There is no easy way to remove and install it. I've had mine off and on about 5-6 times. You physically crawl into the bed and remove 4 bolts then lift the cover up and out of the track it rest in. It's not that difficult to do and takes 5-10 minutes tops. 2 points to consider. If you're not agile, I wouldn't suggest it. If you're buying the cover to keep the contents dry, I wouldn't suggest it it either. Although the cover will keep most items dry in a very light rain, any significant amount of rainfall will get into the bed. The cover is not designed to be water tight and Honda will tell you that. I found out the hard way after I had it installed and they handed me the owners manual. The dealer washed the truck and delivered it back to me with a ton of water in the bed.
Other than that, you can lock it to keep things secure and it does look go and function to cut wind drag.
I've heard of another owner who just had one installed and now has severe wind noise. My local dealer originally thought it was the windshield, but after removing and resealing the windshield, noticed the noise still remained. After examining the roof rack, they noticed that it had not been installed correctly. Evidently, there's a trim piece that should be installed to help reduce the wind noise. It was not. I'm still working with the dealer that sold me the truck to get this fixed. I have a feeling that this will not cure the problem, but I'll try to remain optimistic. If I were you, I'd wait on the rack. Perhaps next year or even later this year, they'll have this figured out and offer a redesigned version. It does look good however.
Thanks for the insight on the bed cover. I too was thinking it was water tight, but then realized if it splits in the middle, that's a good path for rain water. The aerodynamics make it worth it on the highway, but it may hinder hauling tall furniture, etc.
I just took delivery of an Amazon Green one tonight with the S/R and Nav., so I'm not much help with experiences yet. I must confess to accepting the straight Blue Book on my trade and paid full retail, but I needed it by next week. Looked at a TrailBlazer last week for $35k, so $35k for the Ridgeline was very, very easy to choose.
I'm late getting into this thread, but wanted to toss in my .02 cents on Navigation systems. Granted, if you can't get there from here...call a cab or take the train. However, where the Nav system comes in handy is when you're faced with a ten-mile back-up at the GW Bridge in New York, or a north and south shut down of I-95 in Connecticut. If you've got your destination entered, you simply get off at the next Exit and let it guide you over an alternate route.
On the Ridgeline, the Nav screen serves as an XM radio info center, a TV monitor if you have the backup camera option, or simply use the Nav DVD to find the nearest gas station or restaurant if you're out in the middle of nowhere between home and the Emerald City.
After many weeks of pondering, I just bought a red RTL. I added the trailer hitch, running boards, roof rack, hard tonneau cover, fog lights and front hood protector. The truck came to $32160 before tax and reg. It will go into production between 6-1 to 6-5. I should have it by 6-15. Till then!!!
You referred to the tonneau cover as lockable, which indeed it is. However the tailgate does not lock, making the lock on the cover useless. Mine has gone thru car washes and stayed dry inside the bed area. For those scratches on the bed, I found a spray paint in Auto Zone for trim touch up which matches the bed perfectly.
Sounds like either your cover is different or perhaps installed better? Mine seems to leak in the corners near the back of the cab and where the cover folds. Both areas have a cheap foam cover (not sure why) that seems to absorb water. As for the locking cover, will yours not lock your tailgate in place even though the tailgate itself doesn't have a locking feature? Thanks for the heads up on the AutoZone trim paint.
After 2200 miles, and reading inputs on another forum, I discovered that I have this noise everyone was talking about. My dealer verified the noise at highway speeds, starting at about 40 mph. Some people experiences "whistling noise" and others experience "wind gusting, wooshing noise". I have the latter. The dealer will have the windshield resealed (removed and reseal) by a glass shop. Although the dealer claims there is not Service Bulletins or recalls, Honda is aware of this problem affecting trucks with vin # 516000 and below (early production models). If anyone has had this experience, please post and share.
Thanks! when I bought my truck in March, no one knew anything about the tonneau cover. My RL was the first from the dealer, to install one. The tonneau cover was to be installed on the owners RL, but since he was out of town for a week, they installed on my truck. They gave me a set of keys for the cover, but only yesterday, after reading your message, I discovered what they were for. I did figure it out after close investigation that there was a lock. However, I did lock it but would not open again. I had to break in and found out the spring clip that unlatches needed to be adjusted. Now, I have a lockable truck bed along with a lockable trunk! Great!
No, I have not found one yet. It would be nice to have a commitment from a dealer that they were developing one for Ridgeline. Guess I will wait a little longer before making a decision on Ridgeline.
