Though rumors suggested the Honda Ridgeline could ride into the sunset within the next few years, the automaker is putting such speculation about the unibody pickup to rest.
Sage Marie, Honda Truck Product Planning Manager, posted a blog-style letter on the automaker’s media site about the future of the company’s Ridgeline truck. Marie writes that the “Ridgeline has a significant role in the Honda line-up and it is expected to continue in the foreseeable future.”
The automaker maintains that it will stay committed to the Ridgeline and its customers who wanted a pick-up truck from Honda. Honda says that fresh styling cues, improved fuel efficiency, and a new Sport model for the 2012 model year prove that its lone truck model is still alive and kicking. Whether a mild facelift and a new trim package reinvigorate sales of the aging model, which originally launched as a 2006 model, remains to be seen.
Marie wrote that it was too early to disclose future plans for the Ridgeline nameplate, but did hint that a successor — whenever it does appear — would build on the current truck’s “fundamental strengths, and will remain an important part of the Honda product portfolio.”
What would you like to see incorporated into the next-generation Honda Ridgeline? Send your wish list to us in the comments section below.
