Honda Ridgeline SUT

varmint · March 2006

Well, heck, a while back when Ford introduced the brand new F-150, they had to put 500 bucks on the hood. It had rebates before dealers even got their hands on them. Using your logic, that makes the F-150 a loser from the very beginning.

Everybody in this segment uses incentives to bolster sales. It's expected by the buying public. Honda tried not to and sales were slow as a result.

50K units is close to boutique status. But the Explorer Sport Trac started off selling 40K units a year. The Avalanche sold about 70K units. The market for crew cab pick-ups is growing, but it's not the largest chunk of the market. Wooddorker provided numbers for us a while back. In October Toyota sold 6,080 4x4 Tacomas. Honda sold 4,974 AWD Ridgelines. If you remove the number of Tacomas that were NOT crew cabs, you'll likely find that Honda sold more of that type of truck than Yota did.

The Ridgeline simply targets a smaller portion of the market.

varmint · March 2006

Is that many folks have the unrealistic expectation that every vehicle Honda produces is going to sell like gangbusters and sell far above MSRP. Sure, Honda has had their fair share of those vehicles. But expecting a grand slam every time a batter steps up to the plate is just silly.

maple2 · March 2006

Is that many folks have the unrealistic expectation that every vehicle Honda produces is going to sell like gangbusters and sell far above MSRP. Sure, Honda has had their fair share of those vehicles. But expecting a grand slam every time a batter steps up to the plate is just silly.

agreed honda really struck out this time

moparbad · March 2006

Functionally the Ridgeline is very close to a Grand Slam in my opinion. Difficulty of adding a hitch and cost of adding a hitch is a minor error.
Pricing is too high and options pkgs. could be allow for more individual selection. $1500 off every trim level is where pricing would be optimum, IMO.

I can forgive all of the above since the Ridgeline is a wonderfully functional design.

It is the styling that bothers me. :sick: It is ugly.
The creases in the lower doors and the squared off bulging fenderwells are what ruins it for me. If only it had the fenderwells and doors of the Pilot I would own a Ridgeline.

I nearly purchased a use blue Ridgeline with nav and tow pkg. last week despite the exterior! It is certainly a fun truck to drive.

explorerx4 · March 2006

segment changing design, etc...
honda produced a bunch of the cheaper models as the year went on and added incentives. management had to make their goals to get their bonus. :surprise: not.
it's a niche vehicle. good for those who want one.

gearhead1 · March 2006

Let me give you a little truth about Ridgeline sales. The Ridgeline is a leading seller in its narrow market segment. That segment being (midsize, 4x4, crew cab, shortbed, trucks) It sells as well or better than the Toyota Taco, and out sells the Avalanche consistently. Honda produced a top seller in this segment.

aspesisteve · March 2006

I've got a 2004 F150 supercab and yes, there is a full size spare located under the bed. It comes down using the jack handle as a crank from behind the truck. I know, cause I watched a guy do it for me as provided by Ford for the first 3 years 24/7 roadside assistance.

aspesisteve · March 2006

have to say I agree 100% with you. The one turn off I have with this truck is the looks - if only it just had the front end of the Pilot I'd be happy.

Where did you see the used Pilot for sale?
anywhere near Northern California?

maple2 · March 2006

That segment being (midsize, 4x4, crew cab, shortbed, trucks) It sells as well or better than the Toyota Taco, and out sells the Avalanche consistently. Honda produced a top seller in this segment.

i dont know if it outsells the avalanche or not but what would be the point the avalanche isnt mid size you dont really want to start another avalanche vs ridgeline comparison do you? but at any rate even if it did outsell the avalanche considering its short time on the dealer lots (and there seem to be plenty of them around me on the lots) i would hardly say it "consistently" outsells anybody
in fact from what i hear the ridgeline sales are falling like a stone

qbrozen · March 2006

in fact from what i hear the ridgeline sales are falling like a stone

from what you hear?
I hear the world is ending this week.
Opinions vary based on who you are listening to.

you dont really want to start another avalanche vs ridgeline comparison do you?

yeah, you're right. Why bother showing this vehicle as it stands in its market? Its far better to spout off THE SAME unsupported naysaying and criticisms based on heresay and "feelings" over and over and over and over and over ...

