Honda Ridgeline

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NEW TRUCK PREVIEW: 2021 Honda Ridgeline

The 2021 Honda Ridgeline will debut early next year with a pronounced redesign. It will showcase the pickup truck’s road and off-road versatility while retaining the tradition of its renowned for unibody design. The Ridgeline will continue to feature an extra-wide stance on an extra-wide standard bed. The manufacturer claims it’s the only truck that can flat-carry four-foot-wide items between its wheel wells. All 2021 Honda Ridgeline trims will include a 3.5-liter, direct-injected V6 engine producing 280 horsepower and a nine-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive is standard of RTL-E and Black Editions. It’s optional on Sport and RTL trims. With its unibody construction and independent rear suspension, the Ridgeline also comes standard with a washable, lockable in-bed trunk. It offers

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#139, Cars.com index reveals ‘Made in America’ gains importance

Kelsey Mays, senior consumer affairs and vehicle evaluations editor for Cars.com, knows what it means for the industry and consumers when a vehicle is made in America. It means a lot. According to research from Cars.com in its recently released 2020 American-Made Index (AMI), 70 percent of shoppers consider a car’s U.S. economic impact a significant or deciding factor in their vehicle purchase. Mays is our guest this week on Episode #139 of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss with Mays the 15th AMI and how during the COVID-19 pandemic it has further impacted Americans’ desire to “buy local.” The survey found 37 percent of consumers report they are more likely to buy an American-made

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Pickup trucks not perfect, but 5 make safety priority

Pickup trucks always seem safe. Sitting high off the road and in a vehicle with all-wheel drive or 4WD capacity provides a sense of security. But trucks don’t always have top safety ratings. No 2020 pickup trucks so far have received a Top Safety Pick or a Top Safety Pick+ — the highest ratings — according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Not all 2020 models have IIHS ratings yet, but at least three reasons contribute to trucks’ surprising ratings. Do pickup trucks seem too safe? Truck drivers, feeling safe, sometimes drive too aggressively in inclement weather. Pickup trucks often have body-on-frame construction and accident impact results are often severe. Some automakers may also focus on their cars

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Ford rules best used trucks for $10,000

With its dominance in new truck sales, it only seems logical the Ford has the same good reputation used truck sales. It does, and it’s good news for truck buyers with a budget of $10,000 whether in the market for a work truck or a vehicle to tow an RV or boat. Chris Ford, a writer for HotCars.com, has compiled an interesting list featuring used trucks from 1999 to 2018 — all in the affordable $10,000 price range. As the best-selling vehicles in the United States for more than 40 years, Ford has five trucks on the list, dating from 1999 to 2014. Chevrolet has three vehicles on the list, dating from 2004 to 2014. Toyota is represented by two

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Toyota Land Cruiser, Honda Ridgeline top 200K list

The Honda Ridgeline is arguably the most unusually designed truck on the road. It has a large fan base and detractors. But one area in which there’s no disagreement, the Ridgeline has the best longevity of any of its competitors. Although the Toyota Land Cruiser has the top ranking, the Ridgeline is among the three trucks in the top-15 vehicles reaching 20,000 miles, according to iseecars.com. The result of the survey makes a good case for consumers considering buying a used vehicle instead of purchasing a new car or truck. The iSeeCars.com site is a comprehensive platform for all car buyers. It calculated data from more than one million vehicles to determine the models and manufacturers with the highest percentage

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Is Ford soon announcing a new pickup truck for 20K?

It may be called the Courier or the Ranchero. It currently has the codename 758. For now, it’s wait and see as Ford is likely to officially announce a new, small pickup truck with a base cost of less than $20,000. The unnamed vehicle, according to various industry publications, will debut in late 2021 with perhaps a return to the new of two former iconic vehicles. Ford has used the Courier nameplate on several cars and trucks, dating to the early 1950s and ending less than a decade ago in Brazil. Ranchero was the name of the coupe utility vehicle made by Ford from 1957 to 1979. The new truck, which has been discussed for several years, will continue Ford’s

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Buyer beware: Average price for a new pick-up truck now $50,000

Considering buying a new pick-up truck? Beware. Just like new cars, the average price of a new pickup truck in the United States has increased. It’s now around $50,000, according to automotive analytics businesses like Edmunds and JD Power. With its calculations, the average price of a new pick-up truck in 2019, according to Edmunds.com was $49,543; JD Power determined the average 2019 new truck price was $51,700. Not all manufacturers’ 2020 models have been unveiled, but the average price is expected to further increase. Regardless of the source, the new pick-up truck average cost is the highest in history. Various financial incentives and rebates lower the prices, but industry analysts say truck prices have increased about three percent annually

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TheWeeklyDriver.com’s 2019 Best Cars, Trucks

Welcome to the 13th annual Best Cars and Trucks of the Year list, selected by TheWeeklyDriver.com. As is our logical way, we wait until the end of the year to name our selections. As in previous years, the 2019 choices were selected only from the list of 35-40 cars and trucks manufacturers provided for weekly reviews. Co-host Bruce Aldrich and I will discuss the list on The Weekly Driver Podcast. The 10 vehicles on the 2019 Best Cars, Trucks list include manufacturers from the United States, South Korea and Japan. The Weekly Driver has been writing about our main automotive vent for years. How do prestigious industry publications determine their vehicles-of-the-year selections before the calendar year starts? Selecting a list

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Honda, Acura finish long Takata fiasco with 1.6 airbag recalls

