It is obvious Mr. Fritter had it in for the Ridgeline all along. He compares the Ridgeline to work trucks without taking the time to understand why this truck was built and the intended target market. Without that consideration, any reviewer will miss the mark completely. As such, I would pay little attention to what he has to say.

 

Agreed, this guy is clueless. It seems most reviewers love to compare the Ridgeline to typical trucks(which of course it isn't.) I sometimes wish that Honda would have named it something other than a truck, thus there would be nothing to compare it to. Then most people would see it for what it is...one great vehicle.

 

Surprise: A Ridgeline is not the same vehicle as his rusted-out F-250.

He probably complains that the ride in a Lexus LS-460 is too soft, too.

Chip H.

 

What a noob. Especially the assumptions he made about us owners.

 

"..one of the best things a Vancouverite can do is to get themselves out of Vancouver. Be it north or east, two hours time is all it really takes to remove yourself from the condensed urban sprawl, with another two hours being sufficient to remove yourself from nearly all human contact in some of the most gorgeous scenery planet Earth...

...And while the Ridgeline’s transverse 3.5L V6 and VTM-4 all-wheel drive system may work wonders in the desert (the Ridgeline is a class winner at the gruelling Baja 1000 stock mini class), its low ground clearance and smaller-diameter, street-oriented tires conspire against it here in the more technically challenging Canadian north...."

Okay, 4 hours north of Vancouver is exactly where I live, it is hardly the "challenging Canadian north" (another 10 hours north might do it) and it is the perfect environment for a Ridgeline. Quite a boneheaded comment. Giving Vancouverites a bad name. Surprising he actually mentioned the Baja win though.



"The worst offender, by far though, has to be the door panel. Molded in two halves, the casting line runs atop the door’s interior panel, providing a nice sharp plastic edge for you to rest your arm on.."

Can't you picture him now? Driving down the road wearing his Rice Killer T-shirt in his loud jacked-up Ford hanging him arm out in a ready to one finger poise. Anybody else drive around with their arm on the door? I am a right arm on the console resting type...


"...the North American buyer has no need for such novelties, or a unibody car-cum-truck..."

Well excuse me, but I am a North American buyer, and have the need, so once again you are out to left field.


"...We should juisy be thankful it’s on its way to the same fate."

It is quite easy to make comments looking at previous sales statistics after the fact and make predictions about the future of a vehicle. Where was his foresight in 2006? Maybe he would make a good stockbroker in recommending stocks that have already gone up?

Even if it ceases production I think the Ridgeline has a better career as a vehicle than him as a credible journalist.

 

obviously he just like Fords and a Honda is foreign, it seems it's foreign to the reviewer also, I wonder if he really test drove one to give it a proper review, not saying the RL is perfect, but it's alot better than any of the Big 3, he also talks about the "plastic box" what I don't think he realizes is that if a panel needs to be replaced in the RL box, you just unbolt it and replace the panel instead of replacing the whole box or doing a lot of welding, bondo work, priming and painting to replace just a panel. Oh yes, I believe the payload on the RL is higher than most 1/2 ton trucks. I could keep ranting but I'll just let losers be losers.

 

Why did I buy this thing?

 

The only good fritter's are FRIED.:act047:

 

Wow this guy does not understand the target buyer of the Ridgeline.
The lockable in-bed trunk is one of the main selling points of the Ridgeline to many. Dodge tried to put storage bins on the sides of their pick-up. But this is not a true trunk like a car. We can store & carry full size Ice coolers in the in-bed trunk or other types of gear. Its not a big work truck but it is a nice size truck with car like ride & comfort. I don't need an off road vehicle if they wan't to make another version of the Ridgeline for this fine. I say its a Home Depot, Lowes, Safeway, Giant Food, Sams , BJs ect type using truck. Then you can load a small family in it a take a long highway trip in comfort & plenty of storage space & utility. Then you could tow a small boat or trailer with room in the truck to spare. This is what most of the target buyers of the Ridgeline got it for.

