William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

July 15, 2013

About three years ago, Honda said there would not be a next-generation Ridgeline arriving in 2011. Since then, there has been murmurs and speculation that the Ridgeline would be heading into the great parking lot into the sky. Honda has been on the offensive with the CEO of American Honda saying the Ridgeline was a key part of the lineup. Now, industry sources tell Wards Auto that the Ridgeline is heading out... sort of.

The sources say the production of the current Ridgeline will end next September at Honda's Lincoln, AL plant. Two years later, the next Ridgeline will be introduced. This is somewhat of a surprise since early reports had the current Ridgeline lasting till 2016.

“(While) we don't comment on future product decisions, Ridgeline continues to be an important part of our lineup and we're pleased with Ridgeline sales, up 24% year-on-year and 32% in June,” said Honda spokesman Steve Kinkade when asked about the Ridgeline.

Source: Wards Auto

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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Strange. Waiting for the next iteration of the Odyssey platform maybe?

And GM could not do the same with Avalanche which sells a lot more units than this piece.

Strange. Waiting for the next iteration of the Odyssey platform maybe?

I believe that's part of it.. I'm also wondering if the new wave midsize trucks coming are having Honda do a double take.

If they have the sales, then why not continue production till the new one arrives? Check out the competition of mid size trucks and then finalize your new product features and roll out the new Ridgeline.

Or the 2014 model year could be a long one, followed immediately by an early-intro 2016 model, with no interruption. Can't keep those hard working farmers, construction workers and carpenters waiting for their trusty workhorses!

And GM could not do the same with Avalanche which sells a lot more units than this piece.

Great Q: Why is the Avalnche not being sold anymore? I was under the impression that the RIdgeline's USP was that small built-in trunk inside the flatbed. I thought that might be an OK idea, until you realize that it is not always accessible under a pile of dirt or mulch. As for the Avalanche, it reminds me of the Quadrasteer option they had for the GMC Sierra a few years back. Great idea, but relatively few takers. And I heard that Quadrasteer was an expensive option, so that meant even fewer sales. I doubt the Avalanche added much cost (and presumably brought in more profits) than just the pickup twins, but somebody did not think it was worth it anymore.

They were moving 30,000 Avalanches per year there for a while, not too bad considering it is really just a body style option of the Suburban.

Hopefully a 3rd party company will realize the benefits of this and build a kit truck of the Avalanche.