GRM's Ridgeline.

My opinion, having spent some time in a friends: Its about as good a mom-mobile as you're gonna find. If you want an Oddity and need a pickup bed, this is the one to get. No, its not a real truck... what are you going to do when you have it loaded with anything and get a flat? But the majority of people using it will be using the "trunk" thing most of the time, and will never use it as a real truck. Good vehicle overall.

And this is why arguing on the internet is like wrestling with a pig.

I will now return to my policy of only commenting in bacon threads.

Margie

Wrestle with whomever you choose (get it on film) , but I did call you out on the Ridgeline, note the title.

Thanks for the infomation. I don't know how this will end up, possibly replace everything in the garage and start over, or get nothing and sleep in the garage.

Dan

Yeah, Dan, you started this. Oh, wait, you just asked a question...

No problem on the info. We really do like ours (now I'm ducking). Should we decide to go newer if/when there's a reason to, I'll drop you mail on mine.

Right now, though, that kind of shopping is waaay too practical for us. Tim's all et up with searching for a late-'50s, early-'60s wagon, bigger 'n' uglier the better. I'm campaigning for a 1962 New Yorker, but he's leaning '60 Edsel. Either way, we'll need a harbor pilot to park it. Maybe we really don't know crap about cars.

Margie

I usually keep my truck bed full of stuff like trailer ramps, towing equipment, tools, etc, so the trunk in the Ridgeline would be useless to me. The bed storage on the Titan and new Ram would not however. I also like the good ol' lockable tool boxes that sit in the front of the bed, but I think those would be more for trucks with larger beds.

Real men don't need to be defensive when a Japanese "pickup" shows up.

Now here's a REAL tow vehicle!:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150403056586&viewitem=

That van is sweet.

It's not that it's Japanese....the problem is the bedrail is tilted, which causes my beer to fall off. If I sat my beer on my 95 Dodge dually or 87 Toyota 4x4 it stays put.....well until I crank the cummins, then it shakes it off.

Marjorie Suddard wrote: Yeah, Dan, you started this. Oh, wait, you just asked a question... Tim's all et up with searching for a late-'50s, early-'60s wagon, bigger 'n' uglier the better. . Margie

I thought you got something already!!

Too bad it has to be a wagon. http://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/1501954882.html

Edit:

This is you; carries everything Ridgeline will and has more chrome than a Freightliner.

<blockquote

Oooooooooohhhhh, I likey.

Margie

I saw a 1962 Impala wagon done up right. It made my pants shrink.

Something like this -

Cotton wrote: I usually keep my truck bed full of stuff like trailer ramps, towing equipment, tools, etc, so the trunk in the Ridgeline would be useless to me. The bed storage on the Titan and new Ram would not however. I also like the good ol' lockable tool boxes that sit in the front of the bed, but I think those would be more for trucks with larger beds.

That was my point with the question about the spare tire. I typically have a few hundred pounds of stuff in the bed so the little trunklett is pointless to me. And when you use a truck like a.....uh....real truck, i.e. construction sites and off-road flat tires do happen.
But like I said, the Ridgeline will work perfectly for most of the "real" truck owners out there. And for them, I'm glad they have something to buy. Although that will cause the market for lightly used "real" trucks to dry right up huh?

In reply to DrBoost:

I don't think it will effect the used market that much. Regardless of the hype, the fact is Ridgeline sales aren't very good.

I test drove one about two years back.

In the short drive I made, the biggest things I noticed were that it handled about like my Bronco (that's a good thing), and that it didn't have any power unless the motor was rapped out, and even then it didn't give the oomph I felt it should've. I felt like it had what I think of as the typical Honda flaw - VTEC's "artificially" high hp numbers being an excuse to put in an undersized engine.

I was also slightly uncomfortable with primary drive being the front wheels, and 4WD engaging the rears, but that's more my inner redneck than a serious concern.

I think that 90% of diesel pickup owners could have the RL swapped out for their precious oil-burner, and they'd still be able to do everything they do with their current vehicle.

If it had more low-end grunt, it'd be on more short list. Might be the one place where a transverse V8 actually makes sense, lol.

Why all the bashing? I have a Ridgeline that I use to tow my Spec Miata and it fits that bill perfectly. It hauls what I need in the bed, and I put the full size spare for it on the trailer with the race tires. It also has handled my '68 Dodge Dart w/o any issues (several hour trip each way) going to Carlisle. I bought it because I didn't need a "real" truck, at least not a real one that has a very vague road feeling through the steering wheel (Ford, GM). I average 22 on the highway and 16 while towing (with a personal best of 19mpg towing a Volvo P1800).

skrzastek wrote: Why all the bashing? I have a Ridgeline that I use to tow my Spec Miata and it fits that bill perfectly. It hauls what I need in the bed, and I put the full size spare for it on the trailer with the race tires. It also has handled my '68 Dodge Dart w/o any issues (several hour trip each way) going to Carlisle. I bought it because I didn't need a "real" truck, at least not a real one that has a very vague road feeling through the steering wheel (Ford, GM). I average 22 on the highway and 16 while towing (with a personal best of 19mpg towing a Volvo P1800).

You ask why we "bash" then do the same yourself.

To all the "they drive terrible" people, are we talking 4wd or 2wd trucks. there is a HUGE difference in the two.

What an odd thread.

Anyway, someone should look up the Motor Trend comparison where they loaded a ridgeline and a v8 f150 with the same load and compared acceleration and fuel mileage.. results might be shocking to some in this thread.

And then there's the durability issue..maybe try looking up the Ridgelines that have been off-road raced in SCORE and BAJA 1000.