gd113 · March 2006

"Sales are falling like a stone." Yes where does this info come from 2 weeks into the month. Read my prior post on the Ridgeline hitting its total year target in February. Their monthly sales have been increasing the last few months.

maple2 · March 2006

all the hype over the ridge is gone and all the honda groupies that had to buy one just cause it is a honda have bought them the only sales that are left for them is the odd soccer mom or part time gardner it is useless for anybody else, anybody who drives a truck and actually uses it as a truck occasionally will be quick to find that out, as has my friend who bought one even after i warned him that the ridge would not stand up for his needs but he wouldnt listen so he traded in his silverado now he is kicking himself

gd113 · March 2006

Wow, thanks for that factual explanation. I'll post the March sales later this month.

qbrozen · March 2006

yeah, because that's how car sales work.

Its gonna be a shame when all the folks who just had to have the new Civic dry up and that becomes an orphan, too. Poor, poor Honda.

moparbad · March 2006

Its gonna be a shame when all the folks who just had to have the new Civic dry up and that becomes an orphan, too. Poor, poor Honda.

Good example. Honda never competed in the compact car segment prior to 2006 Civic.

:surprise:

maple2 · March 2006

funny how the only way they are selling any ridges these days are because of the incentives honda had to put on them but thats ok right? but when gm or ford puts incentives on to sell cars thats not ok that means they are junk and nobody wants them right keep your head in the sand we will see where the ridgeline is in 2 yrs (if they havent pulled the plug on it by then)

qbrozen · March 2006

when gm or ford puts incentives on to sell cars thats not ok that means they are junk and nobody wants them

Are those your words or someone elses? If someone elses, please provide the original source.

I know you have said the complete opposite, though. You feel the Ridge is garbage because Honda put a minor amount of dealer money behind it. Yet you fail to put that in perspective next to bigger and widely advertised rebates on the domestics. You have an interestingly narrow view.

m4mulvey · March 2006

Funny thing - personal taste...

While I'm not thrilled by the Ridge's grille and headlight cluster, I can live with it. However I do find the overall profile really good-looking, especially from the side.

Personally I hate the more rounded shapes that many trucks have adopted in recent years.

Like the earlier Odyssey design. Many hated it but my wife and I love its slight angularity. Pity they had to go mess it up in '05 now it looks like and overgrown Mazda MPV from the front.

gd113 · March 2006

Practically every vehicle has an incentive. GM and Ford have much larger incentives on their vehicles, why aren't all the buyers going there? $5k off a GM vehicle and people are still going to Hondas. Don't get the argument. If the Ridgeline is meeting its targets why would they pull the plug.

gearhead1 · March 2006

and there seem to be plenty of them around me on the lots) i would hardly say it "consistently" outsells anybody
in fact from what i hear the ridgeline sales are falling like a stone

Nope, your wrong, the Ridgeline is a top seller in it's segment. Why would honda pull the plug on the best selling vehicle in its segment?

aspesisteve · March 2006

hate to step in between the fued here but I thought I'd drop my 2 cents in on incentives.

I bought my '04 F150 with $5,000 worth of incentives - this for the first year of a total re-model! Why? because Ford, GM, Chrysler are king of rebates and incentives..why? because their MSRP is a joke waiting for some fool to show up clueless I guess.

Honda giving back $1-2k is nothing compared to the "big" three.

With that said, I do think the Ridgeline at MSRP is too pricey. I'd like to think you could get into an entry level Ridgeline for under $25k.

The target audience for the Ridgeline is a narrow one, but I guess I'm a perfect fit. I want it to carry equipment for my business on weekdays and then to haul the family and toys for the road trip. This way the wife can drive a fuel efficient sedan instead of an SUV or Minivan.

splatsterhound · March 2006

Did a quick check of inventory at Hopkins Honda outside mpls. 22 ridgelines in inventory and, again, I hardly ever see one on the road. I've seen many more new gen. civics than ridgelines on the road. Maybe they're selling somewhere...

qbrozen · March 2006

Maybe they're selling somewhere...

