Although it has been around in North America since 2005 as Honda's sole pickup truck, the mid-size Ridgeline pickup is not exactly a success story. So, what can be done to change that?
Whenever we talk about the current Honda Ridgeline unibody mid-size pickup truck, it seems like it is not for positive reasons. And in most cases, it is not even the story's hero. For example, we have recently lamented how Tesla's long-awaited Cybertruck full-size EV pickup truck has gone from an exoskeleton marvel to a larger unibody Honda Ridgeline rival.
Also, back in early April, when the first quarter sales were revealed for the US automotive market, the Ford Maverick was again crowned as America's best-selling compact unibody pickup truck. The pocket-sized rival of the Hyundai Santa Cruz achieved 21,478 units during Q1 of 2023, while the latter could not even cross the 10k threshold. Anyway, since it is also based on a unibody chassis, the Honda Ridgeline was also shoved in for reference, as the mid-size pickup truck had almost 13k deliveries during the period.
It might sound all right at first sight, but remember that the Ridgeline dukes it out with the D41 Nissan Frontier, Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, or the Ford Ranger. Oh, and not to mention the current 2023 Tacoma best-seller, which is due for replacement (soon) but still fared a lot better than its Honda competitor, with 53,182 units sold during the first quarter! Well, it is only natural for Honda fans to believe that something needs to be done (and fast) with the Ridgeline to ensure its survival.
And while Honda refreshed the ailing pickup truck for the 2021 model year with updates across the board, some people feel that more is needed. And a few folks have even taken matters into their hands. Or, rather, at the tip of their CGI brushes, as is the case with the imaginative realm of digital car content creators. For example, some pixel masters think a second facelift is the best way to increase the hype.
Others, on the contrary, might believe that only drastic measures can make the cut. So, here is Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YouTube, who has not only taken up the task of revealing an all-new generation of the Ridgeline truck – in CGI but also decided the 2025 model year needs to be fully electric to stand out in the pickup crowd.
Curiously, the design does not necessarily adopt any Honda Prologue EV crossover cues and instead mixes EV styling with rugged truck details like beefy black plastic fender flares and massive wheels shod in AT tires – plus, the rear still has (fake) exhaust outlets! That is an odd treatment, right?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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