I think they're brilliant. Its an explorer sport trac thats not lame. Its an avalanche thats not lame. Its a pickup with a crapload more torsional rigidity (interior still in one piece after years of hard use?) and resale value. Its FTW.

My father uses his Ridgeline for his lawn service. It gets used like a real truck. He keeps spare parts like belts and blades in the trunk where they can be locked up. We've used it to tow cars home and to haul 1.5 of a Honda Accord to the scrapper. It has every dent and ding you'd expect out of a "real" truck, too. He gets similar fuel economy to what he got out of his 4.whatever-the-smallest-V8-was-at-the-time equipped Silverado 2WD.

Overall, he's satisfied with the truck. He'll replace it if it's crashed with another one. He's not the kind of person that would be all over an oil burner, but he likes the idea of more torque.

While I'm biased, I'd certainly recommend one for anyone that's not going to be using the truck to 11/10ths every day.

some people really got a bug up their ass about this truck....

Same kinda stuff that was heard with..

The cherokee is unibody and therefore will never be a good fourwheeler. Fuel injection is too complicated and carbs are awesome. independent front suspension will never work. disc brakes are crap... Horses rule automobiles are poo.

blah blah blah..

We test drove one two years back when we were looking at Odysseys (we since have bought an '05 and love it). It drove very much like an Odyssey, which wasn't a bad thing at all. The interior was nice, the only negative I really saw was the visibility. I think they fill a need for a lot of people.

I'm not sure one would work for me, though, I think I haul 11/10s a fair amount of the time and if I'm going to be towing 4500lbs, I'd rather be doing it in something that is rated to tow 7,000 lbs. I guess I like a little bit of overkill, so my next truck purchase probably won't be a Ridgeline. However, they are an intriguing choice for a lot of the people who basically commute with a full-size crew cab.

Their owners seem to really love them, though - trying to find one used is almost impossible!

The cherokee is unibody and therefore

.... ITS AWESOME

Cherokee FTW.

Their owners seem to really love them, though - trying to find one used is almost impossible!

That was true of 2g Dakotas for a long time.. of course they are very old now so they're up for sale all over the place but honestly for many years there were many on the road and very few on the market.

My family still has one with 230k and im still looking forward to taking ownership of it when they're done. I drove it from tx to ohio and back last june with a truck full of rust free minivan doors for my turbo-van loving friends in the rust-belt.

That was true of 2g Dakotas for a long time.. of course they are very old now so they're up for sale all over the place but honestly for many years there were many on the road and very few on the market.

Sorry, I had a 2g Dakota and it sucked. I bought it new and sold it with 36k miles on it. It was the perfect size, but it never shifted right, even after a dozen trips back to the dealership, the fuel gauge only worked for a few thousand miles and the seats were terrible. I'd be afraid to own one after the warranty expired.

The Patriot Blue over Silver was one of the best color combos ever, though, INMHO.

Obviously, the sales numbers for the frightpig(excuse me, Midgeline) speak for themselves-not many folks buy them. The reasons are obvious to anyone but Honda fanatics or magazine wonks. The Honda faithful naturally assume that anything with a chrome "H" on the hood must be another example of automotive bliss. The wonks are easily impressed by innovative gizmos and their own interpretation of markets they usually know little about. The Midge is Aztek ugly, returns mediocre fuel economy numbers, is not capable of effortless hauling and is simply a device for those too insecure to admit they need a minivan. It's "innovative" trunk is a hindrance to anyone that regularly uses their pick-up's bed. It requires offloading before access and requires a higher bed floor-harder to load and a reduction of bed space. The new generation of "real" trucks drive and handle far superior to the trucks of a few years ago. The interiors are also very nice and fuel numbers have also been improved. Any perceived advantage the Midge had in these areas is long gone. Would the Midge lap faster than a Silverado around a tiny parking lot autoX course? Maybe, but who really cares. Face it-most people that buy the Midge would have been served just as well by a wagon or minivan-instead they settled for a misshapen example of "neither fish-nor-fowl". The buyers of traditional trucks have rejected this thing, because, no matter how much they are disparaged for their choice in vehicles, they can recognize a fraud.

In reply to forzav12: Blah, blah, blah. Could you please explain why you and others of your ilk feel so affronted by this vehicle? It's good for what it is, just as the Silverado, F-150 et al are fine for their intended purposes.

I drive a Dakota, a Rav-4, a 4wd turbo-diesel Ram as well as have 2 Miatas and a fleet of Ford trucks and Vans at my shop. Although I don't own one, the Ridgeline may well be my perfect primary vehicle. It will easily carry a half yard of gravel, tow a race car, Cary 5 people in style and comfort, plow through the snow to my favorite ski hill, handle well in the city and twisties and take a bunch of greasy/dirty crap in the back without screwing up my upholstry. Oh yeah, it's also got Honda quality and get's half again better gas milleage then my Dakota.

So why do you have to hate? Seriously. Why all the penis measuring? Your truck is fine, so is the Ridgeline - regardless of what classification you feel it belongs in.

Yeah, I don't understand the hate, either. My father uses any truck 8/10ths daily, including his Ridgeline. The ONLY thing I don't like about it is that I can't pull off the bed and replace it after years of damage. He replaced a "real" truck with one and is much happier with the Ridgeline. I'd have to say it's probably the best suburbanite truck out there.

BTW, there are lots of things that don't fit in a van, and in some areas owning a utility trailer is difficult. Some HOAs ban them from being parked in your yard. Good luck bringing home 4 12 foot trees home from the nursery in your minivan.