Harley-Davidson effect?

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...^^^... The Honda Ridgeline 4WD is actually an AWD with a rear locker. I had a 2013 and it was trouble free and great on wet and snowy roads with all 4 wheels pulling when necessary. Just a little too big for me and my needs, but I like the Tacoma Gen. 1 size the best anyway.

The Ridgeline drives more like an SUV or a 4Runner than a truck.

While I liked the Ridgeline and would have kept it in a heartbeat if I had a family, it was not a Tacoma.

If you are a true hard core off roader, the Tacoma is the only choice ... if you want power seats and 4WD/AWD (with a rear locker) in super wet road and/or snowy/icy road conditions & very mild off roading, the Ridgeline is the answer ... 2 different vehicles for 2 different purposes.

However ... Toyota can take some hints from Honda in the "Q/C Dept." ... because that Ridgeline was super trouble free.

PS ... I have never off roaded a Tacoma that I can remember ... too nice a truck to tear up ... I use a "beater" in the past to off-road. I just like the way a Tacoma drives and feels more than the SUV drive & feel ... and I like a truck bed in the back in case I need to carry some big things.

My best small SUV ever was a Honda CRV AWD ... I just don't like big vehicles ... too difficult to drive & park in the city.
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you assume your wants and needs are the same as the majority of the tacoma buyers. Hint - it's not.

Most folks who buy tacomas do not care about it's off road prowess, or care to even go off road. Myself included. Remember, Tacoma world is an enthusiast forum with a bias on off roading, and is just a small sample of overall tacoma owners.

 

Theres a new video
Watch "2017 Honda Ridgeline Rock Drop" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/ayOhO3D_90Y

 

I really dig the features of the ridgeline, but its pretty damn ugly, looks more like an SUV than a truck.

 

...^^^... The truck bed and tailgate are super strong and the trunk in the truck bed is BIG and never got a drop of water in there.

With all that said ... it's a great "SUV Type Truck" ... and that dual swing tailgate is great .... but it is still not a Tacoma.

I might consider a Ridgeline if it was a little smaller ... Gen. 3 Tacoma's are getting too big for me at this point.

Most of you guys want a bigger truck ... and now I want a smaller truck.
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Agreed, the previous ridgeline looked good in the front and wierd in the rear, now its the opposite, you wonder sometimes what designers are thinking when they make something so ugly that had so much potential.

 

...^^^... My favorite Toyota trucks were made in late 1970's to the late 1990's.

I had 1 small Toyota pickup that had a "single outside metal skin" on the tailgate. No metal sheet metal skin on tailgate inside.

Bed walls were single outside metal skinned too ... with over the edge outside the bed cargo hooks.

Truck was super light and had a small 4 cylinder (maybe a 22-R ?), 4 speed stick in the floor ... that would run forever.
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I don´t necessarily desire power seats, the height adjustment is what I need. When my daughter wants to drive my truck she needs to raise the seat up, but I need it as low as possible. This is a big reason I have not pulled the trigger on the Tacoma yet. I mean my 2005 Dakota has 8 way power driver seat, so its hard to part with that, plus the 4.7L V8. I am still considering a Tacoma and I have faith in Toyota, my wife loves her 2015 Rav4, but I am definitely waiting to see what 2017 brings, not just for Toyota, but Ford and the redesigned Frontier.

 

Well don't expect much besides maybe some new color options and the TRD PRO for 2017, small refinements is usually how Toyota works year to year with nothing major, maybe a refresh come 2023. I am excited about the Ranger though. Im willing to bet its gonna look like a mini f150 and pretty badass.

 

Sounds like my 86 4X2 single cab with a Japanese bed, no rear bumper, radio, cruise or AC. It was bare bones and a whole lot of fun.


Looked just like this.

 

Thats my gripe, I've had power or atleast height adjustable seats in all my vehicles except my first car, an 86 Fiero lol. Every vehicle after that has has power and/or height adjustment seats. Its bewildering that toyota doesnt even have manual height adjustment. It seems the frontier may go one more year before a redesign and then you'll most likely see something similar to the navara in 2018. Would love to see the new ranger here stick shift and all. Im most excited to see a jeep pickup.