 

He's definitely the worst writer too. He fails to hold my attention after the second sentence. It takes him 2 1/2 (long) paragraphs to mention the Ridgeline's name, because he's too focused on talking about an ancient 1974 Ford F-250 that his beloved dead relative left him.

I actually had to force myself to read the article several times just to get to his specific complaints and subtle praises. And, I only did that because y'all were discussing the article.

And, I have real doubts about whether he test drove and used the Ridgeline. This is obvious when he stated that (and I quote) "It won’t haul a sheet of plywood for the worker types, and can’t even handle a large mountain bike". WHAT?? You're busted ... you didn't even try it, did you?

My conclusion is that he is a troll for the Ford Motor Company. His mission is to bash the heck out of the Ridgeline because it's a big threat to the Ford Ranger and other trucks of that size.

 

My conclusion is that he is a troll for the Ford Motor Company. His mission is to bash the heck out of the Ridgeline because it's a big threat to the Ford Ranger and other trucks of that size.

Except that the ford Ranger is not available in a crew cab version, standard or club cab only! I ruled out the Ford almost immeadiatley, as I wanted a vehicle that would last past the end of the lease payments. Go to the race track and see how many Ford's are racing, that aren't actually powered by Ford engines!

As for the Avalanche, I have driven a few of those, I leased a 2003 and a 2006, and so far I have found them to be the most versatile vehicle I have driven. The Ridgeline has been a close second and so far I am glad I got it, but, I will say that I miss some of the features of the Avalanche.

Mileage on the Ridge seems a bit better, the overall fit and finish seems better, but with the canopy, the useable storage space is a lot lower. The in-bed trunk is handy and so far I have had no problems with it, but if I was ever going to load up the bed, I would really consider removing the spare first. Nothing worse than having to unload a 1000 lbs of cargo to get at the spare tire. Plus side is the tire is in nice clean shape and is not being pummelled with road debris.

Walter

 

Now I am retired, I thought of writing reviews for extra income. I'm encouraged by the fact that you don't need to know much beyond reminiscing about 'Dad's old truck'.

 

Wow. I wish I had read that before last weekend when I bought my RL. I had no idea that this was not the truck I wanted. I guess I should have gotten another Ford Ranger that like the one I had in '97 that leaked oil before it hit 15K miles. Although that wouldn't haul a sheet of plywood either. Wait, now i remember. I sold my old T-100 and Camry (wife's) to get a truck that looks and rides like a luxury car. Not to mention that I don't need to haul heavy machinery, just pull a bass boat and an occasional load of mulch. Truth be told that guy's work is so bad, it appears the editor didn't even read it.

 

Just sent the publisher the following email:

"I'll start off saying that, yes. I do own a Honda Ridgeline.

Now, I was expecting to read a review of the 2011 model, not a lament for a long passed pickup from the authors youth. Did he even drive the vehicle? It seems to me that he just read off statistics on Wikipedia or other reviews and chose out all the negatives. He also added some false information: The Ridgeline will handle a sheet of plywood and mountain bikes. He just forgot to mention the tailgate has to be down for the plywood to lie flat.
I understand the editors can not fact check every article before it is published, but that is why we the readers can point out opportunities of improvement. Please remind your writers that people read there writing and that it's not just a venting space for how much they detest any certain design."

 

I can handle criticism of the Ridgleine, but at least 'review' the vehicle. It reads like an 18 year old who believes that if it 'don't drive like granddaddy's truck, it ain't no truck, dad-burn it!'. I remember the first time we got a pick-up with 6 1/2 foot bed, instead of an 8 footer, thinking, "how could anybody use that?", but hey, giving up 1.5 ft isn't bad in exchange for extra-cab space and/or better manuverability, right? Or sometimes you just don't really need that much space. Change is good sometimes. It gives the impression that he looked it over in a dealership and drove it for about 10 minutes. What did you haul? How did it do off-road? Did you actually use it the way it was intended or just drive it around the block?

A much better review is the Truck Trend long term review, where a publication that seems to prefer the HD side of the pick-up industry actually gave the Ridgeline a fair shake, and admitted that they put about double (24k) the miles on a year-long trial than they usually do for other vehicles.

