There is no fairness in this world, only a collective allowance for a generalized unfairness. The Honda Ridgeline is a truck I’ve long enjoyed driving. It’s neither too big nor too small. It handles well and provides good visibility. For the size, it’s relatively efficient. Honda has to stop building for emissions at the same time that Ram is bringing back a bunch of V8-powered trucks.
What’s the deal? I’ll use The Morning Dump to explore this bit of what may seem like unfairness. Volvo has been on the bad end of a lot of sudden government policy changes its leadership probably views as unfair, so it’s a relief that the automaker will at least get some allowance to sell cars in spite of its Chinese ownership. This is less of an issue in Europe, where Chinese automakers continue to grow at a rapid pace.
That’s all heavy, so I want to end on one of the best-looking Ford GT40s I’ve ever seen, which is for sale.
Not Everyone Is Free Of The Consequences Of California Emissions
This should go without saying, but as a truck-pilled Texan I am quite glad to see the return of the V8 across the Ram lineup. That’s not a slight against the Hurricane Six, it’s just that I think people should have the choice of a loud, fun, capable V8.
People also should have the choice of a V6-powered Honda Ridgeline, which for the vast majority of people is probably the more sensible option. I’ve put a ton of miles on Ridgelines and I’ve always liked them. These are basically unibody/truck versions of the same platform that underpins the Pilot and Passport, albeit with the older version of the engine and a different transmission. You get the advantage of a bed in a vehicle that’s way more crossover-feeling and comfortable. Given my general thriftiness, the more affordable Maverick does something similar for a much lower price, but the Ridgeline has its specific charms as well.
Because the world is a zany and contradictory place, Ram is able to sell both the Hemi V8-powered Ram 1500 and the new Hellcat-powered Rumble Bee, as well as the supercharged Ram TRX. The TRX and Hemi V8 1500 are for sale now, and the Rumble Bee is eventually coming. You know what’s reportedly going to go away for a while? The Ridgeline.
By comparison, the current inline-six RHO gets 15 MPG combined, the TRX gets 12 MPG combined, and the Ridgeline gets 21 MPG. I’m sure the Rumble Bee will get something like 0.00008 MPG the way I’d drive it. While this isn’t an exact 1-for-1 for emissions, this basically tracks with the greenhouse gas emissions of each. So would you believe that the Ridgeline is the truck that’s going away for emissions reasons? What’s happening here?
Honda is the most California of automakers and sells a lot of vehicles in the state. It’s also one of a half dozen automakers that had to make individual deals with the California Air Resources Board over its past emissions violations. While the Trump Administration has pulled the penalties for violating fuel economy regulations at the national level and is also trying to remove California’s ability to set its own standards, the existing deals these automakers made with the State of California remain in place.
According to Automotive News, quoting “people with knowledge of the [Ridgeline] plan,” the current V6 in the Ridgeline wouldn’t meet emissions regulations, so it’s going on hiatus while the company retools to create a highly refreshed version to holdover until the new, larger hybrid architecture arrives:
Honda is one of six automakers still obligated to improve vehicle efficiency under California rules through the 2026 model year despite the Trump administration’s moves to reduce environmental regulations.
[…]
The Ridgeline’s impending hiatus stems from Honda’s strategic pivot away from an ambitious electric vehicle strategy.
Debate over the Ridgeline’s future direction, combined with heavy resources previously dedicated to EV development, contributed to the need for an 18-month production gap, one of the people said.
Supplier-related constraints further complicated Honda’s ability to maintain continuous production during the transition to an updated model.
The story goes on to say that Pilot and Passport production should increase to make up for the loss of Ridgeline inventory.
Honda hasn’t confirmed the reporting, but also hasn’t denied it. So what about Ram? Curiously, Stellantis is also one of the automakers who has a deal with the California Air Resources Board. Its deal runs through MY2026 as well, and many of these new, high-performance trucks are 2027 or later, so that’s possibly a way the company gets around the deal. Plus, Ram could easily not sell in California and be happy shoveling trucks to other states, whereas that’s a harder pill to swallow for Honda. Plus, the Ridgeline isn’t a huge seller in general, so it just doesn’t make sense.
Volvo Can Sell Cars With Chinese-Developed Software In The United States
Volvo is very much a Chinese-owned company under Geely ownership, and one area where Volvo seems to hope to compete is on software. Concerned about security and industrial policy, the Biden Administration basically knocked down all Chinese-built cars. While that policy remains in place, the government can give waivers to automakers and a case-by-case basis, which is what seems to have happened with Volvo.
