06 Honda Ridgeline

[Vytas]

Just saw one at the Honda dealer with $6,000 dealer mark up.

Where I work (Val Strough Honda, Monterey, CA), we sell them at MSRP regardless of trim. We got four in and they were swiped off our lot in a day. Want to buy one from me? :biggrin:

Vytas
831.915.1428

 

[apapada]

Does this vehicle have an engine and transmission strong enough to routinely tow another car (like an NSX or S2000)??

I do not know about engine and/or transmission strength. What I do know from here is that these Ridgeline trucks all weight around 4,500 lbs, which might not be enough to my understanding in order to tow another 4,500-5,000+ lbs (NSX + Trailer). From memory when doing research on towing vehicles, I came across safety information where it was clearly not recommended towing anything of equal or heavier weight than the vehicle you are using to tow with. I remember wondering how come this does not seem to apply for 18 wheelers, but I'm not really knowledgable on that matter... Maybe someone else ?

 

[Steve]

I do not know about engine and/or transmission strength. What I do know from here is that these Ridgeline trucks all weight around 4,500 lbs, which might not be enough to my understanding in order to tow another 4,500-5,000+ lbs (NSX + Trailer). From memory when doing research on towing vehicles, I came across safety information where it was clearly not recommended towing anything of equal or heavier weight than the vehicle you are using to tow with. I remember wondering how come this does not seem to apply for 18 wheelers, but I'm not really knowledgable on that matter... Maybe someone else ?

It is called trailer brakes. 16000lb tractor can pull 50000lb load because of trailer brakes. Same applys to pickups. The Ridgeline will easily pull 5k lbs.

 

[Stradale]

My needs are:1. Fit two dirtbikes or streetbikes into the bed. 2. Pull my car and a trailer. 3. Be used as my daily driver. 4. Do light duty (camping, exploring) 4 wheel drive mode.
I think the ridgeline fits the bill and does this with a truck that handles better than any truck I have ever driven. I will probably buy a used Tundra just because it fits my price needs more but the Honda is definately a consideration. Mr poser my not understand someone like me and my needs. I don't want a 2500 series HD to drive everyday. They drive like a tank, drink gas like a tank, and are basically overkill in everything I would use them for except on the road where the ridgeline will spank its butt.

I'm sorry, I'm from Texas. It's either a Full-Size truck (doesn't have to be a 2500+, 1500 with a V8 fits the bill nicely thank you very much) or it's not a real truck at all. Granted your needs are diff then mine, and yes you can say it. I'm a Full-Size truck elitist who like's his v8s tq to pull himself out of a tuff spot, or to tow a car if need be. Truth be told, the Toyota 4Runners are great, but they are too noisy inside :frown: Actually, Toyotas small trucks in general are great. All of the full-size truck comments were pretty much sarcasm, but I do like some small trucks. However, "needs" are subjective though. Let me explain.

Hmm, what's this you say? The American full-size trucks waste so much gas compared to the efficent ridgeline?

5.3ltr equipped large "gas guzzling" v8 does 20mpg, which is 1mpg less then the Ridgelines smaller v6 putting out 21 hwy. ONE MILE MORE PER GALLON! In the city both trucks are idetical at 16mpg' The Silverado also has a higher payload capacity and trailers more as well. Chevrolet trucks also have the highest resale value of trucks as well. Not only that, you can get a Silverado for less money as well. We can up that even more. Let's go with the even smaller 4.8ltr Chebby Silverado. It matches MPG, and also has even more towing and pay load capacity as well. The Silveardo isn't even hard to drive either, it's a piece of cake. Overall, the Chevy is superior or even matches the Ridgeline in some aspect, and not to mention is cheaper as well. Now ask yourself this? So, what am I really wanting to buy? The functionality or the Badge that's on it?

An aquaintance of mine put it nicely

"I don't think Honda's intentions are luring would be pick- up truck buyers away from other brands, but instead to keep loyal honda owners from jumping ship when they need utility. Not trying to revolutionize the market, just creating a product for honda people who want to stay honda."

Heck, Honda knows people will buy it just because it has a H-badge on it, they keep saying in the commercials!



