What would Honda have to do to Snag Tacoma Buyers

Not only is it FWD, but the AWD is FWD biased heavily. Though Honda is swearing they have a new mechanical linkage that will allow for more torque to the rear.

 

thats me, I was looking at the Tundra last year, but I live on a narrow street with a narrow driveway in a big city with lots of traffic and bad drivers. Tacoma's size was just big enough for what I needed while allowing my to stay nimble on the streets.

 

being honest I drive a civic because I have 0 need for a truck (beyond the thought of getting a motorcycle, which can be towed with my car. so a truck would be a waste of money for me).

I have driven/ridden in a lot of trucks though for friends/moving/etc. we wouldnt tie bags down. usually things like washers/dryers/furniture we didn't want sliding around. I guess thats because there was a chance of the bigger stuff falling out

 

I drove a 95 Toyota pickup for years before I made the decision to buy my Tacoma, and have now driven that for years. Before I made that purchase I did quite a bit of research and had testimony from other Tacoma owners about the reliability of the trucks. I guess what I'm getting at is that my decision was based off of what I consider facts and not simply image.

 

Yes, they are posers (aka, most people that buy Raptors, Rubicons, OR/TRD PRO edition Tacomas). Nothing wrong with that, that's why Dodge makes their RAM REBEL... for posers

No, I do not have "steelies"

Haha... $5k more? People don't care? That's a $85+/month over 5 yrs, depending upon financing %. Especially a vehicle in the low $20k's, that's an additional 15%-20% increase in price. (I'd say the difference for someone looking to financing $215/month and jumping to $300/month is a breaker for most folk in that segment).

Indeed on the 1st part...

...on the 2nd part plenty of younger family folk who need/like the Honda amenities and the bed

Agreed. Same will happen with the Ridgeline too.

I'd say there's more mall crawlers with offroad products on their truck on this forum, than trucks that acutally use their offroad products...

...whether is be the OR's OEM locker (if they even know how to use it). Or people putting, UCA's on, coilovers, big/mud tires... All IMAGE

I think Honda is providing a product to folks that could...
-use more than a SUV but less than a body-on-frame truck
-want a truck capability but don't want a truck's drawback (ride, handling, ergonomics, fit/finish)
-want a conservative appearance/size... no flares, huge front grille, big wheel well gaps, shear size/footprint

 

Yeah I was just referring to the initial purchase of the truck.

 

That is what the trunk is for!

At least that is what I would use it for, tossing my MX gear bag in. The way my setup it is now, a topper and a trailer. I could ditch both with the Ridgeline. The MX bag is huge, kind of pain in the ass to toss it in the cab, that and it drags a bunch of dirt into the cab. Have a topper so I can keep it locked up.

The bed speaker thing is cool, we always have music blasting when we are getting geared up to go ride.

 

At least the ridgeline comes with rear disc

 

I wouldn't mind the Ridgeline in AWD fWD....meh

 

Must be from the "safe zone" crowd. God forbid there's a conversation on a topic one doesn't sgree with.
Wouldn't want anyone to be offended.

 

Speaking of this, saw a nice new double cab colorado today and when I pulled along I was surprised to see the driver was an old woman. Definitely not what I expected, but if you look at the styling I guess it makes sense.

 

Well I am of the mid 60's crowd. I do some minor off

I resemble that remark, at least the "old people" part.

My off road needs are less each year. Having a bed is great for carrying wood I collect for bowl turning, etc. Ride comfort is very high on my list. AWD will most likely meet my needs that I can't handle with 4x2. the Honda has my interest., but so does the Tacoma.

What does Honda have to do to snag me? Price the vehicle less than the Tacoma.

 

The whole truck inside and out is just boring compared to the Taco..no character or style imo

 

Ridgeline is for the slip on shoe, polyester pant, ironed striped shirt and sweaty armpits crowd with their weekly (lousy) hair cuts, shitty attitude and hopes (prays) they look hip.... and they don't. F the Ridgeline. There, I said it....again.

 

LOL like the Tacoma has character or style. Huge grille, same suspension setup, same boring setup, same interior for the last 10+ yrs, etc....

At least the Ridgeline has rear disc brakes and power seats

Competition is good for the Tacoma

 

Nothing special about the Tacoma interior. GMC Canyon is nicer inside and so is this new Ridgeline. And they both have power seats.

 

I think my referee bag would fit in there but the old Ridgeline trunk wouldn't fit a hockey bag.

 

Funny, not. , imo
Had many of sweaty armpits and back of shirts, but not from office work. Spent 30 years in wildland fire.
So the Honda is not for you. Get over yourself.

 

This truck will definitely appeal to the poer seat and rear disc crowd... and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

Think that is what current Ridgeline owners wanted a bigger trunk. Said it can fit a 64 qt. cooler, damn that is impressive.

But as you were saying, its' price and fuel consumption will be the deciding factor. If the base is $32K...I can get a F150 for that, and the mileage if it is like the Pilot...might not be all that great. F150 is waaay more than I need...but makes more sense dollar-wise.

Most likely just get another Tacoma, since it is one of the few still available with a manual trans...not perfect, but it will work.