Tomorrow's the day!

tcj
12-16-2005, 08:56 PM
Here's another newbie. (Well, sort-of. I've got a few posts in other forums on the site, but here's my official "hello"!)

I'm heading down to Honda tomorrow morning to pick out a Ridgeline! Trading in my 2003 Toyota Matrix as it's quickly revealed itself to be far too small for all the crap I tend to tote around in it for my 3-month old daughter. I'm also a truck-guy - the Matrix was my one foray into cars, and while it was a fun car, I'm not young enough to overlook its shortcomings (lack of power, lack of refinement, noise, rough-feel in general) anymore, and even with my relatively short 5'6" frame crushed up in the front due to a rear-facing child-seat, I realized that NOW is the time to make a move, regardless of what we may owe on the Matrix. Luckily, it looks pretty good for a break-even situation, or close enough to it to ignore the difference.

My wife got a 2003 Accord sedan a couple months after I got my Matrix, and immediately I fell in love with the quality of the car. Since then, I've wondered many times if maybe I shouldn't have just gotten another Honda instead of my Matrix, but of course since I hadn't tried one until hers, the answer why is obvious. When it came time to think about a new vehicle, I ran through all the scenarios - many of which stem from frustrations with my current car - and came to the conclusion that while having a hatch-type car is handy, there have been far too many times when I've been frustrated by the lack of an open bed to carry large items. It only takes a few instances like that to make a former truck-guy regret buying a car. On the other hand, I really did like having enclosed space to store things that I wouldn't want in the bed or between the front and rear seats. As you can all figure out, the answer was obviously the Ridgeline. :)

So tomorrow morning I'm off to meet the fleet manager at our dealership and I'll pick out a color. Which one? Not sure - I like the green a lot, but red is mighty rich, too. I have nothing against the blue, either, but I'm seeing an awful lot of those lately. White, black, and silver just aren't of much interest - no offense to the many very outspoken fans of these colors! They're just not me. I have a feeling I'll be pulling into the driveway tomorrow morning in an Amazon green Ridgeline, but who knows - Redrock Pearl might just win me over in the last minute. ;)

BannedUser
12-16-2005, 09:01 PM
The color makes no difference when you have a quality vehicle to help you care for your family.
( shhhh don't tell anybody I said that part about color. ) :D
We will expect pictures very soon.
:)

mayfielh
12-16-2005, 09:53 PM
All of the colors are cool in their own way. I originally went for black but I wanted grey interior but you can't get it. My wife pointed out the green and said she really liked it. I was only so so at first but the more I looked at it the more I liked it. Now after 9 months and 13,000 miles on a lot of dusty roads I am so glad I didn't get black and the gold fleck in the green really helps to hide dirt. I only have to wash my RL every other week instead of every other day with black, sort of anal about my vehicles. :cool:

Truckin'
12-16-2005, 10:36 PM
Tomorrow will be a very exciting day for you. I hope you remember that we all want to hear how it goes, but you just might be too smitten to do anything but drive until you're exhausted. Have fun.

W7LV
12-16-2005, 11:39 PM
Suggest you work on some facial exercises...every time you drive your Ridgeline, you will have a smile on your face that an undertaker couldn't wipe off, until it almost hurts to NOT grin maniacally when you see a Tundra or a MoTown Big Three pickup.

Motor smartly!

Toobuku
12-17-2005, 12:28 AM
Oh the joy in finally getting the truck of your dreams! WELCOME TO THE ROC! Enjoy the ride my friend! :D

miami-ridgeline
12-17-2005, 07:02 AM
Congratulations on your new ridgeline. I know all to well the pain of choosing the color that is right for you (but my wife made the decision easier ;) ). The worst part of the process was waiting for our Ridgeline to come in.

SmokyMtnRidger
12-17-2005, 08:21 AM
Congratulations on your purchase! We also have an Accord, two actually, and love Honda vehicles.

Regarding the color, I actually would be proud to drive any color, they all are nice. Sometimes some people with the primer color have inferiority complexes so they boast a lot about their primer trucks, so the rest of us with real paint jobs have to boast about our colors. KWIM? teehee :p

Can't wait to see pics! Welcome again :-)

5S Dude
12-17-2005, 05:31 PM
Hello tcj and welcome to the best Ridgeline forum on the net. Here you will find answers to most all of your questions regarding this truck we all love so much. Not only will it carry all your stuff, it will carry it much more safely than the Matrix too. Post some photos when you get a chance. We all love photos.:p

tcj
12-18-2005, 07:15 AM
I had to pop in here real quick to make the announcement: an Amazon green RTS is sitting in my garage right now! Had to do some quick garage rearranging last night to get it to fit - and it's still tight! Needless to say, it's quite a bit bigger in all aspects than my Matrix was, so the garage is a bit cramped. But it sure does look good in there . . . :D Pics later, gotta go get some Christmas shopping done!

BannedUser
12-18-2005, 07:28 AM
I had to pop in here real quick to make the announcement: an Amazon green RTS is sitting in my garage right now! Had to do some quick garage rearranging last night to get it to fit - and it's still tight! Needless to say, it's quite a bit bigger in all aspects than my Matrix was, so the garage is a bit cramped. But it sure does look good in there . . . :D Pics later, gotta go get some Christmas shopping done!
Welcome to the ROC family tcj...Merry Christmas and have a blast with your new RidgeLine. Just wait til you see all the people who will stare at you while you load your truck with Christmas treasures. It's so fun. :D

tcj
12-18-2005, 08:19 AM
Welcome to the ROC family tcj...Merry Christmas and have a blast with your new RidgeLine. Just wait til you see all the people who will stare at you while you load your truck with Christmas treasures. It's so fun. :D
We already got looks and comments within two hours of taking her home yesterday! On the ride home from the dealer, a guy in a Jeep Cherokee was driving alongside me to check it out, and then a couple hours later when we went to get a Christmas tree, the kid who wrapped it up and helped me out to the truck was asking about it. "How you like this thing?" he asked, and I said, "Well, in the two hours I've had it so far I'm thrilled. I don't foresee that reaction changing much!" It definitely is an attention-getter, that's for sure.

Cajun Country Ridgeline
12-18-2005, 08:59 AM
tcj: Welcome aboard! Enjoy your Ridgeline, May it bring you many years of Fun & Reliability. Enjoy your Holidays and have a Safe New Year!:D

mayfielh
12-18-2005, 11:25 AM
We already got looks and comments within two hours of taking her home yesterday! On the ride home from the dealer, a guy in a Jeep Cherokee was driving alongside me to check it out, and then a couple hours later when we went to get a Christmas tree, the kid who wrapped it up and helped me out to the truck was asking about it. "How you like this thing?" he asked, and I said, "Well, in the two hours I've had it so far I'm thrilled. I don't foresee that reaction changing much!" It definitely is an attention-getter, that's for sure.

Yeah for another green owner. :cool:

Wasn't putting the Chrstmas tree in the bed so much easier than strapping it the roof of the matrix? :)