You are the only guys who's actually interested in this atrocious looking thing. I'm not surprised though. It's a Honda. What's that acronym for Honda?
Happy Owners Never Drive Anything else?
It also just might take the ugliest vehicle award from the Aztek to boot.

Don't get me wrong, I like Hondas. Not all, just some. The S2k, NSX, Integra, and Prelude. All nice looking vehicles, and some drive just great too.


If you want to discuss this even more, shoot.

 

[blknsxnoc]

I'm a Full-Size truck elitist .......

This pretty much sums it up.. Let's talk personal experience here. My brother's 2000 Silverado 1500 Extended Cab was a nice truck.. Comfortable, quiet, awesome fuel economy compared to my 02 Frontier V6 but alas, the Chevy performed as expected..

At 1500 miles, the passenger side power mirror decided it didn't want to work any more..

At 3800 miles, a strange grinding noise developed when turning the wheel at a stop or slow speeds. The cause was a faulty power steering pump..

14 months into ownership, the differential decides to vomit all of its contents on the garage floor.. the dealer was kind enough to give us a free gallon of Mr. Goodwrench's garage floor cleaner designed specifically for when your GM car takes a $h1t in your garage..

About 3 months later, the alternator goes down for the count.. thank god for free roadside assistance..

On the bright side, all repairs cost $0.00 and its not a deal breaker. The Chevy is still an awesome value and surprised me with how much the domestics have improved over the years..

If this Silverado were a Honda, it would be a lemon..

You should ask your local dealer if they will allow a gathering of all your elite truck enthusiasts friends to hang out and swap stories while everyone is getting warranty work done. That would've made my brother and me feel much better while we wasted a weekend day getting a new alternator put in to a 2 year old truck with 20K on the odo..

 

[White92]

It's funny that you mention that. My dad also had similar experiences with his 01 Silverado. His was the V6 model. he didn't need to ever tow anything. He just needed it for work when he would need to put things in the truck bed every now and then. That truck was in the shop about every month for various problems. The biggest happened a few different times.

During the summer months, he ran the A/C all the time. The condensation would build up around every part under the hood and leak down on various electrical components. He'd be driving down the road and it would just short circuit and die on him. Very dangerous stuff! He'd get the car towed back to the dealer, they fix it and it was free, but the 3rd time it happened, his warranty was going to be up soon. He called GM customer service and asked them what they were going to do about this. The lady just kept repeating like she was a robot, "We are paying to fix the problem now." My dad kept asking, "I know you are fixing it now, but what happens when my warranty runs out? This is a known/ongoing issue." The lady kept replying with the exact same answer.

So the last time he was at the shop getting it fixed, he was about to trade it in for an 04 model. He thought that surely they would have fixed this issue in 3 years. He checked one of the cars on the lot and sure enough, everything was designed the same.

Long story short, he drove it down the road and traded it in for a new F-150. Now he either wants to trade that in on a new Tundra or the Ridgeline.

 

[Stradale]

I'm a Full-Size truck elitist .......

This pretty much sums it up..

You obviously have selective reading.

All of the full-size truck comments were pretty much sarcasm, but I do like some small trucks.

Truth be told, the Toyota 4Runners are great, but they are too noisy inside Actually, Toyotas small trucks in general are great.

After I'm done eating my complimentary donuts and coffee at the dealer and telling them about piston slap, I'll make sure to forward my other chums to this site too.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/recalls04/2005/honda_interlock.html

Once were done laughing about how the Honda goons have to service their half million trannies, I'll point and laugh and tell 'em how great it feels to not have selective reading
http://www.automotive.com/used-cars/recalls/01/honda/

 

[blknsxnoc]

After I'm done eating my complimentary donuts and coffee at the dealer.....

You can roll your morbidly obese self over to this forum..

http://forums.pickuptruck.com/ubbthreads.php?Cat=&C=1

or this one.

http://www.tigeru.com/forum-28.html

You see mr. elite enthusiast trucker, I state fact from personal experience.. All cars and manufacturers have problems.. If you would actually read the threads, there are many posts about the problems with Hondas and the NSX and this is from real "enthusiasts" who love their cars...

But I guess Trolls wouldn't take time to do that.

