Just what we need a unibody spineless pick up truck without a frame! LOL

The bar isn't set very high. Honda can't possibly do any worse than the previous generation. One thing.....get rid of the timing belt! Trucks have timing chains......real trucks that is.

Well at least it appears to look more traditional looking.

I think we can assume from the silhouette that it will be losing it's odd looking triangle chassis stiffner between the cab and box, so it should be more of a truck-like side profile.

If it has the newer 3.5L engine and AWD from the Acura MDX/RDX, hopefully we can see around 27 mpg highway, as that is the current EPA highway mileage for those vehicles.

This would be a good vehicle to use the fuel cell technology they've been working on.

Oh who am I kidding. It'll have some large v6 with 15/20 MPG.
"You'll drive what we give you", that's the way of the auto/petro/banking cartels.

GUTS

GLORY

IM A RETARD

RAM FANBOY

HONDA WILL BEAT RAM FOR 3RD PLACE SOON!

Thank goodness Honda ditched that awful sloping beltline at the c-pillar and the top of the bed! So the basic profile is already improved. I'll reserve further comment until more details are revealed down the road. Nice to know something new is on the way though.

Chevy and GMC are back in the mid-size market and look, already news of a new Honda coming too. Time for Nissan and Toyota to give us something fresh and innovative. Now if only Ram and Ford got back into the midsize game? At least Ford has a jump with the "global" Ranger if they want to come to the party.

GUTLESS
GLORYLESS
A BLIND FORD FANBOI
JOE

GUTLESS
GLORYLESS
A BLIND RAM FANBOI
HEMI RAMPASS

NO GUTS

NO GLORY

I FAIL AT LIFE

I'M AN UNINTELLIGENT RECALL RAM TROLL

@Len,
That unibody is several times stiffer torsionally than any body on frame pickup including Ford self-touting F150 fully boxed frame. The ridgeline also have full-floating rear axles unlike the semi-floating ones in all the half-tons.

Nissan Frontier will continue to crush this revamped Ridgeline !!! Get a fully boxed frame and come talk to me. VQ40 delivers gobs of torque.

With the increase in sales for the Ridgeline lately I guess Honda wants to see if they can manage to sell even more. The silhouette looks more 'truck-like' than the current-gen one. I'd be surprised if they didn't keep it unibody. Maybe this one will have more options? Maybe it will have a 4-cylinder and V6 option? For them to widen their fan-base they need more options I imagine. A lot of us 'pick-up' fans still prefer body-on-frame though.

GUTLESS
GLORYLESS
THEY ARE NEVER GOING TO ACCEPT THE TRUTH
A WASTE OF TIME
FORD AND GM FANBOIS

GUTLESS

GLORYLESS

DUMBER THAN #HIT

FORD KOOL-AID LOVERS

A once great site is now dead. Killed by Troll and inattentive management.

RIP PUTC. RIP.

Chevrolet and GovtMoCo trucks might be in for a tough fight between Honda, Nissan and Toyota.

If it loses it's ugliness and comes up with a reguler looking pickuptruck. Well then it's mine!!!

Honda Ridgeline
November 2012 1,290
November 2013 1353

Only 63 more than the same time last year. Overrated sales increases.

@James -

Reread:

"...something of a sales bump in 2013, with sales up 29 percent for the first 11 months of this year."

Look at the whole year's sales. So far, sales are indeed 29% up over last year.

I've never bought a Honda car, but a little more competition wouldn't hurt. This actually looks something I could consider, although i expect it to be a typical overpriced Honda. I can appreciate honda quality though. The ONLY atvs I will buy for the farm as it has proven again and again to be the most reliable and durable brand as compared to can-am, suzuki, polaris, kawasaki, yamaha. If they could make a Honda truck that is as reliable and tough as their ATVs i'd even be willing to pay the higher price of a Honda. I think it would be very smart when advertising this truck to relate it to the quality of honda atvs. It would go a long ways to convincing farmers or anyone that is familiar with quads.

You reread. I am making a different point.

The increases are "big" percentage wise, but not in actual numbers and appear to be slowing down.

Ridgeline sales peaked in 2006 at 50,193 and were 14,068 in 2012.

2013 they'll be around 17,000.

75% drop.

There was a little comeback in 2012 post-Tsunami.

Looking at the whole year there is an increase in 2013 of a few hundred units a month, which has dropped to a 63 unit increase in November.

"Just what we need a unibody spineless pick up truck without a frame! LOL"

I would be a lot more inclined to agree with this thought if my father had not bought a unibody Chrysler Newport in 1969 to pull his 22 foot long offshore fishing boat. He estimated that he pulled the boat over 60,000 miles and put a total of 180,000 on the car before selling it in good working order. Both figures were remarkable for that era. The only trouble the car had was with the rear axles and I don't see how a solid frame would help that. His car did well enough that when I bought a boat I also bought a Newport to pull it and never had any trouble related to pulling. I liked the Newport a lot better than the body on frame Chevy Imapala I inherited and drove for 22 years. The only reason I got rid of the Newport was that it got hard to get parts for it and I needed a pickup so I bought an F250. I will grant that the 20 year newer truck with EFI and EOD transmission did pull better put I don't believe that it had anything to do with the full frame or lack thereof.

