeds around the house, probably something on area of 300sf of mulching area, and it takes 2 - 3 pickup loads.

[Maengelito]

1000lbs of mulch actually isnt too much. especially if someone's got a big yard, but i digress. i dont like the styling of the ridgeline much, but i'm not really in the market for one, so my opinion doesnt really count

[Apoc]

Those bags weigh ~40 lbs and cover ~15 sqft. I don't think it's unreasonable for someone to need 25 bags. That's only an area roughly 20' x 20' and I'm pretty sure I used 8 to prep my dinky townhouse for selling.

P.S. - I think the Ridgeline is ugly.

[G.Irish]

Well, they ARE marketing it as a "tough" truck. Can it at least haul 1/2 a ton of mulch from the outdoor products store to someones yard? Even though I don't really even see them being used for that by most of it's owners...i'd say that's probably a minimal qualification for being a real truck.

Actually it has a 3/4 ton maximum payload.

[.RJ]

I'm pretty sure I used 8 to prep my dinky townhouse for selling.

You mean you didnt pay someone?

[Apoc]

I'm pretty sure I used 8 to prep my dinky townhouse for selling.

You mean you didnt pay someone?

Just your girlfriend.... oh.... wait....

[stevegula]

functional as in having heavy duty bumpers and transmissions, extra leaf springs, locking differentials, lots of torque, and a decent tow package? What are they rated as? 1/2 tons?

Not every truck has or needs those features. Lots of people buy V6 F150's, 2WD Silverados, or less than full-sized trucks. The Ridgeline is not meant to go head to head with the full-sized trucks and as such it doesn't have some of the things they do. On the other hand it has some qualities they don't and for certain customers it ends up being a better fit for their needs.

For $28k as a starting price I would expect it to go head to head with a near any truck. That starting price puts it higher than most of the American quad-cab full size trucks I believe.

(I am not knocking the truck. I think it's ugly but I know it's functional and I'd kill for its turning radius.)

[Evan]

Its a Odyssey minivan with a mini bed and a couple peices of stamped steel bolted to the unibody to call it a truck frame.

If people buy them, then good for honda. I think its uglier and less useful than an aztek.

[G.Irish]

functional as in having heavy duty bumpers and transmissions, extra leaf springs, locking differentials, lots of torque, and a decent tow package? What are they rated as? 1/2 tons?

Not every truck has or needs those features. Lots of people buy V6 F150's, 2WD Silverados, or less than full-sized trucks. The Ridgeline is not meant to go head to head with the full-sized trucks and as such it doesn't have some of the things they do. On the other hand it has some qualities they don't and for certain customers it ends up being a better fit for their needs.

For $28k as a starting price I would expect it to go head to head with a near any truck. That starting price puts it higher than most of the American quad-cab full size trucks I believe.

Not really. If you equip something like a crew cab F150 or Silverado with the same stuff as a Ridgeline they'll be a few thousand more. With the deep discounts on those models though they could end up being the same price or cheaper (but then again Ridgelines are being discounted too). The thing with most Hondas though is that there aren't many options to be had on them anyway. So a base XL F150 Crew Cab is going to be somewhat underequipped in comparison.

The price is a bit high but its on par with what you'd pay for an Explorer Sport Trac.

[ScottyB]

Who buys 1,000 lbs of mulch? I suspect that if you buy that much mulch, you've got much larger things to haul as well.

my parents. they like to garden...alot :lol:

moving along....

[.RJ]

Its a Odyssey minivan with a mini bed

Shares almost nothing with the Odyssey except the engine:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://world.honda.com/news/2005/c050110.html">http://world.honda.com/news/2005/c050110.html</a><!-- m -->

Honda engineers developed a new truck body construction, a fully integrated truck frame with two longitudinal frame rails and seven high-strength steel cross members that create a fully boxed, deep channel, ladder frame structure fully integrated into the upper body of the vehicle. Body bending rigidity is more than 2.5 times stiffer than the best performing body-on-frame compact truck competitor and rear torsion rigidity is more than 20 times stiffer. Fully 93 percent of the Ridgeline's frame components are exclusive to this model.

[ViPER1313]

I don't see the point of buying one unless you are a Honda fanboy or a soccer mom. If I remember correctly the Nissan / Honda full size trucks trailed Fords F series line in reliability according to this years Consumer Reports and the IIRC the Chevy line won Car and Driver's last comparo. Just 2 more things to think about.