Nah! Must be that Honda has bought all 50k+ back and scrapped them.

bitusa · March 2006

Some of us can only dream!

robr2 · March 2006

Did a quick check of inventory at Hopkins Honda outside mpls. 22 ridgelines in inventory...

Out of 622 vehicles in stock that's about 3.5%. That's one store out of hundreds - it really doesn't indicate how the RL is doing.

4 store Honda dealer in Boston (Herb Chambers) has 58 RL's in stock out of 1344 - that's 4.3%.

1 store Honda dealer in Boston (Honda Cars of Boston) has 5 RL's out of 153 vehicles - 3.3%.

Honda sold 92,498 Honda vehicles in February - 4,485 were Ridgelines for a percentage of 4.8%. IMHO, 3.5% is better in terms of inventory held.

qbrozen · March 2006

The Ridge has outsold the MDX so far this year.

Gee, I guess Honda better put a bullet in the MDX, huh? Along with the S2000, Accord Hybrid, Insight, Civic Hybrid, Element, RSX, TSX, and RL ... ALL have sold less than the Ridge.

moparbad · March 2006

Honda MDX? Honda TSX?, Honda RL?, Honda RSX? Which Honda dealers sell these models?

Insight? LOL!! How many are they selling? 70 a month!!

Some dealers have not sold an Insight in over 2 years!

once_for_all · March 2006

qbrozen · March 2006

ummm... i hate to break the news, but Honda owns ALL of those vehicles I mentioned.

aspesisteve · March 2006

Hopkins outside "mpls" ??

is that Milpitas?

I have to agree with you here in the San Jose area it is rare to see a Ridgeline on the road, but the new civic is everywhere.

At the same time I don't see any dealer ads in the Sunday paper featuring the Ridgeline.

robr2 · March 2006

Hopkins outside "mpls" ??

Minneapolis

jay_24 · March 2006

Thats Minneapolis, MN.

So far I've seen three on the road after about 30k miles of driving this past year. It just doesn't seem popular in some parts of the country.

Buerkle Honda also in Mlps has 7 in inventory. Why just 7? None were the RL model. Maybe they sell too fast to keep on the lots? Maybe they don't sell and they have been there for a year. Hard to tell.

They also had 7 2wd Pilots and 42 AWD Pilots in stock. I'd guess AWD sells better up here.

The Accura/Subaru dealer is up the road about a mile and sells the RL, TL, RSX ect... Yes Honda owns them, but they are at different dealers.

ramzey28 · March 2006

GM,Ford,Dodge vs Honda Ridgeline, Lets talk about the Depreciation factor with those trucks vs the honda!

I have been offered 24600 for a RL by 3 dealers in NH. They are hard to come by though. Most have RTS or RTL. Not many on the lots in general up here.

explorerx4 · March 2006

most buyers skip right over the mid-size crews. they go right for the big ones. until they got redesigned, dakota's were the leader. most taco's are extended cabs. if you include the avalanche, you should add the regular 1/2 ton versions too. they are pretty close to the 'ridge. the 'lanche has features the 'ridge doesn't. the 'ridge has features silverado 1/2 tons don't. avalanche and silverado crew are at the very least 'kissing cousins'.
just my opinion, as usual.

roaddog2 · March 2006

Chuck999's experience after one year is the mirror image of mine. I actually laid money on a Tacoma double cab sport but changed my mind after driving the Ridgeline. My priorities were clearly met by the Honda while the features and performance of the Taco would not be used to great advantage with our driving style. (highway commuting, towing trailers, hauling drywall and plywood.

I did/do not need off road capability. But I need to drive on icy and snowy highways. I do not need a roof rack of any kind. The Tundra and Tacoma sport definately would not fit in the garage as well as the Honda.

The price point of the Tacoma and The Honda were very close but Honda spent the money on things I like such as auto air conditioning, leather, power rear sliding window, heated seats, heated wiper, front wheel drive, anti skid.

I admire the Toyota product and would have loved to have both units. Put their best features together and you'd get the perfect vehicle.

roaddog2 · March 2006

"Its gonna be a shame when all the folks who just had to have the new Civic dry up and that becomes an orphan, too. Poor, poor Honda."

What on Earth are you talking about?!!

