2006 Interview with Gary Flint - Page 2
ROC: You indicated in an earlier conversation that you just
spent some quality time driving the Ridgeline in various
elements, like sand on the beach. What's it like getting
behind the wheel of a vehicle that you first saw in
sketches and you helped to create from the ground up?
GF: First off I would like to say that I was fortunate to have led a team of outstanding engineers during the development of the Ridgeline. This was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to be on the ground floor of creating a product and entering a brand new market segment for Honda. I drive a Ridgeline every day and am consistently pleased with the outcome of the vehicle. Looking back, there are very few decisions I would change in leading the team that developed and brought this vehicle to market. It is amazing to finally see one of the most closely guarded secrets at Honda being actualized on the road. It is rewarding to experience the performance of this vehicle in everyday use. It was a true pleasure to blow by some of the so-called off-road vehicles stuck in the deep sand on the Outer Banks Beach in North Carolina.
I have also spent a significant amount of time driving, hauling and towing with this vehicle. It makes me proud to finally be able to appreciate all the difficult decisions and hard work it took to develop this vehicle. The Ridgeline actually out performs any of the direct competitors at executing its intended truck functions. Additionally, it is setting a new benchmark for ride and handling in a truck – both the loaded and un-loaded conditions.
Some owners have expressed concern about fuel mileage and I’d like to address that here being that I have driven over 20,000 miles in a Ridgeline in real-world conditions. The Ridgeline has one of the lowest coefficients of drag compared to any of the current comparable truck competitors. If you confirm the actual real world fuel economy in a controlled situation with calibrated re-fueling techniques, you will find it is one of the most fuel efficient trucks in the segment (with equivalent towing specification – ie: V6 gasoline engine). I have personally achieved 22.6 mpg with my truck in real world driving at 70-75mph (with a tonneau cover which reduces drag slightly).
Based on previous market experience, displaying fuel economy information actually increases market complaints. Either from inaccuracies from re-fueling techniques (the system is typically more accurate at calculating fuel economy than the consumer), or displaying real-time information. The average consumer does not fully understand the engineering impact of weather affects, temperature (air density), or driving habits (speed/traffic).
ROC: How much freedom did you have in the design? What constraints did you have to work with?
GF: The biggest challenge with developing any new product is to deliver a competitive vehicle that satisfies the tremendous pressures from a business perspective. There was never any significant internal debate over the styling of the Ridgeline. Once the concept direction was finalized and models were created, the team focused on molding the final product into its actual production form. The team was granted complete design autonomy at the Honda R&D Americas Inc center in Ohio. To answer your question more specifically, we had very stringent restraints on weight and staying on budget from a cost standpoint. However, these issues are not specific to the development of this vehicle. One of the early arguments we had from an internal cultural standpoint was departing from many of the Honda design traditions. One simple example is the windshield wiper stalk which deviated from the traditional design approach at Honda. However, I felt this was a necessary attribute to enable the execution of a column shift lever which we felt was essential aspect of a truck. It provides a functional balance between usability and packaging space in the center console. Another big issue I went to the mat on was displaying the “H-O-N-D-A” badge on the tailgate. Again, this was a minor element in the grander scheme of issues – but demonstrates one of the countless details that we went to great lengths to execute carefully. However, it is a common characteristic most all trucks in the market. This went completely against the grain of the corporate branding rules. I ended up directly negotiating this with Mr. Yoshino himself (HM President during the early Ridgeline Development).
