Honda Ridgeline, MT TRUCK of the year

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I think the RL looks like an "innovative", bloated 4 door 1980's subaru brat body style with a decepticon front end. And besides that it's ugly. That, however is just MY opinion, being expressed on a ST site, NOT a RL site. Oh, and by the way, th' doller store's got t-shirts on sail this weak.
 
eledhel,



You mean to tell me that it is not built using "unibody construction with a fully integrated closed box frame making that setup 14 million times stronger then that if a Kenworth LC5000s with a GVWR of 92,000 LBS".



What morons! No wonder all they sell is hot dogs.:D





Tom
 
Knobleman – “And I agree with Caymen, if you say you're a 1/2 ton truck…”



In your attempt to rewrite history, you should at least take a minute to get your facts straight. I DID NOT say the RL is a ½ ton pickup. Tom was the one who was all upset with Honda “misleading” the public by advertising the RL as a ½ ton pickup. I may have gotten a little caught up in the argument, but I did not claim it was a ½ ton pickup.



Besides, if you did compare the RL with some of the ½ ton 4x4 pickups, where would the RL be short compared to a vehicle like the 2006 Ford F-150 (STX 4dr SuperCab 4WD Styleside 5.5 ft. SB) for example? OK, the STX has the RL on towing. I will admit that. Power (Torque + HP – Yep, got it there too…but it should with 2 more cylinders. With that being said, the RL has 15 more HP. Payload – pretty even. Both rated around 1550 lbs. Ground clearance – Again, even (8.3 vs. 8.2 inches). Mileage – The RL wins hands down. Interior space – STX wins. Again, it should, being a full sized pickup. Safety – The RL is the only pickup to get a 5 star rating on frontal and side impacts. Handling/Ride – Again, the RL wins hands down. Standard equipment – Comparing a like priced RL to and STX (Around $30K), standard equipment is pretty equal. Although, from what I read, I don’t think the STX has XM radio available, and no in-bed trunk.



I could go on and on but, the fact of the matter is….the F-150 is gonna excel in some places as will the RL. I know you guys wouldn’t say they would be equal, but they basically are.



Tom – “What type of gas mileage are you getting with the RL. Arent the EPA estimates around 21 MPG highway?”



I have averaged around 22.5 MPG on the highway. I would probably get better mileage than that, but each time I have gone on a long trip, I have had the truck loaded with people and gear. I could probably get 23 or so.



Tom – “The RL exterior portion of the bed shares the sheet metal with the rest of the bosy. It is a unibody design.”



OK, once and for all…. It is NOT a unibody design. As stated in the article that gave the RL the Motor Trend Truck the year award to the RL….”And that structures NO WIMPY UNIBODY, either. The monocoque upper structure is clam-shelled to a….now get this….to a FULLY BOXED TRADITIONAL FRAME….the joint effort offers 2.5 times the bending stiffness of the best body on frame trucks”.



Wow, what a crappy design! The design is two and ½ times better than the traditional truck frames out on the market right now.



Tom – “Be it a Ranger, Tacoma, Colorado, Dakota, or Frontier up to a semi truck. They have full frames….”.



So, since the RL out tows and out hauls some of those trucks you mentioned, that have traditional frames, they must not be trucks either. Hmmm……That would disappoint a lot of Chevy, Toyota, etc., truck owners.



Tom – “If I had a choice between a Ridgeline or a Titan. I would buy the Titan. The Titan stands its ground as a 1/2 ton truck”.



I guess you like spending your free time over at your dealerships service department, then, huh? Consumer Reports just reported that the Titan has one of the lowest reliability ratings of trucks on the market right now.



In the same article, they mentioned that one truck (Tied with the ’06 Tacoma) has the highest reliability rating of all the trucks on the market. Can you guess which one it is? I’ll give you a hint….it has been mentioned several times in the posts above, and it is NOT the ST. That’s right. The RL! Wow…. The accolades just keep coming and coming…..