Historically the top five selling cars in the US been mid size. For the first time a compact has made it onto that list. And guess what? It's a Civic. (Which makes two Hondas on the list by the way)

Consumer Reports, considered a very influential publication/resource used by consumers when choosing a vehicle,ranks the '06 Civic as one of the the best compact out there. By the way 'consumers' outnumber 'enthusiasts' by a very, very wide margin.

A large portion of those readers will buy that car. For myself, next fall will see an Accord in my driveway. Why? It's a Honda. Why am I buying a new car? Because my Intrigue is falling apart after only 89,000 hiway miles. (three sets of rotors, two trannys, and it's starting to rust) I don't expect that to happen to any Honda.

We helped out our son on his first new car purchase. It was an '05 Corolla. Why? Couldn't find an '05 Civic left on the new car lots.

I live in a small village of about 800 people. Up here everyone seems to have a pickup (need it or not). There are probably at least five or six new ones bought this past year. Two of them are Ridgelines and one of them is mine. What a terrific machine!!

aspesisteve · March 2006

if you are using MSRP to gauge depreciation then the "big" three are absolutely the worst.

But if you buy off invoice, and I got my '04 Fl50 close to invoice then the depreciation for a ford truck isn't bad at all. For anything else but a truck, ford, GM, Chrystler all have terrible re-sale value regardless of what price point you enter assuming it's above invoice.

As for the Ridgeline, only time will tell. At present I see NO used Ridgelines for sale on Auto Trader.

aspesisteve · March 2006

you've got a Hopkins Honda too?
there's a Larry Hopkins and Steven Hopkins here in the Bay Area.

you've got a Buerkle Honda?
we've got a Berkley Honda

explorerx4 · March 2006

"By the way 'consumers' outnumber 'enthusiasts' by a very, very wide margin." There IS some truth.

sanitationofcr · March 2006

Well, FYI, it didn't make this list of top 10's.

Top Ten Off-Hwy Use

55535432 · March 2006

Who the heck cares if no Honda makes the offroading list unless you are an offroader enthusiast.Honda excels everywhere else, MT Truck of the year, MT car of the year, CR top rated minivan, etc, etc.

WHY IN THE WORLD DID HONDA SAW A SALES INCREASE OF 8% FOR YEAR 2005, WHILE THE MAKERS OF MOST OFFROADERS SEE RED INK.Simple, Honda caters more to the consumers, not to a handful of enthusiast.SO QUIT PARADING THE OFFROADING LIMITATIONS OF HONDA, BOTTOMLINE IS THEY MAKE VEHICLES FOR THE PAVE ROAD, the road where 99.99% of people prefer over the rugged trails.IT IS ON THE PAVED ROAD WHERE MONEY IS MADE, AND TRUST ME IF THE RUGGED TRAILS LEAD TO MORE PROFIT, HONDA WOULD BE LEADING THE PACK ON MAKING VEHICLES FOR OFFHIGHWAY USE.

And no offense to hardcore 4x4 offroaders, (just as my adrenalin junkie brother who does freestyle rock climbing and skydiving consider my dirtbiking a softie sport) me and my buddies consider real offroading when we are on our 2 WHEELED dirtbikes,the one that involves skill, balance,2-3 visits to the orthopaedic surgeons in ones lifetime to repair broken bones and moronic/retarded guts sometimes.I hate to rub it to the 4x4 enthusiast, but offroading on four wheels is just plain pantsy.I GUESS THEIRS JUST A PEEKING ORDER AMONG THRILL SEEKERS AND ADRENALIN RUSH ADDICTS.

55535432 · March 2006

Well, FYI, it didn't make this list of top 10's.

Top Ten Off-Hwy Use
-------------------------------

FYI TOO, IN CASE YOU FORGOT.

No offroading awards here but no offroader on earth can claim this many bragging rights on it's rookie year.

1-Motor Trend truck of the year 2006

2-Detroit News truck of the year 2006

3-Consumer Reports top rated truck

4-JD Power & Associates 2005 APEAL award for the Honda Ridgeline

5-Autobytel 2006 Editors' Choice Award: Truck of the year 2006

6-Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) Best New Pickup 2006

7-On Wheels Incorporated: Ridgeline 2006 Urban Wheel Award for the Urban Truck of the Year

8-best rollover resistance rating of any pickup tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
9-first-ever 4-door pickup to earn a 5-star safety rating for both front and side impact crash test performance from the U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).