After what has happened to my brother and his Silverado, I'll take my chances with the Ridgeline built by the same company that built 4 other cars I've owned that never ever had the problems my brother's truck did.

Oh by the way, I suggest that you stop finding comfort in donuts and coffee. If this is something that you do every time you have to go to the dealer, you'll need that 3500 HD in a years time.


Best of luck in elite-no-poseur-enthusiast-truck land!

 

[White92]

Forget the donuts, I'm grabbing some popcorn for this one.

I have to agree with blknsxnoc on this one.

Honda/Acura are not perfect. They don't claim to be. But considering the other choices out there and my experiences with them, I'll stick with them.

I've never been stranded on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck to take me back to the Honda dealership. We've been driving Hondas since 1979. And can't even tell you how many cars that includes, but I have yet to have anything close to serious happen with these cars. The most expensive repair bill I've ever had with a Honda is the timing/belt water pump. I guess that's not even a repair. It's maintenance. I can't say that about any GM products I've come across.

 

[Stradale]

You see mr. elite enthusiast trucker. All cars and manufacturers have problems..

First of all, thank you for the kind words. It's nice to know "contributing" members insult others with name calling for something they don't agree with. For a sec I thought you would keep it some what civil, apparently not.

As for all car mfgtrs having problems, that was my intent on my previous post. Hence my bringing up the recall list for Honda. I'm just conveying a message via the links that Honda has it's fair share of problems as well.

You can roll your morbidly obese self over to this forum..

http://forums.pickuptruck.com/ubbthreads.php?Cat=&C=1

or this one.

http://www.tigeru.com/forum-28.html

I state fact from personal experience..

Secondly, I'm a tad under weight for my height, and I can't have donuts nor coffee either for health reasons, and no it's not because I'm trying to lose weight or anything. The donuts and coffee was just more sarcasm as was the "piston slap" that is a "problem" with the LS1 based engines. It is esp prevelent when the motor is cold, but w/e. Chebby says it's nothing to worry about, but personally I don't think it should have even arose. I threw that piston slap in just for even more sarcasm, and my willingness to show that, "hey the Silverado isn't perfect either and has it's own problems". I thought you might have caught onto that seeing is how you claim to have experience in Chevy truck land, apparently you didn't notice that, or even more sarcasm for that matter.


Also, I'd like to note, that just because I'm an enthusiast of something, whether it be trucks or car's for that matter, doesn't mean I have to like every single aspect of a particular interest. Who said you have to? You? Hardly. Lastly for the THIRD TIME, I've already said the Full-Size truck elitst was a total sarcasm schpeel, and that I said Toyota trucks are great in general. Now if I didn't know any better this, "morbidly obese" elitist wouldn't acknoledge a Toyota truck, or even a 4runner for that matter.
I would also think an elitist wouldn't acknowledge the piston slap that some of the trucks have, and would relegate that to also-ran. My interest in the automotive world ranges from lowriders, to the exotics you; may think other wise, but I can assure you it is not.

 

[apapada]

White92, please pass the popcorn :biggrin:

 

[blknsxnoc]

Being a truck enthusiast I would never consider a ridgeline, IMO it's only a poseur truck that people will only buy because it's a Honda.

Is this sarcasm that you are keeping civil?
Note how YOU use the word "truck enthusiast" here and "elitist" in YOUR next post.

I call you what you have called yourself and I'm insulting you?

As for all car mfgtrs having problems, that was my intent on my previous post.

I don't recall ever saying that Hondas or any other manufacturers were perfect and do not have problems.. Please point out where I have made that statement.

"hey the Silverado isn't perfect either and has it's own problems"

You got that right.. and I didn't even know about the piston slap problem...
I pointed out the issues with the Silverado, which my brother owned, to counter your statement about "poseur" trucks. Some people consider alternatives to what truck enthusiasts like yourself would call trucks due to poor experiences with domestics.. maybe the "poseur" trucks are all that are left that are worth a damn.

The correct statement would be, " it's a truck that people will buy because the smart money says that it will be as rock solid as their Accord/Civic/Pilot/Odyssey/CRV."

Also, I'd like to note, that just because I'm an enthusiast of something, whether it be trucks or car's for that matter, doesn't mean I have to like every single aspect of a particular interest.

