Sometime soon Jalopnik is going to have to decide if it wants to be a car site of a driving site.

That is a great point. Modern trucks really fail in the fit-in-garageness category. (and what a great name for a category that is!)

Exactly. A little over a decade ago (when the truck market was still somewhat sane) I really wanted a compact truck. I couldn’t justify it. Fullsizes cost the same, got about the same milage, and were more powerful. Why would I buy a compact?

There is one outside with a trailer behind it. Want me to snap a picture?

They don’t need to be competitive, they need to cost less. It’s less truck after all.

Not to mention everyone with a bmw, corvette or even *gasp* a miata.

The ridgeline will fail because it’s too expensive. Yes, it’s all the truck most people will ever need. But for the same money you can have way more truck than you’ll ever need too. Who is going to pass up on free truck?

If you compare the current trucks to the recently discontinued ridgeline, the current trucks get much better milage.

That is going to be rather subjective. I’m willing to bet that reliability wise, the ridgeline is going to be behind the at least 2 of the large volume traditional trucks. Those manufacturers have been making them a while now, they’ve had plenty of time to work out the various bugs.

You idea of an average person is very lucky. I want to live in your world.

It’s a 1 to 5 ratio. For every sofa of your own you move, you have to move 5 of your friends bed stands. Hey, I don’t make these rules.

Maybe “real” wasn’t the best term. Let’s use “traditional” instead. Todays traditional trucks ride pretty well. Not quiet as good as a sport sedan sure, but suspensions do a good job of controlling body roll. The difference is just not that great, unless you plan to race it (and most people are not planning to race…

That could well be true in your part of the world. Here trucks owners far outnumber dude bros (we have no shortage of bros). Trucks outnumber cars. Truck is the default vehicle to buy. People don’t rationalize buying trucks, they rationalize buying not trucks.

College kids, or people whose kids are in college, or who have friends who are moving for one reason or another. That starts to describe a lot of people.

I’m sure the image has a lot to do with it, but what I’m trying to point out is that people buy more truck that they need because it’s a much better deal. You pay less, get better mpg, cheaper to insure, and you get more capability as a plus. So what if you might never use it, they are paying you to take it!

The last ridgeline got 15/21. Meanwhile the F150 gets 19/26. So you get a smaller truck with worse economy. Whats the point?

Will it ride better and handle better than a traditional pickup in a way that the average driver will notice? Because todays trucks ride and handle pretty well (for their size. The are a huge pain to park, in my opinion).

Really? You never helped a friend move from one apt to another, or had to do so yourself?

Sweet rocket ship bro!

Alright, suppose I am in the market for a pickup and I’m sold by your argument that I don’t need all the pickup the the F150/Silverado/Ram offers. How much money will the ridgeline save me? Far to often, the amount is far too close to zero. So why not buy a “real” full size truck?