Text8; Do you have a roof rack also? If so, this may be causing the wind noise. Otherwise, from what I've read, the resealing of the windshield should fix it.
No I don't have a roof rack, although most folks had one installed have commented on experiencing wind noise. Others w/ roof rack also mentioned that position the cross members all the way back to the rear helped. Others also mentioned returning to the dealer after the roof rack was installed, complaining of the wind noise, and finding out the rack was not installed properly (a black strip already on your truck have to be cut down to length and reinserted into the grooves towards the front) which when corrected, cut the noise down.
I unfortunately have the rubber strips reinserted in the channels and the noise is still present. I'm at a loss on how to minimize it from here. The Service Manager is going to call Honda this morning to research other alternatives. I may have them remove the rack if no other options are available. Although it won't look as good (IMO) at least I'll be able to drive it in peace. I have about 5k miles on it now and will add another 15k within a year. Needless to say I spend a fair amount of time in it.
A reporter is interested in pickup buyers’ views on the Japanese offerings – both people who would definitely consider a vehicle like a Toyota Tundra, Nissan Titan or Honda Ridgeline as well as people who wouldn’t – and why or why not?
Please respond to jfallon@edmunds.com with your daytime contact information and a few words summarizing your opinion no later than Wednesday, June 8, 2005.
took delivery of my RTL with Nav/Sunroof last month. Just turned 4,500 miles after a trip from Montana to Florida. The truck performed very well. Averaged 75mph and best MPG was 20.2 worst was 19.3. I had no problems passing at any time. Its not a sports car but the power is more than adequate for a mid-size truck. I do have the roof rack and did notice some wind noise but nothing serious. I listen to my XM radio most of time so I guess I do not pay much attention to the wind. However my passenger slept like a baby when the radio was off so no complaints on noise. The only issue I have that has been mentioned here is the white marks when the bed is scratched but the trim paint was an easy fix. My doors open and close with one finger...best fit of any truck I have ever owned. No water leaks as I drove through torrential rain in GA for 7 hours. Over all I give it a 9 out of 10. The only reason it does not get a 10 is I hate the angle of the headrests! They should be adjustable.
Since no photos have been posted, I am not sure of the look of the roof rack, but would adding some sort of a wind deflector across the front of the rack help to divert some of the wind and cut down on the noise you are experiencing?
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
The back half is a little reminiscent of the Isuzu Amigo, circa early 1990s, but try not to stir up those memories!
Not to change the subject, but my wife is giving me a hard time about the big door handles on the driver and passenger sides. She doesn't like their looks and says it takes too much getting used to to pull the opening latch in their centers to exit. Thinks they should not be metal covered...should match the door vinyl.
Any consensus on why they are designed this way? I told her it's for a cleaner grab with dirty work gloves, but she's not buying my explanation.
My advice to her...'Give ME the Ridgeline and go buy yourself something else!'
"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"
I don't have any prior experience with roofracks, but C&D Magazine rated mid-sized trucks in its last edition, and 2nd place Nissan was noted as making a lot of noise from the standard feature roofrack.
Maybe some windnoise to some degree or another is inherent in a roofrack? I mean, the wind has to work its way around the rack some way or another.
Maybe has more to do with the amount (or lack of) noise reducing insulation and window thickness (or lack of) that is the only beef I have with Honda. Not that Honda is alone in this. But I do notice a difference in noise level between an Acura and a Honda.
I stumbled upon this over at cardesignnews.com. It's a showing of pickup concepts, specifically a future Ford Ranger, that was done by the College of Creative Studies, a leading Transportation Design school in Detroit.
What caught my eye is the first concept shown here, designed by Michael Gillam. Besides really capturing Ford "Big Rig" styling cues, I really like the visual separation of cab and bed—again reflecting big-rig trucks.
It seems all pickups have done their best to blend the pickup bed into the vehicle, so that it disappears, or at least tries to disappear. It's almost as if truck designers are embarrassed that this is a truck and so they try to hide that aspect.
Gillam however, rejects that idea entirely, and embraces the bed, and proudly shows it off for what it really is. I like that. A lot...
As we all know, the Ridgeline has received a lot of criticism for its styling. I had pointed out a number of posts back that it appears Honda was going after the big-rig look, but didn't quite succeed. I had posted a link of an International truck with a setback front axle, to support my suspicion, if all you all recall.