I didn't say that you had to.. Note again that YOU call yourself an enthusiast and use this self given title to lend yourself some authority as you point out to the rest of us that the Ridgeline is "only a poseur truck."
So I ask you, what defines an enthusiast?.. I define myself as an enthusiast for Hondas, the NSX in particular, and pickup trucks being that I have ALWAYS owned a pickup truck while owning my Hondas as well as many other makes.... Guess what? I would buy the Ridgeline in a heartbeat over what other enthusiasts would call real trucks because I trust that the Ridgeline will not screw me like the Silverado did my brother...
.

I would also think an elitist wouldn't acknowledge the piston slap that some of the trucks have, and would relegate that to also-ran. My interest in the automotive world ranges from lowriders, to the exotics you; may think other wise, but I can assure you it is not.

If you say so, I have no reason not to believe you lest you start making statements such as;

"As a low rider enthusiast, I would never trick out an import...IMO, they are poseur cars and people would only fix them up because they are ricers"

 

[blknsxnoc]

White92, please pass the popcorn :biggrin:

Here you guys go.. Enjoy! :biggrin:

 

[ANYTIME]

Chevrolet trucks also have the highest resale value of trucks as well.

Fast forward 5 years from now.......2005 Ridgeline with 60k on the ODO and a 2005 Silverado with 60k on the ODO.
1. Which would you want to buy?
2. Which would be easy to sell and retain a good part of its value?


Fast forward 10 years from now.......2005 Ridgeline with 120k on the ODO and a 2005 Silverado with 120k on the ODO.
1. Which would you want to buy?
2. Which would be easy to sell and retain a good part of its value?

For quite some time now Chevy has been dealing so much on trucks, buying used is unheard of when you consider the zero percent/incentives offered. Used truck sales have been hurt because of this and payments on 2-3 year old trucks are similar to new truck payments, when you factor in 0 percent on new and single to multiple digit financing on used trucks. YMMV.

 

[Steve]

I must question the fact that Chevy (chebby!!??) has better resale!! Considering they are discounting the things 8 grand at times with 0% interest I think you are dreaming! My brother in law took a bath on his 6 month old CHEBBY. He could not give the thing away. I believe the Ridgeline is fairly close in both payload and towing capacity to a Chevy. If you want a real hairy chested TEXAS Truck......buy the Titan. It kills the Chevy in every aspect except maybe interior, in which it looks like Nissan has cut corners to be price competitive. Again, I need the truck to pull my bikes and car and use as a daily driver for 20k miles plus per year. Go drive the Ridgeline and then tell me that the Chevy holds a candle to the Honda in any performance aspect except a drag race. I have actually considered a Chevy as a low price alternative. I can buy a used 02 for mid to upper teens which is not bad for a truck that cost low to mid 30's a couple of years ago! Also, I question a 4 wheel drive Chevy consistantly turning in 20mpg as I have not seen one perform like that. I could be misinformed on the MPG but it seems high. My 4 wheel drive Nissan only gets an awful 17mpg. Chevy does achieve great MPG with their V8's though. As I said before, the Honda may not be the best looking vehicle...but trucks are not made to be PRETTY in my book. I have never seen a truck that I slack jawed over. The utility of the Honda and the refinement of the Toyota combined with the great quality and usable everyday driving size make these trucks interesting to me. Feel free to laugh at me when you pass me with your BIG V8, I will wave and smile back.

 

[apapada]

wow ! this thread is like the gift that keeps on giving !!! :biggrin:

 

[Stradale]

Is this sarcasm that you are keeping civil?
Note how YOU use the word "truck enthusiast" here and "elitist" in YOUR next post.

I call you what you have called yourself and I'm insulting you?

PERHAPS CAPS LOCKING WILL ALLOW YOU TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT I'M SAYING? BUT, FOR THE FOURTH TIME I SAID THE ELITIST AND FULL-SIZE PART WAS ALL IN SARCASM!!! I don't have a problem with you calling me an elitist simply because I said it was in sarcasm and I really didn't mean it. I do have a problem with you putting words into my mouth when I have clearly said otherwise four different times. You also told me

"You can roll your morbidly obese self over to this forum.."

That is the insult I am refering too.

