2006 Honda Ridgeline First Drive

Introduction

Once upon a time, there lived a family of three bears in need of a new set of wheels. The Poppa Bear, a burly fella who enjoyed dirt bike riding in the desert, liked big and tough trucks. He despised cars, but his wife didn’t like frivolous waste. Yes, the mother bear was a practical lady who appreciated efficiency, fuel economy, and was partial to cars well built with good safety features. The little she-cub didn’t care one way or another as long as her porridge was warm and her bed was soft.

After much hibernating on what to buy, the Bear family purchased a 2006 Honda Ridgeline.

Later, while taking part in a Detroit-based consumer focus group, Poppa Bear growled and told the man that well, the Ridgeline was everything the Bear family needed and wanted, no more, no less. Smartly built and innovative, the Honda Ridgeline was the perfect truck for the suburban lifestyle. And then, Poppa Bear asked why the automakers that had been building trucks for decades could not come up with a vehicle like the Ridgeline.

Oops.
While this bear family may be a take on a classic tale, the point is the same: the 2006 Honda Ridgeline is not too big, not too small and not too rough – for many families, it’s just about right for what they need from a truck. As a result, the Ridgeline is a ruler slap across the cheek of Detroit’s Truck Nation. Whack. Whatcha got? Right now, nothing really like the Ridgeline, so fellas, better get those rebate checks written for the Ranger, Dakota and the Colorado.