Ridgeline's Uphill Climb (http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/apr2006/bw20060426_852378.htm?chan=autos_autos+index+page_ autos+lede)
Honda's mid-size truck scores well but may not be rugged or come with enough extras for some

By Thane Peterson
BusinessWeek Online

the last paragrahp is incorrect on 2 counts. the iVes and back up camera.

It was a decent review, but I thought he put way too much emphasis on subjective stuff. He said, "I thought", and "It felt", way too many times. Hey, knob, give is the brass tacks, we don't care if you are hung over when testing something.

Plus, he just skimmed over the drive train, engine, and I don't think he even mentioned the navigation.

I sent an e-mail to Thane Peterson, the guy who wrote the review, and if you read the last part of the article again, he has corrected it. Here is my e-mail to him and his reply (Names and dates have been changed to protect the innocent :D. Seriously, I did remove some stuff for readabilty and security purposes):

"I wanted to point out an error in your review. You state, and I quote, "There's no optional rear-seat entertainment system, and the pedals can't be power adjusted. There's no backup alarm, either -- a real failing because (as in most crew-cab pickups) rear visibility is very poor". This is incorrect. There is an entertainment system available for the Ridgeline, called the I-VES DVD System. Also, there is a backup camera available for the RTL's with Navigation and backup sensors are available. These are all dealer installed options, but they are available if a person were to want them.

Thank You"

His reply:

"thanks for the heads up. A reader posted a comment at the end of my review saying something similar. I'll double check with Honda.

My test truck --which supposedly was loaded--didn't have that stuff and i didn't find any reference to it in the owner's manual or the list of options on the Honda press web site.

But if I made a mistake I'll get it corrected as soon as I can.

Thanks again.

Thane Peterson"

I think part of the problem is terminology. What other manufacturers call options (usually factory installed) Honda calls accessories (probably because they are dealer installed).

When you look at the owner's manuals, sales literature and web sites you don't find entertainment systems, backup cameras/sensors as options for the RL but you do for other trucks.

If the reviewer's statement had said "not available as options" he'd have been correct.

And one you get off into the land of accessories, you need to worry about differentiating between "OEM accessories" and aftermarket ones.

Same tired subjective article covering the same ole tired bs.

I've been following the Edmunds long term review a little and....well...to be politically correct....it ticks me off a little. They are still harping on the fact that they claim all 4 struts were destroyed over a washboard road going 10-15 MPH (Now, we all know that is pretty much BS, but that is another thread) and that is the reason they won't recommend the RL to buyers.

Then, the guy who has been continuing with the long term test actually complained the the RL has too much interior storage space....because his cell phone fell into bottom of the console/expandable storage area between the seats and he couldn't find it. Then, to top it off he complained that there were too many configurations to the storage compartment between the seats.

What the heck?!? Can there really be too much storage inside a vehicle and can the storage really be configured too many ways?!? I don't get it.

With that being said, he did stand up for the RL in the blogs there, and he really talked up the comfort and convenience of the vehicle...... yet he/Edmunds is still questioning the toughness and durability of the RL and they make no qualms about saying so....and actually making it a point in many of the blogs there.

So, long story short, sounds like if Honda could make the RL more rugged (in their eyes), they would recommend it. Not that it really makes a hill of beans of difference, but it would be a nice feather in the cap.

The only way I can imagine to make a small truck with independent rear suspension "feel rugged" is to spring it so hard that it rides like a live-axle pickup truck.

Do that for the front, too and...SURPRISE!...you have a mid-70's Ford 4WD pickup.

I bought mine because it didn't ride like an old Ford or Chevy 4WD pickup, among other reasons.

Maybe this reviewer needs to see one with a Parker Featherweight and a Model 70 hanging in an Easy Rider(TM) Rifle Rack in the back window, running somewhere in the Mojave?

We can do that.

Fly him into Las Vegas. I'll be delighted to show him 100 miles of Death Valley, real fast, in the REDA$$.


"Send lawyets, guns and money; the s**t has hit the fan..." - Warren Zevon

i just want to know one ? why do they always compare a full size v-8 trucks to the rl mosly about towing and payload. to me its pretty impressive that the rl can pull 5000 lbs out of a 6 cyl and still make it feel like your driving a car. i thnk this is why most people knock on the rl because it dont drive like a truck so in their opinion its not a truck.what are your thoughts on this

i just want to know one ? why do they always compare a full size v-8 trucks to the rl mosly about towing and payload. to me its pretty impressive that the rl can pull 5000 lbs out of a 6 cyl and still make it feel like your driving a car. i thnk this is why most people knock on the rl because it dont drive like a truck so in their opinion its not a truck.what are your thoughts on this

I think it will be these reasons why I buy a Ridgeline. I want a truck, but 95% or more of my driving will be commuting or running the kids around town. Several times a year I will haul some mulch and then there will be a 15-20 days of hunting where I will want a truck.