Volvo Cars has been granted a specific authorization from the Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services under the “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain: Connected Vehicles” rule in the United States.
Under the rule Volvo Car USA was required to follow a process with the US Department of Commerce to obtain a specific authorization for the continued import and sale of connected cars in the US. The process is carried out on a case-by-case basis and the issuance of a specific authorization follows constructive discussions with the US Department of Commerce and other US officials regarding Volvo Cars’ governance, technology and data security.
Reading between the lines, Volvo’s CEO last week told The Autopian that both the XC60 and a three-row vehicle was going to get produced in South Carolina. This administration is big on investment in the US, so you can imagine how that conversation went.
European Car Sales Rise 4.2% As Chinese Automakers, Hybrids Soar
Even with higher fuel prices, the EU saw a 4.2% year-over-year rise in car sales, led by hybrids and Chinese automakers. According to the ACEA, new EU car registrations were 38.2% hybrid, 22.5% gas, 19.7% BEV, 9.6% PHEV, and just 7.7% diesel. Nearly every major automaker was either positive or, at least, low single-digit negative.
The fastest growing automakers were almost all Chinese, with Geely growing 9.1% and supplanting Ford on the list of the ten largest in Europe (EU + UK + EFTA). SAIC grew by 35.3%, BYD by 114.5%, and Chery by 323.3%. Leapmotor was up by a whopping 403.7%.
For traditional-ish automakers, Tesla finally saw a bump by 46.5% year-over-year, but the company was in the middle of transitioning to a new Model Y last year and otherwise had an awful 2025 as Europeans decided they didn’t want to deal with CEO Elon Musk’s nonsense. I’ll be watching sales in June to see how much has changed for the American automaker.
Maybe The Prettiest GT40 Ever Built Is Up For Sale
Things I am a sucker for:
- Le Mans anything
- Ford GT40s
- Soft greens
- Items related to race car driver Innes Ireland
This 1965 Ford GT40, for sale by Broad Arrow Private Sales, is basically the perfect mix of all of these proclivities.
Chassis P1006 was one of 56 GT40 MK. 1 racing cars produced for the 1965 World Sportscar Championship. It was delivered new in June 1965 to Ford Advanced Vehicles finished in Linden Green with white stripes and as the first car to sport the MK. 1 front panel, the distinct “Le Mans” nose featured in some way on all subsequent GT models. One of six GT40s in Ford’s lineup at the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans, P1006 was piloted by 1961 U.S Formula One Grand Prix winner Innes Ireland and 1961 British Touring Car Championship winner Sir John Whitmore, who managed the tenth fastest time in practice.
The 1965 race was sort of a disaster for Ford, and set into motion a lot of what you see in the Ford v Ferrari film. Who cares? This car, in Linden Green (Tree Green), is phenomenal. I named my black, super basic stickshift Ford Escort “Innes” after the racecar driver (who is actually Scottish) so, given a few extra million dollars sitting around, I’d definitely consider this.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Given enough time, I may do every song from the new Kacey Musgraves album here, but for the moment let’s enjoy “Dry Spell” and the equally enjoyable, quietly hilarious video that goes along with it.
The Big Question
What’s your favorite non-body-on-frame truck?
Top shot: Stellantis/Honda
Maybe Honda should just work out a badge-engineered deal with Stellantis to provide them with Hemi-equipped RAM trucks to sell with a Honda logo on the hood. Call it the Ridgeline XL or something.
Best non-BOF truck? My Maverick, of course! I rarely need the bed and when I do, 4.5 feet has been fine. It’s comfortable enough to road trip. There’s room for my dogs in the back seat. Finally, I bought the hybrid, so I average about 40 mpg. What’s not to like?
Edit: I actually think the Hyundai Santa Cruz looks better.
Hyundai has been seriously remiss in not offering a hybrid SC.
Yep! The numbers on the Maverick just made a lot more sense.
1984 Dodge Rampage — the four-headlight facelift got it just right.
My second pick after the Rabbit Ute
Were those two the only FWD pickuplettes sold in the U.S.? (I’m lumpting the Plymouth Scamp in with the Rampage)
in the 1980s I mean — obviously more now
I guess it depends on how you would classify the Subaru BRAT?
Ah, right, some of those were FWD not AWD?
Right, Subaru usually offered a choice of FWD or on-demand AWD in their models at the time. So even then, the AWD cars were operating in FWD until the driver selected otherwise.
The honda pilot is a basic pickup which isn’t the trend anymore so I don’t think to many people are gonna be sad
I’ll always be partial to the first-generation Saveiro with the basic 1300 flat-4, especially with the alcohol jets.