I know a lot of people think Honda may have gone too far with their styling, but now after seeing this Ranger concept, I'm wondering if Honda didn't go far enough? I would agree, that the profile of the Ridgeline is deadly dull. Maybe Honda should have tried to separate the cab (visually) from the bed, something like this Ford, rather than blend it in? I think the profile would be much more interesting to look at, if nothing else. Anyway, food for thought...
I recently bought a RTS and love the ride. Even my wife loves to drive it. I bought a Satelliite Radio Kit from Handa Accessories and had Circuit City install it. The antenna was place on the inside windshield in the upper right hand corner. I have periodic dead signals and it has been frustrating. Circuit City even moved the antenna to the dashboard and I am still having problems. Any advise.
I have factory-installed XM in my Ridgeline and in my Suburban...both have frequent dropouts as I go around curves with steep hills and mountains on the side(s). This is normal, unfortunately. Of course, tunnels and parking garages block your signal too.
In metropolitan areas, there are land repeaters that maintain uninterrupted signal delivery, but these won't kick in if you're on a long trip or you drive mainly in a rural area.
To ease your mind, Sirius has the same problem.
My little boy suggests I "drive faster" around areas that have XM blind spots, like curves and tunnels. I'm sure the local highway patrol won't buy my "I was trying to get back in sight of the XM satellite faster, officer!" excuse.
You make several good points and I'm wondering if these "blends" like the Ridgeline and the GM Avalanche are designed to eliminate wasted space between the the cab and the bed.
Styling aside, I'd prefer to use that "space" either as backseat room or additional bed length.
You make several good points and I'm wondering if these "blends" like the Ridgeline and the GM Avalanche are designed to eliminate wasted space between the cab and the bed.
You do pick up a little space, but I don't think that's the reason for this approach.
I think it's more a case of making the vehicle look as "one," rather than "two." It's not just the Avalanche and Ridgeline either. All pickups (sold in North America) are styled in this fashion, but it's more obvious with the Ridgeline and Avalanche. If you go look at some of the pickups sold in other markets (Australia, Africa, etc.) the bed area is distinctly different looking from the cab. Much of that has to do with the functionality, and perhaps costs too.
The feeling here has been that these type of trucks won't sell well here, as they have too much of a "commercial-usage" look to them. I'm not so sure I agree, especially today as truckmakers continue to make their pickups look more and more like large big-rig trucks. Maybe it's time for the next evolution in bed design is for it to look more "work-ready?"
The 4' x 5' bed of the Ridgeline will never be "work ready" in the true plywood-panel-size sense of the word. No sense in making it look work ready if it ain't!
My wife, while she isn't pleased to be driving around with the Ridgeline's open bed, said she wouldn't even consider driving a Tacoma or a Tundra.
This must be Honda's attempt to serve a niche market of weekend mulch buyers at Home Depot or parents taking a set of dresser drawers and a bureau up to college for their kids.
Personally, my Suburban is my first choice for hauling...especially on rainy days. Who works on only sunny days?
I have only 1,500 miles and no roof rack, but I experience intermittent, loud thumping wind noises at speeds between 65 - 75 mph. My local dealer was unable to duplicate the problem so no repairs were made. Of course, the very next day I experienced the same wind noise. It appear to come from the right-rear fixed glass panel. Any one else have this problem? (my VIN is below 516000)
The follow-up question is "Are all your windows closed when you hear this noise, including the rear window and the sunroof?"
If you have only the backseat windows open, you can get a resonance thumping that is hard on the ears. Opening the rear center window gets rid of that (as does closing the back windows ).
The reason for the Ridgeline's butresses are purely structual. The unit body/frame of the RL necessistates a structural member.
Quote from MT: "Unfortunately, cutting the back end out of a unibody structure to make room for a cargo bed weakens the structure's strength. One side effect is unusually thick and awkward-looking C-pillars just aft of the rear-passenger side glass. Behind the backwards-angled sheetmetal are structure pieces that help keep the truck taut."
Another interesting quote from the same article: "To prove just how serious the Ridgeline is about competing in the pickup-truck business, we hooked one up to a 5000-pound trailer and drag-raced an equally equipped Ford F-150 with an optional 5.4-liter V-8. The Ridgeline's lack of displacement and two cylinders put it at a distinct disadvantage, but the race was close, and the Honda was barking at the Ford's heels the entire time. We didn't expect it to beat the Ford, but we were surprised at how close it was."
Got RTS in April and think Honda should pay me for all the demos I have to do every where I go. Love the truck. Love the ride.