Maybe we should keep an open mind and see how the Honda actually works. It was not very many years ago that it was common wisdon that the Eco-Boost would flop and look at what a success it has been.

at gminsidenews.com the 2015 corvette is said to be getting the 8L90E 8 Speed Automatic transmisson and it is capable of handling 738 lb-ft of torque. this will more than likely show up in the 2015 and/or 2016 pickups and 2016 camaro (based on alpha).

Really? Honda will kick Governments Motors Corp up and down the block. GMC is scatterbrained. Just a bunch of brands and badges. Honda is one real thing and they do it better than anyone aside from Toyota and Maybe Ford. You idiots act like GM is just Chevrolet Motors. It is Not. The Bowtie is just a fake marketing badge. Chevrolet Motors in reality doesn't even exist. It's FAKE. GM Morons.

I'm admittedly a body-on-frame truck guy. But to be open-minded, Jeep has the Cherokee is available with a trail-rated badge and is based off of a front-drive unibody platform (shared with the Dodge Dart believe it or not), and the Grand Cherokee is also available with a trail-rated badge and it is based on a rear-drive unibody platform. I've heard they are quite capable, granted they are obviously not Wranglers (BOF). Speaking of Wranglers... rumors say they are considering going to independent front suspension... it's not decided, but it is or was considered for the next generation.

Wow... I didn't see that coming! I love smaller trucks and more choice, so bring it on! (I don't need a huge truck to prove my manhood).

From what I've heard it will have the baby Duramax. Will have a traditional frame and go head to head with all 1/2 tons. It's built on the Chinzuwa frame and will have Bonzai technology.

"Just what we need a unibody spineless pick up truck without a frame! LOL"

The Ridgeline combines a full frame welded to the unibody structure. You should do some research before you make comments like this.

This is exciting news as long as Honda gives it a more powerful drivetrain than the current version and doesn't price it out of most people's reach. I drive a 2006 Ridgeline and it's been a highly capable and extremely reliable truck for me (89,000 miles with nothing but routine maintenance work done to it). The automatic four wheel drive system makes it the best handling vehicle I've ever driven in the snow. The in-bed trunk is the most useful and clever feature I've ever had on any vehicle I've owned. The interior room is huge compared to the other mid-size trucks. Honda did a great job with the first generation, and I hope this second generation continues to push the engineering and design envelope for what a pickup truck can be.

The thing with Honda is they don't have any suppliers for truck parts. Toyota and Nissan are big into trucks into other parts of the world so I just don't see Honda coming out with a traditional truck unless they partner with someone else.

Unibody is the frame. Monocoque frames are used in exotic cars, airplanes, boats, and even rockets.

Honda makes a quality vehicle, the new Ridgeline should prove no different.

@Jules

You need to find a brain. GM is the second largest automaker in the world in terms of sales. So by that logic, no Honda does not do it better and neither does Ford. You Ford guys like to bring up sales do defend how good your product is dont ya?

I wonder if the Ridgeline sales increase is in large part due to the exit of the Chevy Avalanche.

This silhouette resembles that of the 2015 Colorado, hope the end product will distinguish itself more from other trucks and hopefully they didn't go with bof, the current ridgeline proves that the unibody/frame hybrid is a good alternative, maybe even better, for small-midsize trucks. Can't wait to see this thing.

@Jack

I doubt it. The Avalanche was a full size V8 BOF truck/SUV. Not really comparable to the Ridgeline.

My problem with the Ridgeline is the price. Have you seen the prices? Who in their right mind would spend $35K on a "truck" that has half the capability of a Ram 1500? Honda needs to get realistic with the MSRP on these things and then they might actually sell one or two of them. As it is now I rarely EVER see one on the road because it's a bastard vehicle. It can't do car stuff as well as a car, but it also can't do truck stuff as well as a truck, and the prices are insane on them.

There is a radio guy from the mid-west who moved to Texas. He wanted to fit in more, so he purchased a Ridgeline.
What a punch line.

"Who in their right mind would spend $35K on a "truck" that has half the capability of a Ram 1500?"

Maybe a person that doesn't want to become overweight, by eating too much Italian food, in a fiat waiting lounge, as Tony fixes another recall on their ram.

I still don't get why Chrysler/Dodge can't make a mid-size based of the Durango like they used to, which is selling pretty decent these days. Sometimes I wonder about the people who run these companies. Everything they make thats good, they change it and mess it up.
I'm really excited for the mid-size trucks to come back, hopefully domestic automakers will realize that not everyone wants a huge monster half ton pickup.

I'm not dead set against the Unibody if Honda can pull it off with competitive towing numbers, just give it a REAL 4WD system. None of this bullsh!t AWD crap. Truck drivers DON'T WANT a 4WD system that thinks for them (even if it thinks better than they do...they just don't want it!) This isn't rocket surgery here...just give us something that gets the job done, doesn't break doesn't look stupid, Gets decent mileage and doesn't get stuck the instant it leaves blacktop.

