Honda hopes the 2012 Ridgeline Sport will improve flagging demand for its quirky compact pickup.
Mark Twain could have written the script, it seems, officials at Honda asserting that reports of the demise of the slow-selling Ridgeline pickup have been greatly exaggerated.
Despite a slew of speculative articles sweeping the Internet insisting the Japanese maker has decided to kill off the compact truck, Ridgeline will remain part of the Honda line-up for “the foreseeable future,” according to the manager of truck planning.
But what’s unclear is whether that means we’ll continue seeing the Ridgeline as we know it. The once critically acclaimed pickup adopted an unusual crossover, or car-based, platform rather than the traditional frame-based chassis. Analysts now are speculating whether a next-generation Ridgeline would migrate to something more classically truck-like.
“I would like to lay to rest any rumors about the future of the Honda Ridgeline,” said Honda Truck Product Planning Manager Sage Marie. “In no uncertain terms, the reports in the media that we have plans to discontinue the Ridgeline pick-up truck are false. To the contrary, Ridgeline has a significant role in the Honda line-up and it is expected to continue in the foreseeable future.”
Introduced in 2005, the Ridgeline won quick kudos, being named both the North American Truck of the Year and Motor Trend magazine’s truck of the year.
The Ridgeline was distinctly different from any pickup out there. Though not as radical as some half-and-half designs, like the pickup/SUV Explorer Sport Trac, Honda’s offering had a quirky, angular body that contained a variety of hidden storage compartments and was mounted on a car-like platform.
But it never quite connected with buyers and, to many critics, the styling quickly became dated as the novelty wore off. Meanwhile, sales steadily slid. Last month, volume was down 49.4%, to an anemic 700 units, making Ridgeline one of the slowest sellers in the Honda line-up. Volume is down by nearly half for the year as a whole.
Part of that is due to the overall production problems Honda has had since Japan was struck by a devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11, but analysts say that even without that slowdown Ridgeline would be slipping.
It’s not alone. The overall compact pickup market has been sliding, leading Ford and Chrysler to both abandon the market – leaving what remains to Honda, Toyota, with its Tacoma, and General Motors with its newly-updated Chevrolet Colorado.
Expectations had been that Honda would also pull out. But the maker is giving the Ridgeline a modest makeover for 2012, with revised front styling cues, a new Sport model and improved fuel efficiency.
Product planner Marie is also hinting that further changes are under consideration, though precisely when a new Ridgeline will hit market and how radical a redesign it will get remain unclear.