5th Nov 2006, 11:39
Has anyone priced the new Ford 150s or the GMCs? The sticker for a 4-door; 4x4 is about $38k for a 150. Unfortunately, the Ford's and GMC's depreciate at a much faster rate than the new Ridgeline not to mention the Toyota's, etc.
The previous post stating the use for the truck is right-on. Most people buying the Ridgeline will not use it haul major items (trailers, farm equipment, etc.). The people purchasing the Ridgeline simply want a 4x4 with a relatively small bed to haul weekend junk - landscaping materials, occasional drywall, lumber, etc. In addition, they want the perceived reliability of the civic's, accord's, etc.
GMC and Chevy make the smaller trucks as well (i.e. the Colorado). They had their share of poor comments posted as well. In addition, have you ever priced a new Colorado? A well equipped Colorado with leather will sticker at $30k+.
I am prior service and believe in supporting the American workers. Buying a Honda or Toyota made in America is fine by me. Unfortunately, many people see Honda stamped on a car/truck/whatever and think no, no, no. In the end always remember the purpose of an auto which is transportation... to get you from point A to point B... with this in mind, get a car/truck that is right for you. After all, you will be the one making the payments and driving it day-in day-out:)
5th Jan 2007, 01:25
Those Ridgelines aren't selling too well, simply because for the same price, if you shop around, you can get a real domestic truck.
5th Jan 2007, 12:12
Not selling well? My dealer just sold five on one saturday. At least they are selling 2007's new and not selling new 2006's like Dodge.
5th Jan 2007, 17:42
While Ridgeline did not meet Honda's forecasts, they are selling every one, unlike Chrysler which has rented out abandoned airfields and other large areas to store their unsold cars rather than flood the retail channel.
6th Jan 2007, 06:05
It does not surprise me that a Honda dealer would not have any 06 Ridgelines left. How many were actually made? Did they even produce 100,000 of them? You see, this is why a domestic dealer might still have a few 06's on the lot. GM and Ford each produced more than 900,000 trucks last year. Dodge produced somewhere in the neighborhood of 400,000 trucks. On another note, go read the long term test drive Edmund's did with an 06 Ridgeline. They took the so-called truck down a wash board surface dirt road to a campsite and blew out all four struts. Honda's response was that they must have driven it way too fast down this road for the damage to occur. This speaks volumes to the durability of the Ridgeline. Imagine buying a truck and you cannot even drive it down a dirt road without fear of major damage. Better stick to the asphalt parking lots if you own one. The big three have nothing to worry about when it comes to this joke of a "truck", I mean car.
6th Jan 2007, 06:15
Hauling 4 x 8 sheets of drywall? Were they actually intact not broken when you made it home? I use mine for home repairs and my yard work and found nothing beats buying a full size pickup even if its 2wd and a V6. The best combination is an economy car during the week and a full size V6 pickup on the weekend. I tried to compromise with just one vehicle and it just didn't work. Last weekend alone I picked up new Kitchen cabinets instead of having to pay to have them delivered that I did myself in my home. There is just not enough space many times in small pickups. If you just need a few bags of mulch etc. most of the time someone can manage putting in the trunk of a car... a piece of rope and a tarp to line it. I have picked up the small stuff with my car at times even though I have a full size pick up truck when I pass by the home centers.
6th Jan 2007, 08:54
Funny, Automobile Magazine had the exact opposite experience. It was one of their favorite vehicles in the year they had it under all sorts of conditions. The car was virtually fault free.
Edmunds got a lemon, evidently, and you can't possibly say that the domestics are the paragons of quality.
6th Jan 2007, 18:32
When you buy a vehicle that is a compromise it will always be one. I tried and found that you need a full size and a car... there is not one that does enough of either. And again how did you get 4x8 fragile sheets of drywall in the Ridgeline bed without breaking them? 90% of the time a car will actually do with either a set of roof racks, some rope and a trunk and not even need a compact short bed pick up. I really use my full size and not heavy duty actually. There are bulky wide items at times that I am very glad I have had the appropriate vehicle. In all fairness the El Camino was not suitable either in its time either.
6th Jan 2007, 22:28
Having had experience with Honda (a Civic that self-destructed before 95,000 miles) I'm not keen on paying 40 grand for a less than reliasble Pilot SUV with the rear roof lopped off. The Ridgeline is NOT a truck. I'll stick with REAL trucks like the world class F-150 or Silverados.
7th Jan 2007, 09:48
My Focus self destructed after 20K miles and 2 1/2 years. Now, using your logic, why should I buy an F150?
8th Feb 2007, 20:17
Why are Ford, Chevy people so hell bent on putting down the Ridgeline? Are they that insecure about their own truck? I own a 98 accord, use a 04 Silverado for work, and both are equally good at what they do. It's not a import vs. domestic issue, just what fits my daily needs... maybe I'm just to practical. I've also owned a 98'explorer sport with the 4.0 OHV engine that developed a lower end knock around 75K. After several tune-ups and misc. sensors replaced the service adviser described it as just "normal"! I've been really satisfied with Honda's quality/reputation and would consider the Ridgeline as opposed to a full size truck... even with the 3.5 V6:)
24th Jun 2007, 20:30
Toyota has the best truck built with the new Tundra. It'll haul or pull anything a comparable Ford or GM will, and the important part is that you get the reliability that's missing with the 'domestics'. As far as small trucks go? Forget it, nobody has ever made anything that can touch the toughness of small Toyota trucks. Nothing else takes the abuse a Toyota engine can. My friends and I have been buying them for 15 years, and they're practically indestructible. And believe me, we've tried to prove otherwise. On the road, they're awesome, and off road, they're absolutely perfect. A good friend of mine, a mechanic who owns and runs his own garage, would buy my Tacoma off of me tomorrow if I were stupid enough to part with it. His words: "that thing will run practically forever". And he's right of course.
31st Oct 2006, 08:36
So what is the problem with sharing components between models? All of the automakers do it to conserve costs, Ford included.
And the price - only ignorant people look at the price only. You have to look at the total cost to own such as depreciation, insurance, repairs, maintenance and operating costs. And that does not even mention the headache of dealing with warranty issues and taking it to the shop to get fixed.