"BlackGT2000" <BlackGT2000.2hwxjq@no-mx.nodomain.com> wrote in message
news:BlackGT2000.2hwxjq@no-mx.nodomain.com...
>
> I think the thing looks terrible. I love my honda but that dosn't mean
> I have to be a die hard brand loyalist. Not only that but its based on
> a mini van platform. I would certainly not go to honda for a pickup.
> Maybe it drives better on a road than many of the other trucks but I
> highly doubt that it will command the respect in 10 years that a
> Ford/Dodge/Chevy/Toyota(maybe even in 15 years) will. I totally agree
> with the ugly japanese avalanche comment.
>
>
> --
> BlackGT2000
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Mini-van platform....I don't think so.
"Contrary to other pickup trucks, the Ridgeline has a "closed box unit body
frame" that combines unit-body construction (for better quietness, handling
and ride) with a separate "ladder" frame that allows the truck to tow up to
5,000 pounds. Total vehicle payload capacity is 1,550 pounds.
Tough enough? The bending rigidity of the Ridgeline's structure claims to be
more than 2.5 times greater than the best body-on-frame competitor, and 20
times stiffer in rear torsion. Stiff unit-body construction also allows for
narrow body panel gaps of only 3 to 4 millimeters, for better wind noise
control, among other virtues.

The Ridgeline shares some if its basic DNA with Honda's other large utility
vehicles, the Pilot, Odyssey and Acura MDX, all built on its "Global Light
Truck" platform. That said, the engineers modified 93 percent of the basic
components, and gave the Ridgeline a 95 percent exclusive interior and its
very own body panels."