Honda exec: No Tundra-fighter for US
As Toyota readies its latest attempt to send a shock through the full-size pickup market with its new, fully-redesigned Tundra, Honda is quite content to stand on the sidelines and watch as the battle royale ensues.
John Mendel, American Honda's senior VP of automotive operations, says that creating a big body-on-frame pickup runs counter to the company's philosophy, which is to ultimately produce fuel-efficient vehicles. He correctly points out that Toyota has been at this for a while now with the Tundra, and stated, "We're fine with Ridgeline," Honda's unique-looking unibody pickup.
While we're sure that there are plenty of readers who'd love to see Honda's take on the full-size pickup, the company's reluctance to dip a toe into that pool is completely understandable. The level of competition in the segment is relentless, and Ford, GM, and Chrysler still have a distinct advantage over newcomers. Just look at the sales numbers, where Tundra and Nissan's Titan are routinely trounced by the Americans. (To illustrate the Titan's place in the market, consider that Chevy sold more Uplanders – the aged, unappealing minivan – last month than Nissan did Titans.)
Toyota has taken its lumps, learned its lessons, and is in it for the long haul, with its new San Antonio, Texas plant geared up to build the all-new Tundra. Still, it's going to be an uphill battle for them, as the Tundra is met by a welcoming committee of completely redesigned GM trucks.
Honda's doing the right thing. They have an appealing niche pickup in the Ridgeline, and for them, that's enough. They're probably more than happy to keep building their bread-and-butter vehicles while watching from afar as their competitors beat each other's brains out with their big pickups.
[Source: Ward's Auto World]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Clyde 1:32PM (8/14/2006)
Honda has a truck?
Sorry, man, . . . ain't no way the Ridgeline is a truck. It's a whimpy attempt of a truck, but it ain't no truck.
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Aki 1:39PM (8/14/2006)
I've yet to see an F-150 lugging large steel beams or towing a yacht in the rustic streets of Oakland and San Francisico. Yep, sure need a V8. 95% of trucks owners in my area buy em to compensate for ...masculine insecurities.
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T 1:46PM (8/14/2006)
"And you know the surest way to go broke? Keep getting an increasing share of a shrinking market."
Danny DeVito, Other People's Money
Good move by Honda, while it may make financial sense for the other companies to keep putting out large pickups, I doubt it would be wise for Honda to dump the cash required for the R&D to bring it out (in another 3-4 years) when the market is declining...
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hj 1:49PM (8/14/2006)
No shock there. Honda has never been about trucks. Back in the 70's when toyota, nissan, mazda, mitsu, isuzu were all introducing compact pickups honda didn't touch that market.
As for the ridgeline, it's like a ElCamino; a car-truck.
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rwdmtparkingonly 1:50PM (8/14/2006)
It out "trucks" the GMC "truck" competitor in payload and towing. However, the GM offering does get better fuel efficiency (whoa, mind trip): http://autos.msn.com/research/compare/default.aspx?c=0&n=3&i=0&tb=0&ph1=t0&ph2=t0&dt=1&v=t100635&v=t100937
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Bob 1:53PM (8/14/2006)
"...which is to ultimately produce fuel-efficient vehicles. He correctly points out that Toyota has been at this for a while now with the Tundra, and stated, "We're fine with Ridgeline," Honda's unique-looking unibody pickup."
If Honda's goal is to produce fuel efficient vehicles, then why does it build the Ridgeline? The Ridgeline gets the same mileage as a V-8 powered Tahoe (20 mpg highway) and worse mileage than GM's full-sized trucks.
It gets a whole 1 mpg highway better than a Hummer H-3.
I bet there are people out there who buy it assuming it gets better mileage, just because it has an "H" on the front.
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The Other Bob 1:54PM (8/14/2006)
"John Mendel, American Honda's senior VP of automotive operations, says that creating a big body-on-frame pickup runs counter to the company's philosophy, which is to ultimately produce fuel-efficient vehicles. He correctly points out that Toyota has been at this for a while now with the Tundra, and stated, "We're fine with Ridgeline," Honda's unique-looking unibody pickup."
If Honda's goal is to produce fuel efficient vehicles, then why does it build the Ridgeline? The V-6-powered Ridgeline gets the same mileage as a V-8 powered Tahoe (20 mpg highway) and worse mileage than GM's full-sized trucks.
It gets a whole 1 mpg highway better than a Hummer H-3.
I bet there are people out there who buy it assuming it gets better mileage, just because it has an "H" on the front.
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iQuack 1:55PM (8/14/2006)
Smart move. The Ridgeline is an ideal product for people who need trucks, but not the heaviest-duty ones. And that's likely to be quite a few people, too. No need for Honda to become another Ford.
Honda's product mix is right for the times--good cars that deliver high gas mileage.
With respect to Honda's popular Accord and Civic, it tells you something when the greatest fault of those cars is that they're too popular, so must be boring. A pretty weak complaint IMO.
