dj06482 wrote: 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.
It should, it's the same vehicle only with an uglier mug.
Marjorie Suddard wrote: I'm campaigning for a 1962 New Yorker.... Margie
ONLY if you get the squarish translucent plastic steering wheel and jukebox drive!
1955, still a good one.
These are 1962s.
ignorant wrote: 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..
You used the same unibody argument against the Cherokee in another thread. My response was that a Cherokee cage kit is pretty cheap. Come on man be consistent!
I used to wheel with a Jeep Club, a few Cherokees, unibody adds flex. That's ++.
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.
Sorry for your bad luck and bad dealer techs. Ive replaced two water pumps....and 2 radiators.. (bought the cheapest of each).. and a heater core. Ive towed 10k lbs with it (not including the truck), and ive had it up to 115 for about 15-20 miles straight one time.. it gets 20-21 on the hwy.. perfect size as you said.. interior still holding up great. I think thats about it. The worst thing about it that i can think of is the turning radius.
I have owned all three generations of Dakota (I currently own two, an 89 Shelby Dak and an 07 Quad Cab 4.7 HO. Never a problem with any of them. The 4.7 HO is quick.
Moparman wrote: I have owned all three generations of Dakota (I currently own two, an 89 Shelby Dak and an 07 Quad Cab 4.7 HO. Never a problem with any of them. The 4.7 HO is quick.
I did love that 4.7 in mine.
That 4.7L is a desperately underrated engine. I wish they were cheaper (and had T56s already bolted up ;) )
The 4.7 has a higher specific output than the Hemi and has a D-shaped combustion chamber. It is not far off from being two SOHC Neon 2.0s stuck together.
Cotton wrote:ignorant wrote: 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..You used the same unibody argument against the Cherokee in another thread. My response was that a Cherokee cage kit is pretty cheap. Come on man be consistent!
what agrument against the cherokee? I like the damn things.. what the hell? Sorry that sarcasm is hard to get over the intertubes.. But you need to calm down. E36 M3 I helped my buddy work on his 350 powered chero.
ignorant wrote:Cotton wrote:what agrument against the cherokee? I like the damn things.. what the hell? Sorry that sarcasm is hard to get over the intertubes.. But you need to calm down. E36 M3 I helped my buddy work on his 350 powered chero.ignorant wrote: 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..You used the same unibody argument against the Cherokee in another thread. My response was that a Cherokee cage kit is pretty cheap. Come on man be consistent!
easy man I was halfway kidding. there was a thread were you dinged the cherokee for unibody and not being idea for offroading, but otherwise liked it. That is all. I am calm. Move along. Nothing to see here.
I did love that 4.7 in mine.
Well that explains it! 2g's never came with a 4.7. Thats a 3rd gen. The 4.7 was the best thing about the third gen. Styling was 2nd best. Turning radius rocked. Didnt like much else.
But if i had to pick from 'sporty trucks i would actually own', the extended cab R/T is 2nd behind the Tacoma X-Runner, so thats gotta be good for something, right? 
Ours has 92,000 miles on it ad I drive it every day. it tows all my race cars, boats, hauls parts and even towed my motorhome out of the sand once, when it got stuck. It handles and drives way, way better than my dad's sport track and is way easier to park than a full size truck.
In five years of use we had a transaxle controller problem that Honda fixed at their cost at 70,000 miles. We have put one set of brakes on it and one set of tires at about 70,000 miles.
We will buy another one, as we need a truck. If we didn't, we would strongly consider the Ford Flex.
I am completely confident with my package size and buy what I think does the job I need done. I also have no embarrassment driving Triumph Spitfires and Minivans either.
Tim Suddard wrote: I am completely confident with my package size
Sorry Tim, but i had to quote you
If you decide to sell it Tim, you know how to get a hold of me.
Unlike Mr. Brown, you package isn't my concern.
Dan
Tim, Margie;
Poke around here, wagons I've never seen before!
http://www.stationwagon.com/gallery/gallery2.html
Wow, who knew all the hate for Ridgelines! If it were built by Ford, would we be having this discussion?
I test drove one a few years back and liked it, for most people, it's all the truck they will ever need, and it drives a TON better than some others we drove. We ended up with an SUV only because my wife liked it better, and it is of course a Honda. Maybe they aren't forged from the steel of mangled suspension bridges, but they drive well and are very reliable.
As for wagons, we had a mid '60's Comet wagon and some sort of Chrysler wagon when I was a kid, both with fake wood paneling, I'd love to have either back. I'd really like to have a mid '50's Mercury wagon though!
Wagons are cool!
If I wanted a single vehicle that was a decent daily driver, and a decent truck, a Ridgeline would probably do fine. But I want vehicles that are awesome at what they do. Awesome daily drivers aren't trucks, and awesome trucks aren't daily drivers. Thus, the WRX gets the daily chores, while the 2500HD gets to be a truck.
racerdave600 wrote: Wow, who knew all the hate for Ridgelines! If it were built by Ford, would we be having this discussion?
Yes. GM too, and Dodge. Any of them that built a low torque V6 FWD unibody minivan with a smallish cargo hold would garner the same reaction from me.
racerdave600 wrote: Wagons are cool!
Amen. Love me some wagons. Wife hates them. 