It seems like Honda should be able to just slap the newer V6 in and keep rolling if the Pilot and Passport are ok to keep selling.
That line about supplier constraints makes me think parts supply for the V6 is why they can’t. They want that engine to go into the Pilot/Passport since those sell for more money and volume than the Ridgeline does. Honda has 5 trims of Pilot that start at $2k more than the Highest trim Ridgeline.
Nakamichi was once a Japanese manufacturer of high-end cassette decks. When the CD era came along, they failed to keep up and became insolvent. A Chinese manufacturer bought the branding and now they sell mediocre electronics under the once-hallowed name.
This comment is about Volvo.
As an old school Nakamichi owner, this post made me both nostalgic and sad.
There was a middle ground when the original Nak tried outsourcing manufacturing to Malaysia near the end of their existence. Hastened their decline.
Still have my Nakamichi receiver and tape deck from the late 80s. Bought a Sony CD player, tho. None of it gets much use these days
Used to have an og nakamichi dragon tape deck. Sold it and the system it was integrated (bridged dual Bryson 4b, oracle Delphi mk1 turntable, adcom preamp, magnaplanar MG-1 speakers and an altec lf-1 subwoofer) to move across the country. I periodically kick myself metaphorically over that decision.
TBQ: the best non-BOF truck? Gotta be the Subie BRAT, hands down!
If anyone’s screaming about Chinese developed software, they need to get their head checked. Software development is so unbelievably global with fixes, patches, developers working from all over the globe that it would be neigh impossible to consider anything free from “X” software.
Though, a world being free from X, aka Twitter, would be most welcome.
My favorite non-BOF truck is the Jeep Comanche.
Honda: The Ridgeline, Pilot, Passport all need to be hybrids. No reason to have a thirsty V6 in 2026, especially one with a fricking timing belt.
I like the idea of the Ridgeline, but I think it’s getting long in the tooth and would be much more popular if it didn’t get the same, if not worse, mileage than some full-sizes. A hybrid car-based truck bigger than the Maverick would probably sell pretty well.
Good one… forgot the Comanche was part unibody. I rescind my WV vote.
In practice my friend’s dad gets worse mpg in his ’21 ridgeline than my friend does in his ’24 Tundra Hybrid. Honda really dropped the ball by not making the current gen Pilot/Passport platform a hybrid. The Ridgeline/Odyssey are prime for that too, and they’re still on the old platform. Our ’25 Pilot gets atrocious fuel economy for lackluster performance, sounds phenomenal though
Is the 6000SUX coming back ?
Yeah, but you can’t buy it for a dollar anymore… Inflation, y’know.
No, only the G000LE…oh, I mean 6000LE. “I’d buy that for a dollar!”
TBQ: since monster trucks and stadium trucks are technically paper-thin body on tubular spaceframe, it’s probably VW Rabbit Pickup/Golf Caddy. It’s a Ute, but cute. And also my grandpa had a diesel one at some point.
The Ridgeline is getting long at the tooth, what only 2 generations since 2006 or so? I know my old ’05 MDX on this platform got 21 mpg on a great day of only highway cruising. Normal was more like 17. I suspect the current Ridgeline is about the same. Hybrid tech can help, but there is only so much that can be done to move these masses through the air at speed. Physics always wins.
My Ram 1500 Hurricane on 33″ Duratracs can get 21+ on the highway. I was averaging almost 22 on a road trip last weekend till I hit the mountains. I ended up with 20.5mpg avg for the entire 800-mile trip, and I only filled it once around the 530 mile mark, I got home with a little over half a tank left.
Bingo. Highway on all these vehicles is around 21 mpg. I had an ’89 Cherokee, a ’99 Grand Cherokee, an ’05 MDX and now a “13 Highlander. Overall fuel economy is a wash between them.
Dad and I drove down to Florida in March to settle my grandmother’s estate. We took my ’13 Highlander over his ’15 Escape. My n/a V6 Highlander gets the same highway mileage (22 or so) as his I4 turbo Ford. Plus we had more room for the items the family wanted to preserve.
My 14 Ram Hemi, also on 33″ tires, gets 19+ on the highway.
Well…the Tacoma just began it’s 4th generation since 1995. So there’s precedent for decade long cycles.
But that was always the norm for trucks. A 1980 and 1995 F-150 only differ in some sheet metal, interior appoinments and engine controls. Same with a Chevy C/K from ’73 through ’87. Dodge ran the same truck from ’75 to ’93 roughly.