I've owned several Hondas...I had a 89 Prelude that hauled the mail, got great mileage and had a quarter-million miles on it when I sold it (in perfect running order)...last I heard it was still running fine! So I'm sure the engineers at Honda can figure this out if they get their heads in the right place (out of their a$$e$), but I'm not holding my breath.

@Matt H
I think during the gas scare 5 years ago, the whole mid-size SUV market died down quite a bit. It seems the market split to either full size SUV's or the small crossovers. Only recently has there been a resurgence in the mid sized SUV market.

Beebe called it. I always thought the same thing. If Honda designs the Ridgeline with the same ruggedness that they do with their ATV's, this truck would be awesome. Anyone who grew up with Honda motorcycles and ATV's knows what I'm talking about. They are bulletproof and Honda pays attention to details.

They need to bring some of their motorcycle and ATV engineers in on this. And like Beebe said, relate the ATV reputation to the Ridgeline in advertising. Some of the features of the current Ridgeline could carry over like the in-bed trunk and dual hinged tailgate.

I've wondered why Honda hasn't produced a truck that was related to their motorcycle and ATV experience. I think that's what gives them a leg up on the competition. Some of their newest customers would end up being current Honda Powersports customers. Gotta have a Honda truck equal to the Honda toys it will be hauling around. They just need to make it happen.

@Beebe/W.D. - agreed. Honda blew it when they tried to sell the Ridgeline as a direct alternative to the 1/2 ton full sized truck.

@Jeff S and denvermike
Read this link.

This has been what I've been talking about for the past year. All I get from some of you guys is $hit (not Jeff S).

Open your market and let mid sizer compete and adopt UNECE regs like most of us do and you will still have full size trucks.

Not as many because midsizers will take sales away. Irrespective of what DenverMike/Greg Baird states midsizer will sell more.

But you will still have your V8 pickups.

Read and weep.

http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/fuel-to-curb-vf-commodore-exports-20130328-2gvpe.html

@Jeff S and denvermike
Read this link.

This has been what I've been talking about for the past year. All I get from some of you guys is $hit (not Jeff S).

Open your market and let mid sizer compete and adopt UNECE regs like most of us do and you will still have full size trucks.

Not as many because midsizers will take sales away. Irrespective of what DenverMike/Greg Baird states midsizer will sell more.

But you will still have your V8 pickups.

Read and weep.

http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/fuel-to-curb-vf-commodore-exports-20130328-2gvpe.html

@TRX4-Tom
Get you and you neanderthals off my A$$.

You work for Fiat.

Ever since you changed from Tom Terrific and came onto PUTC you have been on my back over mid sizers.

Why? Like I stated RAM DOESN'T have a midsizer. Ford, GM, Toyota, Nissan all have one or there is one in the pipeline.

When quizzed on main competitors for the car, Clark pointed to the Dodge Charger SRT8 and Chrysler 300 SRT8, but also threw in a wild card.

“BMW 5-Series,” said Clark. “We’re not necessarily targeting them, we’re thinking that some of those customers may see the technology, safety, performance and everything in this car and realise it really does everything those cars do.”

This is actually in the link, wow. People can't comprehend too well I suppose.

Remember in the UK the main competitiors for the HSVs sold there are AMG and the M series BMWs. All sedans.

@DenverDumbass
You obviously work for the EPA or CAFE. Some of the dumb ass unsubstantiated comments you come up with, wow. Or you are a Greenpeace Plant or just a plant.

You never prove SFA, just spruik bull$hit. At least provide links and other forms of support to justify your claims.

What you just wrote has nothing to do with nothing.

You are entitled to your opinion, though and I do respect that.

@DenverDA, you Say
The Holden/Chevy SS would never be a hot seller in the US regardless of CAFE. $50K+ is an absolute joke! That's German Luxo car money. Limiting its production/imports was GM's decision (for whatever reason?) and not CAFE's.

GM Say
Higher fuel use – not a lack of demand – could determine the sales success of the Holden VF Commodore in the United States.

Speaking at the motor show reveal of the Chevrolet SS – the name the Commodore will wear in the US - to media at the 2013 New York motor show, General Motors executive and former Holden boss Alan Batey said it would be America’s strict fuel use targets that will ultimately put a limit on sales.

@DenverDA again,
Who do we believe? A known liar and troll? or GM on this one.

The Commodore isn't a pony car and so far it competes with M Series BMWs, AMGs, Audi's etc outside of the US. Remember the US isn't the world. It represents less than 20% of global vehicle sales.

Are you going to multi post again?

Remember Apollo 13 is watching.

@TRX4 Tom, Luentenslager (including Tom Lemon)
"Did I just read ANCAP said safest truck in the world?"

Reading most of your posts I can see why you make so many errors.

You really are a fool. I would have thought people choosen for marketing would be smarter.

TRX4 Tom and your other aliases, you are dumber than dog s.................wow, try and add quality and truth in your statements. But from what I've read truth and guerilla marketing have nothing to do with each other.