So what do I want? I want a truck that drives like a car but can do the "truck things" when I need it. I found an add for a used, loaded Silverado and went to test drive it, thinking I might - just might - go with a Silverado if the price was seven or eight grand cheaper. Didn't take me a minute to think, "this thing drives like a piece of crap compared to the Ridgeline. I'll take on an extra job to save money for a Ridge before I buy something like this."

One more thing. I think the writer is right that people buy more car (or truck) than they need. I about laugh myself silly whenever I see the Cadillac version of the Avalanche or the Lincoln truck. What a waste of money to buy a "luxury truck".

So what do I want? I want a truck that drives like a car but can do the "truck things" when I need it.

I'm in exactly the same boat. I want a truck... but I only need to do occasional truck things, like tow my 16 foot boat 10 minutes to the launch (and maybe to the coast once or twice a year) pick up lumber, mulch etc. So 5 days out of the week I'm happy with a car. the ridge fits my needs exactly. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to talk the wife into one later this year.

After 12.500 miles and keeping my foot out ot it, I have avg. for the last 3600
miles, 18.83 mph. N0W WHAT IS THIS SAYING??? Well, I think we have a DE LORIAN ON OUR HANDS. Why do I say this,,, Well gas prices keep going up; therefore and consequently, Honda will pull the plug on the Ridgeline, unless gas prices stay below $3/gal, maybe $4/gal.

With these rising gas prices, Honda might need to come put with a 2 door non all wheel drive to sell the Ridge. Hay, I was stopped at a gas pump for $2.82/gal. The guy liked the truck but ... If I thought, he wanted a 2 door, and a 2 wheel drive with mileage. I would have told him (If I had a brain in my head) to buy a 2-dr Toco, maybe 1 to 3 yrs old...

Now, lets get down to BRASS TACKS... If gas prices go to $4/gal and higher, NO ONE, AND I SAY NO ONE IS GOING TO BUY A RIDGELINE OR ANY OTHER
HIGH END TRUCK... Therefore, hang on to your Ridge's, WHY, they are going to be collector's items; therefore and consequently, you will not LOOSE, when you trade for a hybrid... :cool:
Just my thoughts...:rolleyes:

I doubt that very much, oldguy. If the economy was in the crapper (which it isn't), I would be a little more apt to agree with you. I think, if anything, higher gas prices should help the Ridgeline, along with all mid-sized pickups.

How you say? Well, right now, (for example) look at a 4-door Nissan Titan, with the V-8, and you are looking at about 12 MPG in the city. Most mid-sized pickups get around 16 city. Plus, when you look at pickups like the Ridgeline and the Taco, they both get in average around 22 MPG highway. I think anybody who really doesn't NEED a full sized pickup, but wants a pickup, will look at the mid-sized pickups if, for nothing else, to save a few bucks on gas.

I plan on hanging on to my Ridgeline for a while....not because I think it's gonna be a collectors item, but because I really like it.

motor tren mag said it all in the 2006 truck of the year article. And all you have to do is drive one to know that THIS TRUCK ROCKS! It handles and drives like no other truck but can do anything they can do. I think Honda did a very good job no ifs ands or buts, my brother in law said he liked it but it couldn't haul plywood and stuff like his truck but he is full of bull, old guy so I gave him a break,lol.:p

.....my brother in law said he liked it but it couldn't haul plywood and stuff like his truck .....

Yeah, I'll say he is full of it. Why do you think they made the bed of the RL 49 inches wide? So you can lay 4x8 sheets of dryway/plywood/etc. down flat in the back, instead of trying to deal with the wheel wells, like you have to do in other trucks.

Hey zeroagenow....whack your BIL upside the head one for me, would ya?!? :D

I would wack his head but with the metal plate and all it might break my bat.:cool:
This truck functions great for my needs and looks like a work of art, makes other designs look old and boring. Bravo Honda!
I really got a kick from the union guy here that said he wished one of the big three had made it. But I am sure everyone will be lining up to copy the innovations of the ridgeline.
If these become rare and worth something that would be cool too because I plan on having mine for a long time and I don't put alot of miles on it.

As my user name hints, I came to my Ridge from an Audi A4.
My friend claims that her '01 4wd Tacoma doesn't bounce.
Ahem, Leslie, I've ridden in that tank. ;)
The Tacoma, and the Tundra, are pretty good trucks. But they ain't Ridgelines. Follow me down a twisty road sometime, Jim. (Jim drives a Tundra.)
As I mentioned in another thread, Toyota pickup owners, especially Tundra, seem to have a real problem with the Ridgeline.
Ifa V8 were offered, I'd have went for it. But that's only because I'm an idiot power junkie. :D
I drove a lot of trucks before I decided on the ugly one. I have zero regrets.
Except that those dopes won't make me a BedRug for it.
Bah!
exA4