Honda has lost its way. They do ICE very well. The vehicles are practically secondary to that. They never wanted to be in the EV space but had to be for regulatory reasons. Electric motors and batteries aren’t the kind of engineering that Honda execs wanted to commit to. So they pulled back. I’m not sure of a Honda vehicle I’d buy at the moment. Maybe a Prologue but that’s a Chevy Equinox in Honda drag.
Their civic hybrid is best in class. Honda can totally do hybrids. They fucked up going full electric.
What’s your favorite non-body-on-frame truck?
Tough choice. I’m between the VW Rabbit pickup and the Corvair Pickup. I like these because they offer a lot of utility/cargo space in a vehicle with a small footprint. Plus, both look really cool. If I had to pick one, I’d go with a diesel Rabbit pickup. Yeah, 0-60 is yes or no question, but I find something oddly appealing about these little oil burners.
While I’m not a huge fan of the current unibody pickup trucks because I dislike trucks with very short beds, the Maverick and Ridgeline are both great vehicles. I would be genuinely interested in either if they came in an extended cab/long-ish bed (6+ feet) configuration. If either came in PHEV form, I might even get over my bias against truck beds shorter than 6 feet.
Incidentally, I can’t believe the sheer stupidity of writing a law that discourages the Ridgeline. This law assumes people are buying pickup trucks just to be annoying. While many pickup owners buy more truck than they need, most use at least some of the utility that a pickup offers. If nothing else, no one is cross shopping an F150 with a Civic Hybrid, but I’m sure at least some people shopping for an F150 consider a truck like the Ridgeline. I can’t wrap my head around the logic of writing a law that makes it harder to sell one of the more fuel-efficient pickup trucks in the name of reducing fuel consumption.
Loopholes – always loopholes. The reason fleet fuel economy has barely budged in 40 years is loopholes. Light trucks were exempt, so the automakers made us all want to buy light trucks. No legislation is perfect.
Easy solution. Tax the hell out of gas. People will move to vehicles with greater fuel economy.
Side effect: you might get a welfare state too.
Unfortunately, those with the least means are most affected. I can pay more for gas, but some single mother working a waitressing job likely can’t.
Welfare state could help that single mother with government funded (tax-derived) subsidies.
Can’t disagree, but these are harder to come by for those that actually need them. Our current government is downright hostile towards these sorts of subsidy.
You are in Europe, correct? The situation here in the US will boggle your mind.
I am indeed, hence the welfare state remark.
I know things are not good on your side of the pond. 🙁
No legislation is perfect, but this legislation seems particularly bad. This law appears to single out one of the more fuel efficient options within its class. While the current administration presumably isn’t making it easy to write legislation to improve fuel economy, I don’t believe this law has to be written in a way that discourages one of the more fuel efficient pickup trucks available because it is not as efficient as a subcompact car.
The thing is, it’s not really that fuel efficient. It gets about the same as most of the full-size half tons, possibly WORSE in certain scenarios.
Physics always wins. I owned an ’89 Cherokee, a ’99 Grand Cherokee, an ’05 MDX, and now a ’13 Highlander. All of them got the exact shame shitty fuel economy. 14 local, 21 highway. This is what these vehicles get. A larger Tahoe gets the exact same milage as my Highlander. Dad and I drove my Highlander to Florida a few months ago because we would have saved nothing on fuel taking his Escape.
My PHEV Escape gets 45-50 in my regular use, and gets 38 on the highway with no charging.
Everything I have read about real world MPG suggests the Ridgeline gets, on average, 2-3 mpg better than other currently available midsize and half ton pickup trucks. This doesn’t turn it into a Prius or Metro, but again, no one is cross shopping an F150 with a subcompact car. If a Ridgeline averages 21 mpg and an F150 averages 19, that will save around 750 gallons of gas over 150k miles. That may not mean much to an individual driver, but that is going to add up quickly if you consider how many pickup trucks are used as daily drivers.
Sorry, Gulf Oil livery or go home.
I could dig a VW Rabbit ute.
The Gulf livery is iconic, but that green is pretty.
US and CARB don’t really care about CO2 so fuel economy is basically irrelevant.
Honda needed a hybrid for that platform yesterday
It’s such a no-brainer that each time I’ve heard the rumor that one is coming (I think it’s been rumored a couple times), I have believed it. And been disappointed, of course.
The 1971 or 1972 Chevrolet C10 short bed step side pickup has always been my favorite pickup. I’ve had 2, and would love another some day.
I am one of those European driving hybrid sales up in May. Although not from a Chinese manufacturer.
