Honda Ridgeline’s Rumours of Death Greatly Exaggerated
Last year, just around 16,142 Honda Ridgelines left their local dealerships, destined for happy new homes. To put that in perspective, the best selling truck on the market, the Ford F-Series, sold a whopping 54,888 units in December alone. And although not exactly in the same sales class, the massive amounts of technology that manufacturers have poured into the full-size truck market has come at the expense of the now-dismal small truck market as buyers struggle to validate the purchase of a small truck when full-size models offer, in many cases, more amenities and better fuel economy for roughly the same price. Even the indomitable Toyota Tacoma, a long time favourite among small truck buyers found just 106,198 buyers last year.
So this has led, for quite some time, to the logical conclusion that the Ridgeline’s days are numbered. Much like the recently deceased Mazda B-class, the consensus has been that for all the minor updates it’s received, the Ridgeline’s expiry date had simply come and gone, and with it, it’s market. But apparently, the consensus was wrong. According to a recent interview conducted by USA Today, Honda’s Executive VP John Mendel was quoted as saying that Honda has “a ways to go on the Ridgeline,” and that the truck’s unique nature allows Honda to increase the brand’s “share of the garage.” Referencing the truck’s devout (fanatical, at times, if you talk to the right people!) following as evidence that the truck is a viable product, Mendel stopped short of delivering a timeline for any would-be-successor.
