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Pretty sad huh? I can't believe they picked the Ridgeline as truck of the year. What a load of shit

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No kidding.

You need to remember, though, that to be eligible a car/truck has to be new that year...or at least significantly redesigned.

I'll bet you that the new GM trucks get COY next year.

Not sure how much that will help GM, though.

That is not entirely correct, The cars and trucks they consider for their car of the year award must be all new models.. To even call the Ridgeline a truck is a joke. I is basically a version of their minivan which itself is based on the Accord.

mike hunt

I have not use for a truck or SUV. As long as you are asking my opinion of the best CAR, the one I 'picked' was the 2006 Lincoln Zephyr. We have almost

4,000 miles on it five weeks. The truck the most buyers 'pick,' and have for many years, is the Ford F150 and the small SUV the most buyers 'pick' is the Escape and the mid size SUV most buyer 'pick' is the Explorer. ;)

mike hunt

The Ridgeline is only good to hauling things like potato chips, cornflakes and post holes. That is why Ford sells more F Series trucks in a week than Honda will sell Ridgelines in a year. LOL

mike hunt

To be fair though Mike, the definition of TRUCK according to Oxford is "a large road vehicle used for carrying goods, materials or troops." So technically it is as much of a truck as any Dodge, Ford or GM. It's really a new way of building a 'truck,' but only time will tell if it's better or worse than current truck designs.

That being said, they are ugly as sin and shouldn't be put in the same category as the trucks we know and love today. The Ridgeline, along with the new F150s, should be put into a new category called "trucks that people buy to say they own a truck but actually don't use it as typical trucks are used but as minivans that have an open bed and use more fuel."

;)

Steve

Hi Mike, Have you got thoughts on what you would pick for car of the year 2006, truck 0f the year 2006. suv of the year 2006.

The problem with that definition though is that Oxford does not define what a truck is in the motor vehicle world. A better definition would come from either the auto manufacturers themselves (based on design intent), or from the department of motor vehicles which creates the legal categories for registering vehicles.

I think that particular definition would be "anything with a bed." The El Camino was classified as a truck by insurance and DMV wasn't it?

Steve

It must vary by state. Here in Iowa, my wife's Sport Trac is considered a SUV which makes about a $300/year difference in the registration fee. In the state's favor, of course.

Dave

The EPA classifies a vehicle as a truck, for CAFE purposes, if it caries passengers and cargo. That is why SUVs are trucks, even if built as many are today on a car chassis, not necessary on a truck chasses. Truck buyers know if it looks like a truck, is built like a truck and works like a truck its a truck. The Ridgeline is a nothing more than a minivan with a uncovered bed, not a truck. The vehicle market in the US has gone for around 9,000,000 to 19,000,000 over the past 15 years and the majority of the growth has been in trucks. That is why Toyota and the other import brands with the notable exception of Honda has added trucks to their line of vehicles. Foreign trucks are not very well received by US buyers. Ford and GM sell more trucks in a month than imports sell in a year, the import brands still need to offer trucks. Honda was losing out because it does not have a truck chassis so they used a car chassis. Honda builds all of it vehicles off three basic car chassis. Honda had the sense to not even try to sell it as a FWD truck. LOL

"Hairy" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net...

I believe the manufacturers liked to have their vehicle classified as a truck because trucks had lower rules for safety design and fuel mileage.

The crash safety rules are the same as cars, for trucks under the 2500 rating, but the CAFE is 3 MPG lower because trucks are designed to carry cargo as well as passengers.

mike hunt