Just had a fender bender here in Arizona. (less than 2000 miles on the truck). Some guy reading signs stopped in front of me on the highway and I went from 65 mph to about 25 mph before impact. As a fleet maintenace expert I was very impressed by how the truck handled in a lock up situtation. Airbags did not deploy and both the other driver and I thought we would see major damage. Hit was hard enough to knock the trunk lock on his Ford Focus into the trunk and the rubber grommet stuck into the hood of my Ridgeline. Honda held up damn good! Very minor damage as the truck absorbed the blow well with minimal damage to grill and paint. I will not even turn this in to my insurance company. Besides I am sure parts are not available to replace the front panel which has paint scrapes.
I am not sure where the sensors are located and because the Focus is not as wide might have been the difference. :confuse: I also noticed that some styrofoam in that front panel came out which must be how it absorbed the hit. I also noticed there is styrofoam in the fenders when getting out of the truck. This must be one of the reasons the truck rides so nice a quiet. :shades:
Most newer vehicles with the plastic covers on the bumpers have styrofoam underneath. The actual bumpers are usually steel support structures that the styrofoam fits around before the covers are put on. That's also one of the reasons why small fender benders are so expensive any more- so much stuff to replace, even if the actual steel bumper isn't damaged at all.
Ridgeline's true competiter, the new Explorer SportTrac, will come out end of this year or early next year. Some interesting spec. now riding on the same platform as the SUV, wider and longer with IRS, Mustang Engines, the 4.6 3v v8 is 292hp/300tq, coupled with Navigator 6 speed auto, with all new interior and exterior. The SVT version will come one year after.
iamsam, can you give me some links? I am holding off on the Ridgeline, mainly because I want 24 mpg hwy. Ford can probably do that with their new SporTrac IF they put in one of their diesel engines.
"Ford can probably do that with their new SporTrac IF they put in one of their diesel engines."
I doubt that diesel would be offered on such a small vehicle. Typically they are only offered on the larger trucks. Plus I think they cost about 5K to add diesel to a vehicle.
I doubt you will see 24mpg in SportTrac. The base v6 still use the old 5 spd, only the v8 gets the 6spd. I heard it will get better mileage than current v8 powertrain, despite 50+HP increase. But I don't think either combo can reach 24mpg.
The antenna needs to be on the roof of the truck. My RTL came with XM but I just put an aftermarket kit on my wife's Trailblazer. Put the antenna on the roof in on the passenger side corner and ran the wire along the door seal until it entered the truck near the glove box, then hid it in trim from there to the unit.
A Honda diesel here in the USA? I doubt it. Honda makes a small diesel for Euro-spec cars. They don't have a diesel large enough to power the Ridgeline, nor have I heard of any rumors to build one.
Honda is not bringing any diesels to the US. Not any time soon. They've said as much in recent press conferences. I suspect their reasons include:
1. There's very little market for it here. 2. They can't build enough to meet european demand, why waste valuable units on us? 3. The cost to build a diesel (the way Honda does it) means a diesel-equipped car would cost as much as $1,000 more than the comparable petrol version.
Besides the better torque for trucks is the extra 2 mpg worth it? The added cost of the engine buys a lot of gas. Add to it that diesel costs more, is there any savings at all?
Current fuel prices for diesel are 15 to 30 cents more than 87octane gas per gallon here in the MN/WI area. This year diesel is more expensive than gas even in the summer. Previous years it was only more expensive in the winter when the cold weather blends were needed.
30 cents per gallon more even brings the appeal of a diesel Jetta down as far as saving $$ at the pump.
well, I can't seem to get a search going on the Ridgeline forum for diesel. There was something there a few months back. IIRC Honda had made a deal with GM to use some of their diesels. What I can't IIRC is the link.
In other news, the local Honda dealer just called me and said he could get me a white RT for "$26 or $26.5" .
"IIRC Honda had made a deal with GM to use some of their diesels."
That's a whole other issue.
Honda did make a trade with GM for a diesel engine. The engine is actually made by Isuzu, but they are a GM affiliate. That diesel is a tiny little thing used in the Civic over in the UK. It was NOT a truck diesel. In return for the diesel, GM got to use Honda's 3.5L V6 for the Saturn VUE.
FWIW, Honda is going to put their own diesel in the Civic when it gets redesigned for 2006. It'll be the same 2.2L turbo used in the UK Accord. (Can you imagine a Civic with 240 lbs-ft of torque?) Dunno what that means for the Saturn VUE.
it may not be the most beautiful, but here in the desert of CA it is the best color given the heat and the dust.