 

I was told by my nissan dealer that something is coming in 2017 for the frontier. I mentioned to him that one of the things I don´t like about the frontier is the small screen for the back up camera, Toyota has a good size and dodge has the 8.4 available in the Ram 1500. His reply was the frontier is getting a change and it will be up to par with the Titan as far as interior goes. Of course this is a salesman telling me this, so take it how you want. So, yes, the Jeep has gotten my interest, although I have not seen anything about a quad cab version, which I need. Right now, I am doing a bit more research on the new Ford Ranger.

 

Yah i take everything a saleman says with a grain of salt, a well educated consumer typically knows more about the vehicle their looking at than the saleman does, their job isn't to know anything about a vehicle its just to get you to buy one by telling you what ever it is you want to hear, sometimes the bs they spew is hilarious though. Everything online shows 2018 as a new model frontier, and tbh the old frontier looks better than the new one if you google 2018 frontier, kind of reminds me of how ugly the front of the ridgeline is. If jeep does a pickup so far it seems it will only be available as a quad cab but everything out there is just rumors. They did say though that you will see parts of the crew chief 715 used on the new pick up.

 

How many 50's-60's Harley's or Honda's. That is interesting.

Well for my part, I see both. But I think I know what you are saying.

I have bought and sold and rode motorcycles for more decades, than I want to say. Retired now and still do vintage stuff. At one time, for about 10 years we were "wholesalers" ; buy a trade-in from one Harley dealer, or anywhere else and then selling it to a Franchised Harley Dealer. We did have a used motorcycle/ car/truck dealership. Harley dealers, at least the ones we worked with, would not deal between other Harley dealers; thus we saw an opportunity. Those Harley's were only a year old usually. People bought them and for whatever reason; they wanted to sell them. The selling dealer would not take them back, unless they were buying a new one. Sounds strange but that worked for us. We would take all trade-in motorcycles, so a lot of Japanese stuff too.

I still go to several vintage/antique motorcycle shows a year. say, Antique Motorcycle Club of America, bikes have to be 35 years old to be on the show fields and fleamarkets. So at one time it was all Harleys and Indians; but now the Japanese stuff is really coming too. A lot of restoration businesses selling all kinds of parts. The American bikes dominated the scene for years; but now due to the 35 year cut-off; Japanese bikes are being restored, at a higher rate that the American stuff.

For instance, July 7,8,9, at the Mid-Ohio Sportscar Racetrack and surrounding area, we are going to a huge vintage meet, not sponsored by the for mentioned AMCA but rather the AMA. Though this is a mostly a Japanese, British, European; Harleys and Indians do show up. If you want to see hundreds, no thousands of vintage motorcycles, this a a good place to go. Google it, Vintage Motorcycle Days 2016.

So, 50's -60's Harley's or Honda's. Oh by the way the first Honda imported for sale in the USA was in 1958, some books show it as 1959, it was a 1959 model.

I am fortunate to have both, so I see both.

Have fun riding and keep the rubber side down.

oldracer

 

Hopefully my $33,000+ machine won't see much mud either.....However it will see snow this winter on my curvy, hilly road!

 

I bought my 2003 Honda Shadow brand new in Feb. 2004. I got it for 4000 dollars cash off the showroom floor. Just the other day when getting off work, I was approached and offered 2000 dollars right there for it. 50% of what I paid 12 years ago, that´s not bad resale value there. Of course I did make some mods.

 

Not a Honda.....

 

Are you guys telling me that my Tacoma is going to lose power, leak oil and shake parts off we're going down the road????? Cool!!!!




I've ridden everything, but you see what my preference is.

 

...^^^... Yep ... that was about the same vintage ... ... loved those little trucks ... I had forgotten it came standard WITHOUT a rear bumper ... ... lol ...

Rear bumper, radio & A/C, right side mirror & etc. were not standard back then ... and now the present day "road weenies" cry about lack of power seats, lumbar supports & food massagers.
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A/C was rare, but I had it in the south ...

 

It was a good little truck, only got rid of it because I needed 4 wheel drive because I was being stationed up at Great Lakes, just north of Chicago. I traded it in for my 91 V6 DX single cab with a 5 speed. Looked just like this. Kept the 91 for 12 years until it finally succomned to the notorious head gasket failure for the 3.0l V6. Truck still had a bench seat, no AC, manual windows, no cruise.

As far as I know that little 86 truck is still probably on the road in San Diego some where.