A better review would be a side by side between the Tacoma, Frontier, Colorado, Ranger, Sport-Trac, and Dakota. There was a good mid-size review a few years back on www.pickuptrucks.com, filled with drivers who are VERY biased against the Ridgeline, but the site actually rated the RL the highest of the trucks reviewed.

 

How much bigger is the Silverado or Ford Bed comapred to the RL? I looked at the used lot about a year ago...I think the ridge was just slightly shorter...

You can fit 4x8 drywall in the ridge can't you?

 

I've done it.

 

Hi guys,

I'm a fellow RL owner. I picked up my Ridgeline last week and I've enjoyed every moment that I've driven it. I know Hondas and even I'm surprised with my RL.

The writer of that article clearly is a "troll" for another car company or an ignorant fool who has never spent more than a few minutes in a Ridgeline. I believe everyone is entitled to an honest opinion or review of our truck (or any car/truck) as long as he or she has sincerely and objectively tested one for a reasonable amount of time and researches his or her claims.

Clearly the Ridgeline is a capable truck that rides and handles better than most cars. It's more truck than many will ever need. But this greatness comes with the envy of others. It always will.

I'm very happy with my purchase and plan on enjoying my RL for years to come....

 

He also ripped on the MDX as well which is getting rave reviews from legitimate car sites.

 

:act024:

That's funny! My wife just bought a 2010 MDX Advance / Tech and she loves it. Not to mention most people also compliment the MDX for its looks (inside and out) features and performance. The only flaw I see in the MDX is I feel the accelaration is a bit sluggish when in full auto mode. The Ridgeline's throttle feels more responsive on the highway or when changing lanes at a steady pace.

But I will admit I AM BIASED toward Hondas. My other two cars are an '01 Acura Type-R and an '08 Civic Si 4door. :act035:

 

If I get a reply to my email to the editor of that site, I will let everyone know the outcome.

 

Kind of telling that he would post his article without any way of contacting him to respond.

Some would even say cowardly...



This is what passes for journalism these days.

 

There is no greater display of ignorance....than the expression of an uninformed opinion.

 

What about the comment, "Sure, my old Ford’s bed may have looked like hell after its three-and-half decades of service, but it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be remedied by a spray in bedliner. The Ridgeline, on the other hand, may find its bed has simply worn away just after half that period of time".

OK...can't put a spray in bedliner in a RL bed? Also, "worn away"...? Has anybody "worn away" a RL bed?

I especially love the "Of course, further inspection of the body brought up a few other sore points with the truck’s build; most notably that downright atrocious panel alignment and subsequently irregular gaps all over the place.", comment. I think he was looking at that "borrowed" pickup he spoke so fondly of.

What a moron. Well said, 3ftputt...well said...

 

He should have a word with the writers of motor trend since it was named 2006 TRUCK OF THE EFFIN YEAR!!!

 

Great point! I'd like to read what positive points MT made, that he did not agree with.

 

There is so much wrong with his comments that I don't belive he drove one. Maybe he looked at one in a dealership.

 

I don't know why he didnt mention that this truck is WAY slower than a corvette.

 

LOL....Master of the Obvious....

 

I'm ashamed to live in the same part of the country as this dolt. I apologize on behalf of my fellow BC'ers. This guys is an idiot. :act029:

I just read the part about the door trim (WTF?) has he even sat in a RL? I don't see how it is possible to rest your arm on the seam where the two interior panels meet, that's down beside the arm rest. Is he talking about the top of the trim near the window? I can see maybe a molding issue on the very edge, but that seems like an awkward way of resting your arm (there is an arm rest) besides isn't there something about not putting part of your body there due to the airbag sensor? His article is so poorly written that its almost impossible to understand his intent. He must have had a deadline and nothing to write about so he picked what he thought would be an easy target.

Funny, when he talks about driving his old massive truck in Vancouver and people staying out of his way - probably due to all the blue smoke trailing from it. I see these beasts on the road all the time - they're nothing to look longingly at. As a matter of fact, most should be legislated off the road so we and our children can breath. This guy is living in the stone age.