Why Honda's Ridgeline pickup is driving off into the sunset?

Because it was a flop from the start and the most hideous looking truck since the Aztek?

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I don't think that it doesn't sell because it is ugly, I think it looks great, I hate the Ridgeling because it just isn't a 4x4, a one speed transfer case, little tires, no suspension flex, this is strictly a street truck, for the people that never go off road ever this is a very well put together truck, safe reliable, but to the off road nuts like me it insults my intelligence, this is why the Ford Raptor out sells this Ridgeline, no loss here when it goes, and the smaller truck idea, already a serious fail, haven't Honda learned a thing? Honda makes great dirt bikes, I am sure that they could make something off road worthy.

It wants to be a truck no wait a Suv no wait a Car.It cannot do any one thing properly.The Honda dealer near my home uses F150 pickups for parts deliveries etc.In fact at night they block their driveways with these.Tells you something about how solid they think the Ridgeline is.

Luxury truck? lol, have you sat in one before? It's quite plastic inside.

That's too bad. It's not actually that bad of a truck...sure, the bed really isn't that big, but it wasn't designed to be a replacement for something like an F-150. It's sort of like the Explorer Sport-Trac, not really a SUV, not really a truck.

It drives nice, can trailer a decent size load, ah well.

I think they should just make it larger to appeal to real truck buyers.

Making it larger would be just making a larger un capable car, the Ridgeling needs a locking transfer case with a low range! and solid selectable locking axles, or if it were to keep the fully independent suspension they would have to have a min of 11 inches of wheel travel for it to be taken seriously, since it is so un capable nobody wants it if they can buy the competitors for the same price and have versatility, the Honda is just another mini van, and is not versatile at all.

truckman sorry a was not specific but not just a mock up but a true full sized truck with all the options.

1911- Yeah, tell that to the race drivers winning the BAJA 1000 in a mostly stock Ridgeline.

The Honda Ridgeline like all of the stock class race trucks are not stock, they have race shocks full cage that stiffens up the vehicle... and the Honda Ridgeline may have won one race, they advertise that they race it in many races and I recall at first they never won anything for the longest time, it would never beat the Raptor in a million years, the only thing the raptor needs is a full cage, that is it, and for the lockind diff, I would question how Honda locks the diff, it is probably a trade name for there brake operated traction control, and the transfer case is still only one speed with passenger car tires, a serious fail even if it did have a full selectable locker.

1911, the Raptor needs a frame...it's frame folds in half going over speed bumps...I own a Honda, so I am not biased here towards brands, so please stick to facts, no the Raptor's frame will not buckle on speed bumps, this is hardly worth a reply, please include facts to base your outrageous statements, do you own a Ridgeline? My opinion of this truck is that it is nice driving ,reliable,sporty, good towing ability, 1,500lbs payload is great, it just lacks a low range locking transfer case with truck tires and way more suspension travel to be taken seriously, If you would never take your ridgeline off road disregard what I have said, it would be a great street truck then.

Wow I dont think this is even a question, that thing never did well in the sells the department, I always thought it was kinda cool to have one though, just for the rare factor.

This ain't no Chevy Avalance or even a Cadillac EXT.They are built on a tried and true solid truck chasis.Honda better leave the Truck market to the pros.There is no way a Honda can be in the Luxury category.

If they did any damn R&D and updated it it would sell especially if they added their better V6's from the Acura line and a beefier rear dif that doesn't overheat easy.

Honda doomed themselves when their commercial showed the in bed trunk opening (how is that going to work if you have something in the bed?) showing a black tee shirt with a white '3' on it.

I always hear this complaint - you do know putting stuff in the trunk is optional right? If you're so worried about not being able to get what you want if the bed is filled, you could always put whatever you have stored in the cabin.

For the rest of the time, the in-bed trunk is a good alternative to store things, especially wet or messy things that still need to be out of site...it's really not complicated. And do you think the Ridgeline is the type of truck that regularly has heavy loads in the bed??!! That's not the market the Ridgeline is shooting for.

Honda was shooting for the light truck, occasional towing, bed filling crowd - suburbanites doing DIY, going to Home Depot...

Unfortunately for Honda, that market has yet to materialize, but I think this truck was ahead of its time, I think more and more automakers will be making these light but tough trucks in the future...

S2k, the real world figured out it is a better option to rent a pickup from Home Depot for $20 than have to drive a ridgeline every day.

Honda is not the Honda we used to know and love.

If that was true Mr S2000 we still would have El Caminos and Rancheros.Car companies do not discontinue volume sellers.

Look at all the major automakers concept trucks of the future: GM, Toyota, Chrysler...

They all have something like the Ridgeline, just a bit better looking. I'm not saying the typical truck market is going to disappear - construction workers and contractors (and posers) still need the heavy duty trucks...i just think we'll see this light truck idea catch on (not car like the el camino)...

The market is gonna come to Honda:

Civilized ride
Can tow but nothing to crazy
Good fuel economy (Ridgeline nothing special in this regard)
Can do light off road duty

It's pretty obvious M2K has never owned a truck.

The only reason the Avalanche and EXT are still around is because they share platforms with the volume sellers.You may have a point but Im sure GM,Ford etc must have done some research and thats why they did not make anything like it from their compact/midsize trucks.

Check again - maybe not in America, but look at what GM and Ford are about to sell in the rest of the world:

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2011/06/first-look-chevrolet-colorado-rally-concept.html

http://www.conceptcarz.com/z19569/Ford-Ranger-Wildtrak.aspx


Recent Dodge and Toyota concepts:

http://www.allpar.com/cars/concepts/dodge/rampage.html

http://www.toyota.com/concept-vehicles/abat.html

Honda should have developed a rwd truck to take on Chevy,Ford,Dodge,and Toyota. They didn't do that. That's why it flopped.

I've never wanted a truck but I still can see there is or will be a market for both trucks and 'trucks'

Honda may not have succeeded on its first attempt, but then it didn't sell tons of first gen Odysseys either, and look how that turned out - rather well for Honda i'd say.

As for renting a truck for $20 a day from Home Depot...of course, I'm sure that was the reason why the Ridgeline didn't sell...but couldn't it also have been how myopic some truck buyers are? It had to fight decades old thinking on what a truck can be - I think I've read at least 50 inane comments on the web about how stupid the in-bed trunk is from truck 'experts'...really??!! In the past anything from anyone would be shot down if they presented anything outside of the standard truck archetype. I think Honda, even though not quite successful, started chipping away at that archetype and that's why other makers have shown sudden interest in vehicles very much like the Ridgeline.

Real reason for failure:
Fuel economy should have been better, the price was to high (and the way honda structures its trim levels works against how most truck buyers like to option out their trucks), it should've had more configurations (two door, extendend cab, etc.), plus it was just plain ol' odd looking.

The Ridgeline is not a bad vehicle, it won many awards when it was first introduced...it was too much of a niche vehicle.

Don't think it would be enough to make economies of scale that other truck makers have - Honda just has the Ridgeline in one configuration...

The Ridgeline is being dis continued because of lack of sales, even the ford Raptor out sells it,lol, name a mid size truck that doesn't out sell it, The Ridgeline would be a top seller if it came with larger truck tires and a two speed transfer case with more off road versatility, this is why this Honda doesn't sell, other than its short comings it is a very well put together awd truck, just not versatile, you may as well have a mini van, this is how I see it, and I know many more people feel the same way, that is why it is being discontinued.