 
The Ridgeline is built to take punishment. The 5,000-lb. towing capacity and 1,550-lb. total payload capacity make small work of big jobs. <B>Its strength comes from an integrated closed-box frame with unit-body construction</B> and powerful, 247-hp, V-6 engine. The Ridgeline also lays claim to heavy-duty agility, efficiency and a big dose of durability. It's all truck, and all Honda.



I looked up Unit-Body Construction. All the links I found call it Monocoque. I give you the definition.



Monocoque (French for "single shell") or unibody is a construction technique that uses the external skin of an object to support some or most of the load on the structure. This is as opposed to using an internal framework (or truss) that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin. Monocoque construction was first widely used in aircraft, starting in the 1930s, and is the predominant automobile construction technology today.



The original information is from the designer of the Ridgeline, Honda Motor Company.



So, the RL is a unibody construction with a fully integrated closed box frame.



Just as I said it was.





Tom
 
Yeah, it looks like a FLAMED, "innovative", bloated 4 door 1980's subaru brat body style with a decepticon front end. And besides that it's ugly. :lol:
 
Tom - "Looks like we found RL's Ridgeline."



How the heck did you get pictures of my truck?!?! Kidding....but that is pretty sweet.



Tom - "How can a vehicle with no track record have reliability ratings that are favorable?"



Go read the article and find out.



Tom - "The Ridgeline is built to take punishment. The 5,000-lb. towing capacity and 1,550-lb. total payload capacity make small work of big jobs. Its strength comes from an integrated closed-box frame with unit-body construction and powerful, 247-hp, V-6 engine. The Ridgeline also lays claim to heavy-duty agility, efficiency and a big dose of durability. It's all truck, and all Honda."



OK, so the RL has a unit-body construction along with a traditional type frame, which gives it over 2 times the stiffness of a traditional frame alone. So what's your point? So the combination of the two is actually better than just a traditional frame. OK, so...and...? I dunno, but all your arguments against the RL's frame structure....it's like bringing a knife to a gun fight.



I know what your next comment is gonna be, "Then if the RL's frame is so great, how come it can't tow 10 bazillion lbs. up the side of Mt. Everest"? In the design of anything, you have give and take. If you want a stump puller, you are gonna have to sacrifice comfort, and the opposite is true...if you want a truck to handle/ride better, you are going to have to sacrifice in the towing ability of the vehicle. The RL was designed to be somewhere in between. A truck that can haul the amount of a 1/2 ton pickup, tow a decent amount (Boats, campers, snowmobile trailers, etc), yet be agile and ride great. I think they did a great job.



As the in the quote you mentioned.... I think it pretty much sums it up.... "The Ridgeline also lays claim to heavy-duty agility, efficiency and a big dose of durability. It's all truck, and all Honda." You won't get any argument from me there.



Fred - "Yeah, it looks like a FLAMED, "innovative", bloated 4 door 1980's subaru brat body style with a decepticon front end. And besides that it's ugly."



You gotta work on some fresh material..... that is getting really old.



Tim R. - "Dont let your tools rust and the Ridgeline is ugly, Get over it!".



Nice.... real nice.
 
Gavin - "It may be ugly, but it sure is a fast, reliable, powerful, strong, half-ton truck with excellent reliability ratings!"



I can live with that.
 
The ultimate test will be in 5 years when RL owners have lost having the glow of the awards and the reality sets in.



Hopefully there are some people, like myself, that abuse thier vehicles. I overload my Trac whenever I get the chance. I actually enjoy doing it. So far, over 3 years and 66,000 miles later, my Trac is still as stiff as it can be.



All the awards in the world do not guarentee the RL will handle the abuse. It is like my line of work. I can xray a weld all day long. Just because it passed the radiographs and all specifications does not mean the weld metal or weld design was the best choice.



My money says the RL will be an embaresment to Honda and they will build the next truck with an actual frame like the others do.





Tom
 
I'm not gay, 'cause I had my fingers crossed when I clicked "Reply". :lol:



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