2006 Honda Ridgeline

A key battleground among automakers here in the United States is in the pickup truck arena.

Once the domain General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, Asian automakers have made serious strides during the past couple of years challenging the status quo.

The Ford F-150 continues its run as the best-selling vehicle in America. The long-standing full-size truck has retained the title of top-selling pickup for 27 years. Feeling the heat from all corners of the globe, Ford invested millions of dollars during the F-150 redesign in the 2004 model year and executed a more-than-competent product.

Recently, Japan's top-three automakers have introduced quality entrees into the segment. In the 2000 model year, Toyota introduced the full-size Tundra pickup. Tundra is assembled in southern Indiana and soon a second plant in San Antonio, Texas will come on line increasing production capacity. Nissan followed with the bold-looking full-size Titan. Not to be outdone, Honda strikes early in the 2006 model year with the Ridgeline, a less-than-full-size pickup that went on sale last Tuesday.

As fate would have it, that same day Gary Flint, Chief Engineer at Honda Research and Development for the Americas visited the Chicago area to discuss Ridgeline's debut with members of the Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) in Oakbrook Terrace.

"This vehicle is a full-size truck in a compact foot print," Flint told a gathering of about 40 MAMA members. "It incorporates good driving dynamics but is not just a Pilot with a pickup bed."

Flint was making reference to Honda's Pilot, a crossover-type vehicle sharing a variety of underpinnings with Ridgeline. Interestingly, Ridgeline is built with an integrated closed-box frame more resembling unibody construction than a traditional body-on-frame nuances found on most medium and large-sized pickups.

Ridgeline also boasts independent front and rear suspension for improved ride and handling. It's designed for medium off-road duty with a 5,000-pound towing capacity. Four doors come standard and the 'crew cab' design accommodates three riders in the second row. Also standard is a five-speed automatic transmission (with a steering column shifter) and a fully automatic variable torque management all-wheel-drive system requiring no driver intervention.

This vehicle was developed with the in U.S. market in mind by a staff here in the states. To help spread the word, Honda bought two thirty-second television spots during the highly-watched Super Bowl last month.

Another unique exterior design is a dual-action tailgate. As with most other competitors, the rear end swings down, but Ridgeline's gate also swings out via a second left-side hinge. When down, the gate can handle a 300 pound load capacity, which comes in handy when loading heavier items in the standard 5-foot cargo bed. With the tailgate down, bed length increases to 6.5 feet.

The bed region also sports a unique lockable square storage area under the bed floor capable of handling a large storage cooler or a couple sets of golf clubs.

Starting at $27,700 (exclusive of a $515 destination charge), the mid-size Ridgeline is available in three trim levels: (RT, RTS and RTL) and comes with a standard 255-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 engine. No V-8 engine is planned for this first-generation model.

Journalists were able to sample Ridgeline on the road. Immediate feedback included a smoother-than anticipated ride glide and front bucket seats that felt more SUV or sedan like than traditional pickup seats. In back, rear bench seat cushions, with a 60/40 split, folded back clearing enough room for a bike or other items one would desire to transport inside a pickup.

Honda estimates selling about 50,000 units per year of this Ontario, Canada built product. While Flint estimates many shoppers will cross shop Ridgeline with similar-sized products including the Dodge Dakota and Nissan Frontier, the key competitor out the gate is Toyota's mid-size Tacoma pickup.

For those who need to tow a boat or other recreational vehicles up to 5,000 pounds, but would like a more civilized ride with cargo stowing versatility, this is a product to keep on a shopping list.