He said he actually didn't have that color on the lot in an RT, but he had 12 Ridge's and he could "trade for whatever I wanted" and also add "whatever I wanted". This is good news again, first time I have ever had a Honda dealer willing to serve the customer.
Comments
Other than that, you can lock it to keep things secure and it does look go and function to cut wind drag.
I just took delivery of an Amazon Green one tonight with the S/R and Nav., so I'm not much help with experiences yet. I must confess to accepting the straight Blue Book on my trade and paid full retail, but I needed it by next week. Looked at a TrailBlazer last week for $35k, so $35k for the Ridgeline was very, very easy to choose.
Granted, if you can't get there from here...call a cab or take the train. However, where the Nav system comes in handy is when you're faced with a ten-mile back-up at the GW Bridge in New York, or a north and south shut down of I-95 in Connecticut. If you've got your destination entered, you simply get off at the next Exit and let it guide you over an alternate route.
On the Ridgeline, the Nav screen serves as an XM radio info center, a TV monitor if you have the backup camera option, or simply use the Nav DVD to find the nearest gas station or restaurant if you're out in the middle of nowhere between home and the Emerald City.
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!"
running boards, roof rack, hard tonneau cover, fog lights and front hood protector.
The truck came to $32160 before tax and reg. It will go into production between
6-1 to 6-5. I should have it by 6-15. Till then!!!
Do you have a roof rack also? If so, this may be causing the wind noise. Otherwise, from what I've read, the resealing of the windshield should fix it.
Please respond to jfallon@edmunds.com with your daytime contact information and a few words summarizing your opinion no later than Wednesday, June 8, 2005.
Thanks,
Jeannine Fallon
Not to change the subject, but my wife is giving me a hard time about the big door handles on the driver and passenger sides. She doesn't like their looks and says it takes too much getting used to to pull the opening latch in their centers to exit. Thinks they should not be metal covered...should match the door vinyl.
Any consensus on why they are designed this way? I told her it's for a cleaner grab with dirty work gloves, but she's not buying my explanation.
My advice to her...'Give ME the Ridgeline and go buy yourself something else!'
"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"
Maybe some windnoise to some degree or another is inherent in a roofrack? I mean, the wind has to work its way around the rack some way or another.
Maybe has more to do with the amount (or lack of) noise reducing insulation and window thickness (or lack of) that is the only beef I have with Honda. Not that Honda is alone in this. But I do notice a difference in noise level between an Acura and a Honda.
http://www.cardesignnews.com/features/2005/050530ccs-show/index.php
What caught my eye is the first concept shown here, designed by Michael Gillam. Besides really capturing Ford "Big Rig" styling cues, I really like the visual separation of cab and bed—again reflecting big-rig trucks.
It seems all pickups have done their best to blend the pickup bed into the vehicle, so that it disappears, or at least tries to disappear. It's almost as if truck designers are embarrassed that this is a truck and so they try to hide that aspect.
Gillam however, rejects that idea entirely, and embraces the bed, and proudly shows it off for what it really is. I like that. A lot...
As we all know, the Ridgeline has received a lot of criticism for its styling. I had pointed out a number of posts back that it appears Honda was going after the big-rig look, but didn't quite succeed. I had posted a link of an International truck with a setback front axle, to support my suspicion, if all you all recall.
I know a lot of people think Honda may have gone too far with their styling, but now after seeing this Ranger concept, I'm wondering if Honda didn't go far enough? I would agree, that the profile of the Ridgeline is deadly dull. Maybe Honda should have tried to separate the cab (visually) from the bed, something like this Ford, rather than blend it in? I think the profile would be much more interesting to look at, if nothing else. Anyway, food for thought...
Bob
In metropolitan areas, there are land repeaters that maintain uninterrupted signal delivery, but these won't kick in if you're on a long trip or you drive mainly in a rural area.
To ease your mind, Sirius has the same problem.
My little boy suggests I "drive faster" around areas that have XM blind spots, like curves and tunnels. I'm sure the local highway patrol won't buy my "I was trying to get back in sight of the XM satellite faster, officer!" excuse.
'Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain'
Styling aside, I'd prefer to use that "space" either as backseat room or additional bed length.
'Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain'
You do pick up a little space, but I don't think that's the reason for this approach.