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Oshawa forever 1:56PM (8/14/2006)
If you need or whant a Truck you buy from a cie that make truck's....
Nissan/Toyota and Honda make what.......
I would like to work on construction with Honda hahahaha
Mabe I can put big loud muffler on it to see if it have more torque....
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PJ 2:00PM (8/14/2006)
Probably a smart move. Bringing a full-size, body-on-frame pickup to market would require a ground-up design and loads of R&D on Honda's part... just in time for people to reconsider using these things as daily transportation. In the face of $3/gal gasoline, I think we're going to see the full-size pickup market shifting back towards the people that actually need/use them.
Besides, no matter how effective a Honda truck might be, a large portion of pickup buyers will simply label it "wimpy" and walk away.
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Richard Warren 2:12PM (8/14/2006)
Just buy it from Isuzu and "badge engineer" it. Of course that's never been done by Honda before now has it?
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jjaxon 2:19PM (8/14/2006)
#2 AKI but if you needed to tow those steel beams or a yacht.. i dont think your hondue would fit the job...
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jjaxon 2:22PM (8/14/2006)
#9 why complain about $3.00 gasoline? adjusted for inflation its as cheap as it was 35 years ago.. America is not made for small cars.. this is just a blip .. 3 years from now the big ones will still be king of the road
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Travis Bickle 2:23PM (8/14/2006)
Yeah, honda did badge engineer the Passport. But, they learned they needed to create their own vehicles from scratch and that's what they did with the Pilot and then the Ridgeline. And yes, the Ridleline isn't a full bore Truck. Too many people are confused to think that that was Honda's goal and it wasn't. It can do "truck like" things but it's goal was to be a city truck that had convenience to it and rode like a car but could still offer truck like performance when needed. It has it's niche although sales for the vehicle aren't what Honda had hoped for. It's still a great vehicle for what it offers. Wait and see if they put a diesel engine in it. I am forecasting that Honda will rewrite diesel technology and thus make Hybrids a thing of the past.
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Ken 2:28PM (8/14/2006)
2. I've yet to see an F-150 lugging large steel beams or towing a yacht in the rustic streets of Oakland and San Francisico. Yep, sure need a V8. 95% of trucks owners in my area buy em to compensate for ...masculine insecurities.
Posted at 1:39PM on Aug 14th 2006 by Aki
Hey Aki, worrying about who needs and doesn't need a V8 in the San Francisco/Oakland area is probably the least of your worries out there. I would think you'd be more worried about the judges, court rulings, homeless, etc than what's under someone's hood. Besides, not too many masculine people out that way anyway. Maybe people out there DO need a pick up with a hefty V8?
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Non-Bizarro Adam 2:34PM (8/14/2006)
While I have never been a big fan of the Ridgeline (where's ole Joseph Willemson when you need him?), I at least see its appeal more now. The problem that I really have is that if you make a truck that is 3/4 size, with 80% the power and torque, half the towing capacity, etc., why doesn't it get any better mileage? I would be all on this trucks bandwagon if it got 20/25 city/highway. But it doesn't. I dunno, maybe I'm asking too much, because the couple people I know who have one love it.
But it is still hideous.
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T 2:36PM (8/14/2006)
jjackson, sales of truck sales were down 29% in June. are those people starting to tow their yatchs with their new Civic, or did they really just not need the truck in the first place?
oh yeah, and it's DeVito. stupid spelling... :)
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The other Bob 2:38PM (8/14/2006)
OK, lets break this down for you Honda lovers who keep repeating the lie that the Ridgeline is more efficient...
Ridgeline: Hauls and tows less, has less horsepower, has less torque, has a v-6, priced HIGHER, uses MORE gas.
Most other truck builders, esp. GM: Hauls and tows more, has more hoursepower and torque, has a V-8, priced LOWER in comparable models, uses LESS gas.
The other truck makers also have a multitude of other configurations, including 2wd, multiple bed types, etc.
For those who think the Honda is the responsible truck, you are foolish and misinformed.
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MKBruin 2:47PM (8/14/2006)
funniest line of teh thread by Aki:
edited for greater emphasis:
"I've yet to see an F-150 lugging large steel beams or towing a yacht in the rustic streets of...San Francisico...95% of trucks owners in my area buy em to compensate for...masculine insecurities."
something about combining masculine insecurities and the SF/Bay area is hilarious.
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PJ 2:52PM (8/14/2006)
I'm not complaining about $3.00/gal gasoline... I don't drive a truck :-)
But it's the perception of soaring gas prices that's driving down sales of these vehicles. Rising gas prices are going to go away. There will be dips and rises, but over time, it's only going to get more expensive.
As for the Ridgeline, I wouldn't place too much weight on EPA figures. Automakers know the conditions of those specific tests and tune gearing, shift points, etc accordingly. Most "real-world" tests (CR, CG, C&D) put the Ridgeline somewhere around 16-18 MPG, and the Big Three's full-sizers between 12-15 MPG.
But then, I suppose this article isn't about the Ridgeline to begin with...
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