
Painful to you as it may be, I felt compelled to help those of you who may still be considering continued citizenship rather than mere residency of this United States of America. While it may seem to you overly sensitive types that I'm simply bashing a foreign product let me assure you that absolutely nothing could be further from the truth. let me set the record straight. I am a 21 year Navy veteran and I loved my time serving alongside the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Forces. Working with them and living amongst their countrymen are among the highlights of my Naval career. It's important to note that with the exception of Submarines and recently indigenously produced combat aircraft...The Japanese Self Defence forces will not purchase any military related products (nor will they work on the same side during war games) of any other country on the face of the earth! There have been many occasions where ranking Japanese officers informed me that it was not out of some misplaced sense of fair-play nor was it subservient in nature...It was quite simply the fact that the ships, aircraft and combat vehicles we here in the United States manufacture are light years ahead of anything else on the planet and they only provide the very best for their people....Think about that...They buy American products because they're superior in quality to anything their own industry or that or the Europeans....And I bet you didn't bother driving an Avalanche (real Truck) before you bought that over blown toy! Now on to my most (recent) favorite subject
The knockoff Honda parlayed on the unsuspecting public in the form of a truck falls short in far too many ways. When compared to the Ridgeline the Avalanche is king and if you haven't taken the opportunity to get into one at the GM discount price; then you are a person who never admits a mistake, believes anything he reads, trusts that anything imported into this country is a superior product (Oh and by the way...While the foreign auto makers assembling vehicles on our soil do employ many people in what would otherwise be impoverished, remote areas of the USA; it's important to see why and gauge the overall impact to the very economy that you enjoy - These foreign manufacturers import almost all the parts and send home more than 80% of the profits. Ask yourself if keeping up with the Jones' today is important enough for you to know that your children probably won't know anything other than a minimum wage job with no choice of their being an independent home-owner...and it falls at your feet!
Too late for you now, but I ask you to actually think before you buy next time. If your answer is like so many of those residents of my country and you feel the need to be duped into remaining blissfully ignorant, of being called a cash cow overseas by the very people you rave about...well then you can be led around by the nose and must like driving a small wannabe.
Like it or not, what you have is absolutely not a Truck...with it's limited cargo capacity (5' bed), the Ridgeline is more apt to be compared with our little, light duty Colorado Crew. Honda's additional compartment is unique and I'm sure is a welcome bin for loose items, but I don't quite see any huge breakthrough in functionality. I too have to wonder why innovative Honda didn't fit Ridgeline with a "midgate," so that the cargo area could be extended into the rear part of the cab. As it is, there's only got five feet of bed there....yea, yea there is an optional bed extender available, but it only adds a foot so we're still well short of the eight(+) feet offered by the Avalanche with its midgate folded. I know, I know the Avalanche is overall a longer vehicle but hey, the big difference/advantage is in the midgate. Even stranger is the Ridgeline's lack of a folding front passenger seat. At General Motors we have them in most of our smaller cars and SUVs. Stop the presses...Does that equate to much over-rated Honda motor company's being among the last to adopt a highly functional innovation? With the Ridgeline's very limited ability to carry long cargo, I find it ludicrous to own or even brag about living on our shores...
If you must drive a Honda then do so over another Honda product, I suppose you can claim some additional cargo volume, with the Ridgeline being a foot-and-a-half longer than Pilot. But after factoring in the Ridgeline's space-robbing rear cab wall, what you have left is quite simply a cargo area that can easier to hose out than a Pilot's.
Far too many reviews have been written inappropriately comparing Honda's Ridgeline with our Avalanche and while the Ridgeline may appear to rival full-size trucks in width; and width affects perceived size as much, if not more than length...it's no wonder that you've been duped into buying a forgery. My surely unwanted but sage advice is to quietly admit the error of your ways and go get yourself a real Truck (Silverado or Avalanche) as soon as you can...Before the GM employee discount offer with rebates expires.