DILYSI Dave wrote: Awesome daily drivers aren't trucks, and awesome trucks aren't daily drivers.
I couldn't disagree more. For years, trucks WERE my daily drivers. You tell me a lowered Fullsize on some 255/50/17 BFG's with upgraded bushings, rear sway bar and a manual trans aren't fun? I enjoyed the hell out of mine. Plus, I could still pull everything I could before, and had a nice 6.5' bed behind the 6 passengers to carry crap.
Just because it's a truck doesn't mean it can't be fun. Check out Sport Truck or older issues of Truckin (before they went all show, no go). Lots of well done, amazing handling beasts.
Bobzilla wrote:DILYSI Dave wrote: Awesome daily drivers aren't trucks, and awesome trucks aren't daily drivers.I couldn't disagree more. For years, trucks WERE my daily drivers. You tell me a lowered Fullsize on some 255/50/17 BFG's with upgraded bushings, rear sway bar and a manual trans aren't fun? I enjoyed the hell out of mine. Plus, I could still pull everything I could before, and had a nice 6.5' bed behind the 6 passengers to carry crap. Just because it's a truck doesn't mean it can't be fun. Check out Sport Truck or older issues of Truckin (before they went all show, no go). Lots of well done, amazing handling beasts.
Meh. I've done the sport truck thing. Even briefly looked at some 20's and a 4/6 kit for my Silverado. End of the day, absent some radical stuff, even the best truck is still going to get walked by a good performance car.
In reply to DILYSI Dave: I think that Bobzilla's point is that they can be fun and surprise some people with their performance. I can personally attest to both. But clearly there are limitations....
DILYSI Dave wrote: Meh. I've done the sport truck thing. Even briefly looked at some 20's and a 4/6 kit for my Silverado. End of the day, absent some radical stuff, even the best truck is still going to get walked by a good performance car.
Of course. But that doesn't mean it's not a fun daily driver.
I wouldn't ever put 20's on the Sierra. I jsut put Denali 17's and some Kumho KL51's, lost 8lbs per wheel compared to the general pos's and the chrome capped steelies. Looks better, performs MUCH better.
I'm amazed at how upset everyone gets about this truck. This is absolutely absurd. It's one thing to post opinions, it's an entirely different thing to become so upset and emotional about it. If you don't like the truck, give us your clearly written, logical opinions and don't buy one!
I will however add a few comments of my own. As for the spare tire accessibility, if I filled the bed up, couldn't I simply empty it? I realize that's a huge hassle and a compromise. I worked with a carpenter for years in college, we spent a lot of time dumping trailers at the garbage dump and visiting construction sites. We actually never picked up a nail (he was very careful as he had done it several times before), but we would have had no problem emptying the bed of the tools had it been a ridgeline. It would have added 15 minutes onto the time to change a tire. The only instance I can see this being valid is if I had a load of dirt or similar in a Ridgeline, and in that case, why are you carrying loads of dirt in a Ridgeline? If you do that sort of work, you probably have a full-sized truck (or a dump trailer) because you know it's the only thing that works for your needs.
Personally, I would only buy a full-sized truck with an 8' bed, because I like being able to carry full sheets of plywood and drywall flat in the bed. That's my preference. I don't use a truck often (maybe 3x a month), but it sure is nice having drywall flat and nothing hanging out.
I actually have spent a fair bit of time driving a ridgeline. It was a company car for the Real Estate Broker I worked for. It was absolutely brilliant for our needs. It drove great, was extremely comfortable, carried all of our tools and hauled the limited things we needed to haul. I rarely picked up much lumber with it, that was the carpenters job, but I would grab some 8 footers from time to time, and with a bed extender and bungies I never had any issues. Mostly I'd use it to pick up plants from the nursery and carry tools and materials to and from houses we were working on. It was also plenty nice to take clients out in rural areas if it was a bit dicey for the cars. Altogether, it was superbly suited for the job.
So, in summary, get a truck suited to your needs and just because you're needs are different from others, that's no reason to bitch about it on the internet.
As an owner of a Ridgeline if there's one major "flaw" it's the offroading capabilities of the truck. I feel the 4WD badge is a bit misleading. It's a great AWD but not a true 4WD. Granted I'm one of the very few that go beyond the dirt road in a Ridgeline I wish it had a true mechanical locking rear diff, a low range and more ground clearance (I have a 2" lift on it now).
As far as anything else is concerned it's as good a truck you'll find out there in its class, period. Gas mileage is not great but better than most. Plenty of room for a young active family. It has enough power to pull our 3800lbs travel trailer up the long steep CA grades without any drama. One time I had to pass a row of 18 wheelers on a two lane highway up a grade and I hit 75mph before I realized and slowed down. The transmission does shift a lot on a stretch of rolling hills which is annoying.
The best feature of the truck is its Acura TL like ride quality and the in-bed trunk.
So in summary:
Pros: - comfort - roomy (in its class) - reliable (its a Honda) - carries 1500lbs in the bed (two bikes) - tows 5000lbs without any drama - As good as a Subaru Outback in the snow/offroad
Cons: - Styling is weird (parts of the Ridgeline look fantastic but they don't all flow well together) - Don't expect it to be a hardcore 4x4 - MPGs don't justify the V6, might as well give it a V8 or a diesel.
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