But if they start building cars specifically for us (and they are good), such as the Dolphin G, I wouldn’t mind having one.
The current Ridgeline is based on the previous chassis for the Pilot, etc..
It also uses the previous (SOHC) version of the J-series V6, and the ZF 9 speed that people generally don’t love.
Right now is the perfect time for Honda to update the Ridgeline to the newer chassis, add the (excellent looking) boxy styling from the passport, and update the driveline to the current DOHC V6 and 10 speed (Honda, not ZF) auto.
Then… also offer the turbo version of the V6 as an option (like in the Acura MDX) but detuned a little for regular gas, and also uprate the towing to 6,000 lbs.
With the small/medium truck market gaining steam (and competition) it would be stupid to bail on the Ridgeline as a product. Make it boxier, more “truck like”, and it will sell.
There you go Honda.
I like that, but that decision would likely take several years to implement. The 3.5 DOHC and 10 speed auto might not take longer than 12 months to implement and would instantly improve MPGs while also buying some time before a new generation gets announced.
They could definitely pull a Frontier here, where they added the 3.8 / 9spd for the last couple years of the 2nd gen before switching to the 3rd gen with the same powertrain.
Some people may not like how the ZF9 feels to drive due to its design, but I’ve read that the Honda 10-speed has had reliability issues. I don’t know whether that is still ongoing, but if I were shopping today I would probably take the more proven ZF.
12 MPG of “Premium” gasoline. On the plus side, I heard it comes with the Punisher sticker pre-installed, and a three-month supply of BlueChew™
I had never heard of BlueChew until I saw an ad yesterday and wish I could go back in time to before then.
My wife and I have gotten BlueChew ads daily for the past month or so. We have no idea why YouTube feels the need to shove it down our throats!
On that note, we also get a campaign ad for some guy running for superintendent or whatever in California. Why are we getting campaign ads for people we can’t even vote for?
I kinda like when I have less than 0 interest in a targeted ad. That much easier to ignore.
I think the Ridgeline is a great little truck, but the Maverick has made it obsolete. With the hybrid now available with AWD and 4k towing, it can do nearly everything the Ridgeline can with much better efficiency at a lower price, and it looks a bit better, too.
I dig the dual swinging tailgate and the trunk, but neither of those would sway me to a Ridgeline.
This is probably for the best, since these two sell far better anyway.
I’m not sure what Honda will be able to do to put enough space between the Ridgeline and the Maverick, but I hope they can pull something off with the new hybrid system. Maybe if they can somehow increase towing and payload while reaching 30+ MPG in normal driving?
I keep on wanting to like the Ridgeline, and I have held out hope for a hybrid version for years. At this point, hope has faded significantly for me. By the time a hybrid Ridgeline comes to market, we’ll likely see another generation of the Maverick, along with Toyota and Ram’s version, which will only further make this new Honda irrelevant. A hybrid Pilot/Passport/Odyssey will sell well, though.
The Ridgeline has never really gotten better fuel economy than the mid-size competition. While commenters love to say how good it is (it’s fine) it wasn’t exactly cheap either. The biggest advantage is that it drove more carlike than the competition, and it has a cool tailgate. Everything else is a total wash to the midsize competition.
My FIL has a Ridgeline, and it’s great. But it isn’t good enough that I’d clearly buy one over a Colorado, Tacoma or Ranger. I’d likely be seeing what one I could get cheapest.
Fully agreed on all points. I would have been really interested in it if it could do 28-30 mpg and was 10k cheaper, but it’s just too thirsty and expensive and has to completely win over buyers based on improved interior space and ride/handling from the unibody.
Unfortunately, in this segment it makes more sense to either go with the increased towing and off-road capability of the BoF competitors or even just step up to a low-trim F-150 for the same price and substantially more capability since you get the same fuel economy.
Or just buy the damn minivan.
Pardon my stupidity, but doesn’t the Ridgeline use the exact same V6 as these two, AND the Odyssey?
What gives?
Same size, but the new Pilot and Passport have moved on to the updated V6. The Odyssey I think still uses the older version, but they might be able to keep selling it since it gets better mileage (something like 24 combined?).
Ah. That makes sense. Thanks!
Emissions and mileage are two different things.
Correct. On a Ram owner’s truck, the mileage will be very low, while the emissions will be very high when they remove the cats and put a crackle tune on it.
Yep. Most likely Cherry Bombs.
Do those still exist? I swear they all just seem to run straight pipes these days.
Yep. You can buy them at Summit Racing
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/imm-87529cb
Obligatory link
https://youtu.be/igmhXalAsiI