Does anyone know what the next Ridgeline update might hold and when it will be. I am considering one as my next daily driver but don't want to miss the next updated version.

Thanks
J.W.

 

2012, The Ridgeline will not be sold .

 

There are better truck products out there with massive incentive$. The concept of the Ridgeline is still good IMO, but the actual car/truck sort of missed the mark.

 

Yep, its on its way out. I really, really wish Honda would make a real truck with a box. I think if honda wanted to they could build something that would walk all over the competition.

 

Well I don't think they missed the boat, they were in my opinion going after a market nich that was already over sold IE: Fords SportTrac. I have owned them both and I like the Ridgeline. The quality of the build has no comparison.

 

I don't recall how much Toyota spent on the Gen 2 Tundra. Something like $XXX million dollars. That's a lot of cash. It seems to check all the boxes on what a truck should be, but sales numbers seem to be the opposite.

In no way is the Tundra a bad truck. IMO, the brand loyality and bragging rights are too strong to overcome. Nissan for example, is trying to get out of the full size market. Again, was (is) it a bad truck? No, just not enough.

If Honda builds a real truck it would be great. And it would be not enough, no matter what they do.

GM-Ford-Chrysler just got too strong of a hold. And their products are not bad also.

 

They're good trucks, but its not what I want in a truck, actually no one makes what I want anymore. You literally can't buy a fullsize with a manual transmission anymore from anyone until you get up into the 3/4 tons. What I want is a regular cab, 8' box, 5 speed, 4wd, manual transfer case, manual hubs, manual locks and windows. Would also ideally like to have a solid front axle. I just want a basic work truck that doesn't cost $40,000

In all honesty I think it comes down to cost, Ford/Dodge/GM is cheaper. That and the whole buy American thing.

I'm not so sure about that, they may not get a huge slice of the pie, but I think they could make serious inroads if they came out with something really special. Its hard to break into the half ton market, but I think if someone came out with a really good quarter ton right now, especially if it had an 8' box (the original dakotas were sold this way) you could sell a ton of them. I think the biggest problem with quarter tons is that Ford and GM never really seemed think it was worth putting serious components under a 1/4 ton. When Toyota released the original 4wd pickup in '79 it was built more like a half ton, solid front axle (axles were strong too, pretty similar to dana 44 that way) fully boxed frame, manual gear to gear transfer case, manual front hubs and an available 7' box, they were serious work trucks.

I agree with the stronghold part of that. but quality wise its mostly junk. GMs eat wheel bearings like you wouldn't believe, power door lock actuators die all the time, transmission lines leak.

 

Like what?

Factoring in build quality, resale, reliability and option packages I'm not sure any truck matches the Ridgeline, even today.

Sure, you can get more of a "truck" with an F150 or something, but in 3-4 years you'll have a POS that's worth virtually nothing. And you'll have al of the Ford problems asscoiated with their trucks.

Tacoma quality has seriously slipped, or else I'd have bought one. The final nail in the coffin for the Tacoma was the frame recalls they listed for the 01-04. Some say the newer ones aren't far behind, and the build quality of the newer ones are far inferior to the older trucks.

Tundra is a nice truck, but equip one out and let me know how much $$$ we're talking. That is one expensive truck once you option it out decently.

If you want to tow 5K+ lbs, then the Ridgeline is not for you. But if you want a 4-season daily driver that can haul your ATVs or FWD autox car on the weekends, the Ridgeline is perfect.

 

What is a 'real' truck to you? Something with a body-on-frame? I used to think the same way, until I realized that wasn't necessarily true.

GM/Ford/Chrysler--I would only buy one of these if I needed to haul *a lot* of payload. Otherwise, there are so many better choices in the market right now.

 

Yes. I'm sure many truck buyers would agree with that statment. Sales numbers can't be all that wrong about what a truck should be about.

 

I mean the concept of the Ridgeline. I like the idea of being sort of a larger Subaru Baja/Bratt type of vehicle. IMO, Ridgeline tries too hard to be a truck.

 

'01 - '04s are actually a pretty good deal right now. Toyota is currently doing frame replacements on them. When you consider that they're putting a brand new frame, rear leaf springs, front lower control arms and brake and fuel lines under them at no cost to the customer on a vehicle thats now 6 - 9 years old thats a pretty good deal. '95.5 - '00 trucks were being bought back for pretty good money too, I know guys about 2 years ago that were getting $20,000 for '99 - '00 tacomas with rotten frames. The '05 to present though, i'm not impressed with them at all, Toyota forgot how to build a truck.

It depends on how you look at it I guess, I always found it didn't try hard enough. I guess honda tried to make it fit in several categories to make everyone happy and in the end maybe they should have focused a little harder on one market segment.

 

People are usually idiots when it comes to buying a truck. They buy something far to much for what they actually need and they pay the price when they go to sell it or in the repair shop. And let's not even get into gas mileage...

Honestly, if you look at your purchase with an open mind, 90% of the people who buy a truck can do exactly what they need to do in a Ridgeline. Honda knew this and they designed the truck thusly.

 

It is basically a truck that's very driver-friendly on a daily basis. Have you daily driven an F150 or a Silverado? Try it sometime--it really sucks. The Ridgeline drives like an Accord but functions as a true truck. What's not to like abuot that?

And the Ridgeline is more than a Pilot with a bed. There are only a handful of parts shared between the two platforms. The Ridgeline chassis/uni-body is quite a bit stronger and more durable.

IMO the only thing holding the Ridgeline back is the 250hp engine. If it had the 3.7 300hp motor from the MDX, nothing could touch it for value and performance in that segment.

 

Not long after I got my Ridgeline in 2006, I ran into a guy in a parking lot that was curious about it and asked if he could take a look. After a minute or two, he agreed it was nice enough but said I could have bought a "real" truck for the same money. I explained that I didn't have anything heavier than a jetski to tow and that, in my situation, it didn't make sense to sacrifice ride quality, handling, mileage, etc. 97% of the time I wasn't towing for more capability during the 3% of the time that I was towing. He nodded and then rattled off his truck's maximum tow rating, somewhere around 8000 lbs as I recall. When I asked what he typically towed, his answer was classic -- not only hadn't he ever towed anything, he didn't even have a hitch installed.

 

If Honda built a full size truck with a Diesel alot of people would jump all ober them. I currently own a 02 silverado with the Duramax/Allison combo and live the motor and tranny but the truck itself leaves alot to be desired. I really hope The Tundra gets a diesel or Honda makes one. If not I'll be keeping mine fir a while longer.

 

I couldn't agree more. I've daily driven a '06 F250 Lariat Turbo Diesel (company car) and they are awesome trucks but the ride quality sucks compared to the Ridgeline. That's the main reason I bought my '08 Ridgeline. Oh and the Ridge is much easier drive around town.

The Ridgeline performs very well in all kinds of weather and terrain (not to shabby at that BAJA Racing stuff ). It's an all around great truck. The redesign is due for 2012 and when it happens I'll be trading mine in for another.

 

What redesign? All I hear is it will be discontinued at that point.

 

Check out Honda Ridgeline Owners Club there's a bit more info on the 2012 update.
Trucks.com has an article saying it's due in 2011. ???? Only a few people @ Honda really know the fate of the Ridgeline (they tend to be kinda secretive about their new releases).

We'll just have to wait and see....

 

Tundra may look nicer than other trucks, but for the money not worth it.

And yes, quality of Toyota really went down the hill. To me, Honda build quality is little better than Toyota. But, older camry, tacoma, 4runner is bullet-proof. i'd buy those.