If there’s a hill I’ll definitely die on, it’s that 90% of the buying public doesn’t need a full-size quarter- or half-ton pickup truck. Yes, there are use cases for these machines. But the vast majority of people who have these pickups never do a single Real Truck Person™ thing with them. They are posers; He likes the size, appearance and stats. Plain and simple, and I’m not sorry if it offends you.
Powersport guys really need something like the Honda Ridgeline, which is, in my opinion, the most slip-on pickup on the market.
How can I say this? Well, not only did I grow up driving Ford F-250, F-350 and F-450 dump trucks with 27-foot trailers and many thousands of pounds of equipment – it was the first job I ever had, which seems like endangering youth now, but in the moment it was stupid fun – but I have a 2019 Honda Ridgeline. And in my ownership, I’ve done virtually everything on an almost weekly basis that most truck guys only do once or twice a year with their half- and quarter-tons. Even a full quartered bull elk with 14 bags of ice fitted in his trunk and bed.
I’m pretty sure my mule deer still has the blood stain on it.
Still, the Ridgeline is starting to get a little long in the tooth, the second generation that I have was introduced about ten years ago. In terms of automaker refreshes or redesigns, that’s a long one. However, in my opinion, it does not require much change in its operation. Still, finally, Honda is relenting and will soon introduce a new Ridgeline, with a teaser image of the new pickup released just a few days ago.
According to our brothers and sisters motor1Honda will introduce the new third-generation Ridgeline within the next two years, and as part of that, the brand’s Alabama plant, which currently produces the truck, will cease production of the second generation by the end of the year. This is to prepare the facility for third generation production when it will finally be ready to be shown to the public, as major manufacturing changes require prep work, in case you don’t know.
The report said, “Honda will design the new truck at its design studio in Southern California. Engineering development will take place at the Honda Auto Development Center in Ohio. Honda says the next-generation Ridgeline will arrive within the next two years. The truck will have an even more robust design, possibly borrowing styling cues from the new Passport. Lance Wolfer, Honda America’s vice president of auto sales, said the truck will gain even greater capabilities, but he did not elaborate.”
Photo by: Jonathan Klein
If I were a betting man, I’d say those “even more capabilities” would be an engine a little stronger than that, something to better compete with a Toyota Tacoma or Chevy Colorado, a slightly better off-road suspension, and maybe a few more off-road options to join the soft-roaders already on the market. Then again, after several years of ownership, my only purpose is really with those things, as the engine could use a little more torque – cough, cough, turbos – and the suspension isn’t really up to the task for any kind of off-road duty.
Still, I’ve owned three motorcycles at the same time, plus a full-size mountain snowmobile, a full-size ATV, and everything from my personal Can-Am Maverick X3 to Polaris’ heavy AF Ranger 1500 And, again, the back was littered with a handful of dead animals, one of which was hovering around the 400-pound mark. While it’s a capable thing, a little improvement here and there wouldn’t hurt.
Now we just have to wait to see what Honda produces. Will it be a worthy successor? I hope so, because I remain a Ridgeline acolyte, and at worst I may have to change my tune and finally do what a group of my truck friends have demanded I do for ages: join the half-ton crowd. Don’t let me down, Honda.
