Honda Car Forum

it seems the Ridgeline is not selling well, despite winning Truck of the Year. Some says it looks like a soda can. What do you think?

You're absolutely right about it not selling well. Partly due to it's style...looks like a wimp of a truck...mostly due to a failure on Honda's behalf to properly introduce themselves to the market. Honda has no small truck line in the U.S., they never have...they're well known for the Accord and Civic and that's about it. It's impossible to penetrate the American truck market without some experience and credibility to back you up. Starting out with a full-size truck was a huge mistake, if they really wanted to nudge their way in they should've considered a small light-duty truck that outperformed all others in it's class at an affordable price. After a couple years on the map a medium to heavy duty truck could be introduced.From the American truck buyer perspective it goes something like this....I can buy a Ford, Chevy, or Dodge truck that has been performing reliably on the road for 40 years or I can buy a Honda that's been around for 2 with no reputation whatsoever. This in addition to a lack of truck line....all the major players offer varying levels of truck...the Chevy 1500, 2500, 3500, etc, The Ford 150, 250, 350...you get the picture. The Honda can be "loaded" but that's it...the loaded version is all you're going to get. Not enough to haul your boat? Too bad! The styling certainly didn't help them any, it was outdated the day it was introduced and makes the truck appear smaller than it is. Toyota had a small truck line for years and finally introduced the Tundra...it still hasn't taken much of the market, American buyers who want a truck (and not something that looks like a truck) are prone to buy American made....their father's did and so do they.When I think Honda I don't think truck...do you? I'm not saying it isn't a capable vehicle...it is, with no customer following to back it up however it's useless...the only people that buy it are long time Honda owners and those who don't really need a truck, they just like owning one.Just my 2 cents!

agreed with above, it is ugly, i'm sorry but what's more disturbing is that chevy copied their idea with their new body styles. It's like coping off the dump kid in class on a test, it dont make no sense.

I happen to own one and love it. I've owned Fords before and they are, in the nicest sense, big POS. The first Ford had to have the tranny replaced after a few thousand miles, the second was poorly built and among other things, the gas pedal once stuck to the floor while I was on the interstate. I actually had to physically lift it off the floor to slow the truck.As far as the Ridgeline it is unique looking, but after you become adjusted to it, it's actually nicer than many competitors on the road. And, I saw a prototype of a Toyota the other day that is copying a lot of design elements from the Ridgeline.As far as the market goes, there are a few factors hurting sales. First, the truck market in the US is dominated by the good old boys... A Ford person buys Ford regardless of whether Chevy is better and vice versa. They don't sway easily. Second, with gas prices continuing to increase light truck sales are down across the board. Third, Ford and Chevy have put so much of their bottom line into truck sales they heavily discount just to stay afloat. Honda doesn't utilize that strategy, thus they don't cut the costs of the Ridgeline that much. On the flip side, the Ridgelines do hold their value quite well.

It's because the Tundra and Tacoma have been selling so well. Now that you mention it, the Ridgeline does look like a soda can. The looks of it have to be the reason it's not selling. Honda is not known for making trucks like Toyota, Nissan and of course GM and Ford are. Toyota and Nissan have been selling compact trucks since the early 70's in the U.S.

Basically Ford, Chevy and Toyota have cornered the market on pickups. Depsite the fact that the Ridgeline has many functional features that the others do not. I believe it's the lack of towing capacity compared to the competition that hurts it. Honda does need to increase it's toughness and design in order to compete.