No all-new Honda Ridgeline is expected in the next 18 months, Honda said late Friday. We've been in touch with Honda's PR team since our post earlier this week on the next-generation Honda Ridgeline.
Last March, Dave Marek, chief designer and senior manager of the automotive styling group at Honda Research and Development, Americas, told PickupTrucks.com that design work on the next Ridgeline was under way.
“The (current) Ridgeline was the right thing to do at the time,” Marek said. “But now that the truck market is a moving target, our opportunity is to make it more fuel-efficient -- aerodynamic and lighter -- but still retain the core value it has, which is the inside space and usage in the back.”
We met Vicki Poponi, Honda’s assistant vice president of product planning, on Wednesday at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show and asked her for an update on when the next-gen Ridgeline would arrive.
A new Ridgeline “is coming in ’11, for the 2011 model year,” Poponi said.
But it looks like our question was misunderstood, because today we received a new statement from Honda about the Ridgeline from Christina Ra, manager, Honda public relations.
"American Honda apologizes if there was inaccurate information shared at the Chicago Auto Show about the Honda Ridgeline pickup," Ra told PickupTrucks.com. " I can confirm that there will be no significant change to the Ridgeline through the 2011 model year."
So, what does all of this mean for the Ridgeline? Is an all new truck still planned or will the current one solider on as one of the oldest vehicles in Honda's lineup?
"[Honda's PR staff in the U.S.] usually receives word about 18 months before the launch of a new vehicle," Ra said. "As of now, we don't know when a new Ridgeline is coming. It's not going to be before the summer of 2011."
Given the Ridgeline's slowing sales, we're starting to wonder if Honda is still willing to offer a pickup truck over the long term. Let's hope so. The Ridgeline may not have been embraced by traditional truck owners but its unique features deserve a second shot in a more fuel efficient package.
http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2010/02/honda-now-says-nextgeneration-ridgeline-not-coming-in-2011.html
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