I don't recall ever saying that Hondas or any other manufacturers were perfect and do not have problems.. Please point out where I have made that statement

the Chevy performed as expected..

It's obvious what you were implying by that statement. This was the reason why I bothered putting the Honda recall list.

The correct statement would be, " it's a truck that people will buy because the smart money says that it will be as rock solid as their Accord/Civic/Pilot/Odyssey/CRV."

If by rock solid you mean recalling half a million trannies then yes it is "like a rock"

I didn't say that you had to.. Note again that YOU call yourself an enthusiast and use this self given title to lend yourself some authority as you point out to the rest of us that the Ridgeline is "only a poseur truck."
So I ask you, what defines an enthusiast?

Again you bring up the full-size enthusiast remark? Also, as far as what I think an enthuisast is? Any one who has an interest in something, wheather it be an Ek9, or how they like their bear claw. You make seem as though if I don't like this truck, then how can I like any truck? That is why I said about not liking every aspect of the automotive world.

If you say so, I have no reason not to believe you lest you start making statements such as;

"As a low rider enthusiast, I would never trick out an import...IMO, they are poseur cars and people would only fix them up because they are ricers"

As far as the lowrider and tricking out an import, I wouldn't turn an import into a lowrider because they aren't my style. I perfer the traditionals as far as lowriding goes, not to mention I like the Lacs, Regs, and Cuttys as well. I also have a Japanese car, it is my DD, and I have modified it too.

 

[blknsxnoc]

PERHAPS CAPS LOCKING WILL ALLOW YOU TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT I'M SAYING? BUT, FOR THE FOURTH TIME I SAID THE ELITIST AND FULL-SIZE PART WAS ALL IN SARCASM!!! I don't have a problem with you calling me an elitist simply because I said it was in sarcasm and I really didn't mean it. I do have a problem with you putting words into my mouth when I have clearly said otherwise four different times.

SINCE YOU LIKE CAP LOCKS, MAYBE YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THIS.. I CALLED YOU WHAT YOU CALLED YOURSELF REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU WERE SARCASTIC OR NOT.
AND IT WAS OBVIOUS BY THE COMMENTS YOU MADE ABOUT THE DONUTS THAT YOU MUST REALLY ENJOY THEM.. I MADE WHAT ARE CALLED ASSUMPTIONS.. YOU KNOW, THE SAME THING YOU DID ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE INTEREST IN PURCHASING THE RIDGELINE?

It's obvious what you were implying by that statement. This was the reason why I bothered putting the Honda recall list.

Whether or not Hondas have recalls, people who consider and buy Hondas know that the likelihood that there will ever be major problems with them is almost nothing... Can you guess as to why? Its a thing called reputation... You see Hondas and most J-cars in general are bulletproof compared to domestics... My personal experience as well as millions of others, resale value, customer loyalty numbers, and numerous publications back this up whether you turn a blind eye to it or not. My Lexus that I owned had problems. I will put this in caps so that its clear. MY LEXUS THAT I OWNED HAD PROBLEMS.. A light bulb burned out, a power window switch acted funny, and the accessory power outlet kept blowing a fuse.. Notice how insignificant the problems are when compared to a leaky diff, faulty power steering pump, and alternator?
Let's stop talking crap and start talking turkey.

Again, in my personal experience. I wasn't surprised to see all the problems that my brother had with his truck based on reputation..
IF HIS SILVERADO WERE A HONDA, IT WOULD HAVE NEVER MADE IT OFF THE ASSEMBLY LINE.

If by rock solid you mean recalling half a million trannies then yes it is "like a rock"

If I recall correctly, "like a rock" is the chevy slogan so this recall would probably fit the bill accurately here.. I would start listing recalls for "Chebby" but as everyone on this forum knows, it would be pointless.
A list of just the problems that never make it as a recall alone would make a phone book turn green with envy.