10-Car And Driver Rates Honda Ridgeline #1 Pickup.

11- AutoWeek Editors' Choice Award as the 'Most Significant' new vehicle in the show

gearhead1 · March 2006

I'm glad to see that list I put together get some use. I've been seeing it around the net lately.

qbrozen · March 2006

LOL!

Have you been reading this discussion? I was making a tongue-in-cheek comment to show how silly a previous comment regarding the Ridge was. in other words, it was a sarcastic joke on my part.

55535432 · March 2006

So it was you who started that list that I borrowed from autoweek.Thanks a lot, it's an overwhelming list considering that the Ridgeline is just on it's first year of production. :shades:

maple2 · March 2006

it's an overwhelming list considering that the Ridgeline is just on it's first year of production

well actualy about half of those awards a veichle can only win in its first year anyway and since the honda was the only new truck, well there wasnt much competition except for the "new" even bigger mega cab from dodge

7-On Wheels Incorporated: Ridgeline 2006 Urban Wheel Award for the Urban Truck of the Year

wow somebody had way too much time on their hands to dig that one up "urban truck of the year" sounds like a polite way to say nice truck just be gentle on it tho you dont want to break anything

roaddog2 · March 2006

"Have you been reading this discussion? I was making a tongue-in-cheek comment to show how silly a previous comment regarding the Ridge was."

Sorry, gbrozen. I only went back a bit. After having been absent for a few months, the number of posts was a bit daunting. I forgot who the players were.

After a quick scan of some forums elsewhere I've come to expect Ridge-bashing.

qbrozen · March 2006

don't sweat it.
i understand your defensiveness.

thegraduate · March 2006

avalanche and silverado crew are at the very least 'kissing cousins'.

The fascia styling of the Avalanche sure looks like something inbred.

jerrywimer · March 2006

ROFL

And you worry that someone bashes the Ridgeline. To make sure these posts don't stray too far from the topic vehicle- it's the Ridgeline's looks that appear inbred. Not that I'm a big fan of the cladded Avalanche styling (especially around the squared-off wheelwell openings), but Honda must've thought it wasn't a bad idea, given how much plastic they put on the Element. And in a curious game of follow-the-domestic-leader, Honda has now made a fully painted version of the Element available (similar to the WBH Avalanche option). The 2007 Avalanche doesn't have a cladding option at all, to the dismay of many Avalanche followers.

I personally think the plastic wasn't such a bad thing if not for that styling I mentioned above. The plastic is a whole lot more forgiving of gravels and other debris kicked up in day to day use than painted surfaces are. If the styling had been a bit better the only real problem is the fading issues. Like all flat black plastics you really need to keep some sort of chemical treatment on hand to keep it looking right. I'm sure Element owners have seen the same problems.

As for what I find looking inbred on the Ridgeline-
1) Angled cut to lower headlight edges looks odd against the otherwise squared front end treatment.
2) Overly squared off wheelwell openings (admittedly not so harshly done as the cladded Av, though).
3) Angled rear cab edge and downsloping bedrails. Shared trait with the Av, mostly because of body strength issues, I'm sure. I personally think it would've looked better if Honda had 'hidden' the angles with some other treatment, probably like Chevy did with the Avalanche. Then again, I know how it hurts some Honda owners' pride to even think that a domestic might be doing something right, and those would be absolutely horrified to think Honda followed someone else's lead there.
4) Wheel styling and tire size. The tire size thing probably isn't so much of an issue, as I bet taking care of the sqared off openings would eliminate the perception of smallish tires, but the factory wheels are mugly (<- more than ugly).

The white Ridgeline I checked out at an Omaha area dealership a couple weeks ago was well built though. It had to have had some of the tightest seams inside and out of any vehicle I've looked at before. The new Tahoe's (er, and sister GMT900s) are probably the only other truck-type vehicle that were on par in this area, imo.

Honda Ridgeline SUT

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