[.RJ]

I don't see the point of buying one unless you are a Honda fanboy or a soccer mom

Its smaller and nicer inside than an 1/2 ton 'merican truck.

Its probably just as yuppie as buying a suburban/F150 to drive around 2 kids, but to each their own.

[Evan]

Its a Odyssey minivan with a mini bed

Shares almost nothing with the Odyssey except the engine:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://world.honda.com/news/2005/c050110.html">http://world.honda.com/news/2005/c050110.html</a><!-- m -->

Honda engineers developed a new truck body construction, a fully integrated truck frame with two longitudinal frame rails and seven high-strength steel cross members that create a fully boxed, deep channel, ladder frame structure fully integrated into the upper body of the vehicle. Body bending rigidity is more than 2.5 times stiffer than the best performing body-on-frame compact truck competitor and rear torsion rigidity is more than 20 times stiffer. Fully 93 percent of the Ridgeline's frame components are exclusive to this model.

oh noes! I offended the honda fanbois!

Do you believe that the skyline has no shared parts either? Nissan says it doesnt.

I crawled underneath one. Its the same oddyssey unibody with some braces

edit: an interview with the guy who uh....made it <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050614/FREE/506140702&SearchID=7323646457928">http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... 3646457928</a><!-- m -->
"Using the platform of the Odyssey minivan and Pilot SUV as a starting point"
its also built in an odyssey plant.

not that there is anything particularly wrong with a minivan with a bed if thats what you are looking for, its just not under any circumstances a heavy duty truck, especially when you throw in Honda's apparent inability to build a V6 auto trans that doesnt self destruct.

[stevegula]

The price is a bit high but its on par with what you'd pay for an Explorer Sport Trac.

Yea those are for people like my not-hetero roommate.

[Evan]

oh, and fwiw, I saw a ridgeline at summit point towing a C4 vette on a steel trailer.

It was struggling and a sad sight, but apparently it got the job done.

[Ginger]

I never really thought towing a car was the Ridgeline's market point.

I think a Ridgeline would be a great truck to consider if you were like, say, me. If I got a truck it wouldn't be for heavy duty use... but it would be useful. Taking a couple motorcycles + gear to the track, hauling around a few pieces of furniture now and then... my toolbox is still in Falls Church because it won't fit in my car... being generally utilitarian and nice enough inside to not think I'm driving something with "XLT" or "HD" on the side. I'd be hard pressed to buy one over an F-150, though.

[Mike]

I never really thought towing a car was the Ridgeline's market point.

I think a Ridgeline would be a great truck to consider if you were like, say, me. If I got a truck it wouldn't be for heavy duty use... but it would be useful. Taking a couple motorcycles + gear to the track, hauling around a few pieces of furniture now and then... my toolbox is still in Falls Church because it won't fit in my car... being generally utilitarian and nice enough inside to not think I'm driving something with "XLT" or "HD" on the side. I'd be hard pressed to buy one over an F-150, though.

Yay! Someone gets it! It isn't meant to go head to head with an Fx50. It's a light duty pickup that wouldn't be half bad for daily use. As Evan put it, think of it as a minivan with a bit more utility.

[G.Irish]

The price is a bit high but its on par with what you'd pay for an Explorer Sport Trac.

Yea those are for people like my not-hetero roommate.

Get with the times, most other gay people would call that person their "life partner".

I don't know what the big problem is. The Ridgeline is bigger than a compact truck, doesn't have the towing capacity or locking differentials of a full size crew cab would. It sits somewhere in between. It is a hybrid unibody chassis and it has IRS so that its stiffer and handles more like a car than a body on frame truck. It sells around 50K units whereas something like the Toyota Tundra moves 200,000 units between all of the different combinations of bed, cab, and drivetrain. The Ridgeline is just meant to get the type of customer who needs some daily drivability, has light towing needs, and needs a crew cab. I drove one over a weekend and it was significantly better as a daily driver than my current truck.

Its not for everyone who needs something with a bed. If you need to tow a boat, buy a diesel. If you need something cheaper buy a Colorado or Tacoma. If you a longer bed, buy a F150. Big deal.