I think it's more a case of making the vehicle look as "one," rather than "two." It's not just the Avalanche and Ridgeline either. All pickups (sold in North America) are styled in this fashion, but it's more obvious with the Ridgeline and Avalanche. If you go look at some of the pickups sold in other markets (Australia, Africa, etc.) the bed area is distinctly different looking from the cab. Much of that has to do with the functionality, and perhaps costs too.
The feeling here has been that these type of trucks won't sell well here, as they have too much of a "commercial-usage" look to them. I'm not so sure I agree, especially today as truckmakers continue to make their pickups look more and more like large big-rig trucks. Maybe it's time for the next evolution in bed design is for it to look more "work-ready?"
Bob
My wife, while she isn't pleased to be driving around with the Ridgeline's open bed, said she wouldn't even consider driving a Tacoma or a Tundra.
This must be Honda's attempt to serve a niche market of weekend mulch buyers at Home Depot or parents taking a set of dresser drawers and a bureau up to college for their kids.
Personally, my Suburban is my first choice for hauling...especially on rainy days. Who works on only sunny days?
If you have only the backseat windows open, you can get a resonance thumping that is hard on the ears. Opening the rear center window gets rid of that (as does closing the back windows ).
Quote from MT: "Unfortunately, cutting the back end out of a unibody structure to make room for a cargo bed weakens the structure's strength. One side effect is unusually thick and awkward-looking C-pillars just aft of the rear-passenger side glass. Behind the backwards-angled sheetmetal are structure pieces that help keep the truck taut."
Another interesting quote from the same article: "To prove just how serious the Ridgeline is about competing in the pickup-truck business, we hooked one up to a 5000-pound trailer and drag-raced an equally equipped Ford F-150 with an optional 5.4-liter V-8. The Ridgeline's lack of displacement and two cylinders put it at a distinct disadvantage, but the race was close, and the Honda was barking at the Ford's heels the entire time. We didn't expect it to beat the Ford, but we were surprised at how close it was."
Just had a fender bender here in Arizona. (less than 2000 miles on the truck).
Some guy reading signs stopped in front of me on the highway and I went from 65 mph to about 25 mph before impact. As a fleet maintenace expert I was very impressed by how the truck handled in a lock up situtation. Airbags did not deploy and both the other driver and I thought we would see major damage. Hit was hard enough to knock the trunk lock on his Ford Focus into the trunk and the rubber grommet stuck into the hood of my Ridgeline. Honda held up damn good!
Very minor damage as the truck absorbed the blow well with minimal damage to grill and paint. I will not even turn this in to my insurance company. Besides I am sure parts are not available to replace the front panel which has paint scrapes.
The Ridge is well made if it can take a 25mph collision without major repair. I wonder what it will take to make the airbags work.
John
Thanks!
John
I doubt that diesel would be offered on such a small vehicle. Typically they are only offered on the larger trucks. Plus I think they cost about 5K to add diesel to a vehicle.
Times have changed.
John
John
Bob
1. There's very little market for it here.
2. They can't build enough to meet european demand, why waste valuable units on us?
3. The cost to build a diesel (the way Honda does it) means a diesel-equipped car would cost as much as $1,000 more than the comparable petrol version.
Current fuel prices for diesel are 15 to 30 cents more than 87octane gas per gallon here in the MN/WI area. This year diesel is more expensive than gas even in the summer. Previous years it was only more expensive in the winter when the cold weather blends were needed.
30 cents per gallon more even brings the appeal of a diesel Jetta down as far as saving $$ at the pump.
--jay
In other news, the local Honda dealer just called me and said he could get me a white RT for "$26 or $26.5" .
Yowsa. I gotta talk to the wife.
John
This is good news.
John
Bob
That's a whole other issue.
Honda did make a trade with GM for a diesel engine. The engine is actually made by Isuzu, but they are a GM affiliate. That diesel is a tiny little thing used in the Civic over in the UK. It was NOT a truck diesel. In return for the diesel, GM got to use Honda's 3.5L V6 for the Saturn VUE.
FWIW, Honda is going to put their own diesel in the Civic when it gets redesigned for 2006. It'll be the same 2.2L turbo used in the UK Accord. (Can you imagine a Civic with 240 lbs-ft of torque?) Dunno what that means for the Saturn VUE.
Having said that, I've only seen two Ridgelines on the road and one of them was white.
He said he actually didn't have that color on the lot in an RT, but he had 12 Ridge's and he could "trade for whatever I wanted" and also add "whatever I wanted". This is good news again, first time I have ever had a Honda dealer willing to serve the customer.
John