Again you bring up the full-size enthusiast remark? Also, as far as what I think an enthuisast is? Any one who has an interest in something, wheather it be an Ek9, or how they like their bear claw. You make seem as though if I don't like this truck, then how can I like any truck? That is why I said about not liking every aspect of the automotive world.

enthusiast:
1.One who is filled with enthusiasm; one who is ardently absorbed in an interest or pursuit:
2.A zealot; a fanatic.
I usually assume that someone who is an "enthusiast" as defined above, is also more knowledgeable than the average person due to his high commitment levels of the subject he is enthusiastic about..
If we agree with the definition above, your poseur and unilateral statement about the Ridgeline and the consumers that consider or purchase them is pretty arrogant and ignorant. Not only did you say that YOU wouldn't consider a Ridgeline, you made a stupid statement about others that would...... Care to enlighten us on why we are so stupid to blanketly buy or want to consider this truck? Something about an "H" on the hood right? Do you think that people would still buy the Honda if it was swapped with the Dakota?

As far as the lowrider and tricking out an import, I wouldn't turn an import into a lowrider because they aren't my style. I perfer the traditionals as far as lowriding goes, not to mention I like the Lacs, Regs, and Cuttys as well. I also have a Japanese car, it is my DD, and I have modified it too.

Let me see, you mentioned in your last post "My interest in the automotive world ranges from lowriders, to the exotics..." By your definition, that would also make you a low rider enthusiast that has a modified J-car posting blanket ignorant statements about the Ridgeline, Hondas, and the customers that consider or purchase these vehicles on an NSX forum... Now it all makes sense to me...

 

[ChrisK]

Here you guys go.. Enjoy! :biggrin:

That is the funniest thing I have ever seen. When I saw that little popcorn guy I couldn't stop laughing :biggrin:

 

[squid2004]

This thread is perfect reading while using my wireless laptop in the bathroom.... thanks

 

[White92]

This thread is perfect reading while using my wireless laptop in the bathroom.... thanks

:smile:
That's fine as long as you aren't typing with one hand.

 

[BATMANs]

There was an off for my supercharged S-10 that I just couldn't refuse (and it didn't involve any threats to my life or limb ).

I looked at the Ridgeline, but with under 300HP and 4500lbs it just has bad power to weight ratio.

The only other option that is a "truck" for carrying camping, bonfire and MTB with full independent suspension that I've found (that's up there with Honda on reliability) would be the Subaru Baja.

Yes I know it's fugly, but there seems to be 400HP+ mods for it, and it's AWD.

Curious if anyone has one?

 

[Aaron94T]

There was an off for my supercharged S-10 that I just couldn't refuse (and it didn't involve any threats to my life or limb ).

I looked at the Ridgeline, but with under 300HP and 4500lbs it just has bad power to weight ratio.

The only other option that is a "truck" for carrying camping, bonfire and MTB with full independent suspension that I've found (that's up there with Honda on reliability) would be the Subaru Baja.

Yes I know it's fugly, but there seems to be 400HP+ mods for it, and it's AWD.

Curious if anyone has one?

Did you just bump a 10 year old Ridgeline thread to ask about a Baja?

Since you did, I will give my 2 cents. The Baja is an outback with the back chopped off. That is good if you want a car. The Ridgeline is a truck and can fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood in the back and do real truck things with. I have one and could not care less how much HP it has. I honestly have never thought about it needing more power. If you need a semi-quick car that looks like a truck buy the Baja. If you want the best riding truck you can buy get the Ridgeline.

 

[BATMANs]

I would rather kick up a decade old thread than to have yet another thread about the same topic.

Did you just bump a 10 year old Ridgeline thread to ask about a Baja?

Since you did, I will give my 2 cents. The Baja is an outback with the back chopped off. That is good if you want a car. The Ridgeline is a truck and can fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood in the back and do real truck things with. I have one and could not care less how much HP it has. I honestly have never thought about it needing more power. If you need a semi-quick car that looks like a truck buy the Baja. If you want the best riding truck you can buy get the Ridgeline.

 

[Dhalsim]

Did you just bump a 10 year old Ridgeline thread to ask about a Baja?

Since you did, I will give my 2 cents. The Baja is an outback with the back chopped off. That is good if you want a car. The Ridgeline is a truck and can fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood in the back and do real truck things with. I have one and could not care less how much HP it has. I honestly have never thought about it needing more power. If you need a semi-quick car that looks like a truck buy the Baja. If you want the best riding truck you can buy get the Ridgeline.

completely agree with everything said here. I have an 09