It's 2012 and people who should know, still don't

[CUinaRidge]

Originally Posted by 07inny

Doesn't anyone remember the station wagons from the 70's and 80's that had the dual swing tailgates. My dad had a 1974 Plymouth Satelitte wagon that was the size of a boat and had one and it was the coolest thing around at the time. This dual mode tailgate is not something that Honda just came up with for this truck. But they are the only manufacturer producing a truck that has it.

Thats where Gary got his idea from.

[CUinaRidge]

Added note.... Do you remember those 70's cars with the door straps to pull that 500 pound door closed? More that half the straps in every car were ripped out and off. Hence did you ever notice how beefy that big silver pull handle is on the door of the RL?

[Spoot]

I just got my RL at a Chevy dealer. I popped the trunk to look for paperwork the PO mentioned was in there. The sales guy says "'Hey, that's cool !"
He also took pics of the front of truck (with the black-out grill) and he seemed to enjoy the looks/features of truck more than I was.

When I go to the track, I get some stuff out of truck, first swinging the door open (I feel many gazes from afar), then reach into the trunk and pull something big out. Now the gazers are staring.

I think it's awesome.

[MikeT]

An LEO that sidelines as a range officer at the private gun range I am a member at approached me and said he took delivery of a 2013 RTL because he had seen me using my truck at various work parties at the club. He said he was most impressed seeing me hauling everything from 4'x8' sheets of plywood, 4"x4"x 8' posts, bags of cement, sand, dirt, bricks, ect while driving up and down our mud bogs called access roads. He said the Honda salesman did not know of the trunk and argued with him about its existence as well as the swing out tailgate until he demonstrated both to the salesman. Honda's effort to sale and develop the Ridgeline is proof they simply do not care or "get it".

[cdepuydt]

As I have said many times before on this forum...the RL is Honda's best kept secret. My RL will be 7 years old in Nov., and I still have people coming up and asking me/saying things like, "Wow, nice looking vehicle...what is it...?...who makes it...?" When I give people the nickle tour, I get nothing but, "...wow, that is so cool...I didn't even know there was a truck out there with a trunk...I'd use that all the time...", and those kind of comments.

Whenever I take my RL on a hunting/fishing trip, friends and family members are always amazed how much gear I can get in it, especially when I only have one passenger and use the trunk, bed, and back seat area.

Honda needs to put together a 1/2-way decent ad campaign that shows the utility of the RL; the "Swiss Army Knife" of trucks, as it were. And they need to lose the ad agency that put together the lumberjack floating through space and herding cats ads. The ads should show what the truck can do. The ads should not leave people scratching thier heads thinking, "WTF was that all about?!?"

The Honda Classic PGA golf tournament is this coming weekend. It'll be interesting to see how many ads include the RL. Last year I watched the whole tournament over the Sat/Sun rounds, and there was 1 ad that had an almost "glancing" shot, for lack of a better term, of the RL. The lions share of the ads were Civic and Accord ads. It's almost as if Honda doesn't want anybody to know they make a truck...and a dang good one at that!

[ShanesG]

I love how many people get amazed when they see the trunk.

[cdepuydt]

Watched about 3 hours of the Honda Classic coverage last night. Not one Pilot, Ridgeline, or Odessey commercial. About 1/2 dozen Acura commercials along with a couple Civic/Accord commercials. They also have Accords and Civics placed around the golf course. Namely behind the teebox on one of the final par 3's (16 I think), so you see it every time somebody tees off there. I didn't see a RL anywhere.

[pella cholla]

Originally Posted by Spoot

I just got my RL at a Chevy dealer. I popped the trunk to look for paperwork the PO mentioned was in there. The sales guy says "'Hey, that's cool !"
He also took pics of the front of truck (with the black-out grill) and he seemed to enjoy the looks/features of truck more than I was.

When I go to the track, I get some stuff out of truck, first swinging the door open (I feel many gazes from afar), then reach into the trunk and pull something big out. Now the gazers are staring.

I think it's awesome.

Ha Ha! That's what she said! Sorry had to.

[SmokinJoe]

Good stories guys, Apparently the US border guys do know as I had to wait longer as mine was used as a training exercise for the new guys. This was traveling through Port Huron Michigan from Canada