Honda and Acura are recalling 1.6 million cars dating from 2001 to 2015 in the manufacturers’ last phase of a several-year recall of potentially deadly Takata front passenger airbag inflators. The airbags, made with the chemical ammonium nitrate, are prone to exploding upon deployment, potentially hurling fiery shrapnel into passengers. Twenty-four people have been killed and hundreds injured by the inflators worldwide. When the newly announce recall is complete, Honda says it will have recalled or accounted for 22.6 million inflators in about 12.9 million vehicles. Affected Honda models include the 2001-2012 Accord, the 2010-2015 Crosstour, the 2001-2011 Civic, 2002-2011 CR-V, the 2011-2015 CR-Z, the 2003-2011 Element, the 2007-2014 Fit, the 2010-2014 Insight, the 2002-2004 Odyssey, the 2003-2015 Pilot and the

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2019 Ford Ranger back but with a few warts, flat tires

After an eight-year absence, the Ford Ranger was re-introduced to the North American market late last year as a 2019 model. It marked a 60-year timestamp since the nameplate’s debut on a 1958 Edsel Ranger. The Ranger name was first used on a pickup in 1983 when Ford replaced the Ford Courier. With its return, the Ford Ranger is now mid-sized, comparable to its sibling, the Ford Explorer Sport Trac. The latter debuted in 2006 and was discounted a few years later. The new Ranger is available as a SuperCab (2+2 door extended cab with 6-foot bed) and SuperCrew (4-door crew cab with 5-foot bed). The SuperCab’s bed is 72.8 inches long, 44.8 inches wide. During its first tenure, the

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Toyota Sequoia tops vehicles achieving 200,000 miles

Which cars are proven to last the longest for their drivers? It’s a question the website iSeeCars.com wanted answered. Analyzing more than 13.8 million vehicles, the online automotive search engine and research website determined the Toyota Sequoia tops the list, with 7.4 percent of its vehicles reaching at least 200,000 miles. The average among major manufacturers is 0.8 percent. Here are the top 14 vehicles with the highest percentage of its vehicles reaching at least 200,000 miles: 1. Toyota Sequoia, 7.4 percent; 2. Chevrolet Suburban, 5.0; 3. Ford Expedition, 5.0; 4. GMC Yukon XL, 4.0; 5. Toyota 4Runner, 3.9; 6. Chevrolet Tahoe, 3.8; 7. Toyota Highlander Hybrid, 3.1; 8. Honda Ridgeline, 3.0; 9. GMC Yukon, 2.8; 10. Toyota Tacoma, 2.6;

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TheWeeklyDriver.com’s 2017 Best Cars of the Year

TheWeeklyDriver.com presents its 11th annual best cars of the year list. For the past two years, we selected 12 vehicles instead of 10 because we couldn’t decide what cars to leave off the lists. The selection was more clear-cut this year, so we’ve again chosen 10 vehicles. Volvo is the only manufacturer with two vehicles on the 2017 best cars list. Bentley, Genesis, Honda, Kia, Lincoln, Mazda, Volkswagen and Toyota are also represented. As editor and publisher of TheWeeklyDriver.com since 2004, I reviewed 38 cars and trucks in 2017 model years for at least a week. Most of the vehicles I drove in the calendar year; some 2017 models in 2016. I also drove at least a half-dozen other vehicles

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Consumer Reports’ 10 2017 Worst Cars To Buy

Consumer Reports has published car and truck lists for decades. Among its recent compilations is its worst cars for 2017 in 10 popular segments, subcompacts to luxury sedans, compacts to hybrids. The list is based on the lowest overall score in each category and based on a complete overview of each vehicle. The criteria combine a road-test score, predicted reliability, owner satisfaction and safety — including government and insurance industry crash-test results. In conjunction with each worst car in each category, Consumer Reports lists its suggested best choice in each category. Here’s what the publication said about 2017 Chrysler 200. It’s the lowest-ranked sedan in the most popular car category: “This category is overflowing with competent, and even excellent, alternatives

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The Weekly Driver Newsletter, Volume 1, #1

PUBLISHER’S STARTING LINE Since TheWeeklyDriver.com debuted in 2004, the repeated delays and controversy surrounding the three-wheel Elio vehicle has attracted more interest than any other topic. The innovative Tesla has changed the auto industry. Test drives and reviews of a Bentley sedan and SUV were special experiences. Driving a Rolls-Royce for a day in the Arizona desert was a rare treat. And through 13 years of publishing, many others vehicles, entry level to luxury, have been intriguing. But the reaction to the Elio, a vehicle that doesn’t exist, tops all. Here’s the deal: Paul Elio announced his intentions in 2014 to unveil a $6,800 three-wheel vehicle in 2015 that would change the auto industry. It was touted with superior gas

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Consumer Reports: Best New Cars of 2017

Consumer Reports picks lots of best lists. Arguably the most popular list is the publication’s annual best car list. For 2017, like in previous years, the Consumer Reports’ list of best new cars, was selected because the vehicles are outstanding all-around performers — reliable, safe and satisfying. According to Consumer Reports, “That means they have scored high in our stringent track tests and extensive owner surveys. They have won our admiration, and we recommend them with confidence.” Here’s the synopsis breakdown of the Consumer Reports’ criteria breakdown, followed by the list best new car list for 2017. Cars with hyperlinks have been reviewed by TheWeeklyDriver.com via their 2017 models or in a recent year. Overall Score: A consolidation of findings

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Lexus, Porsche top J.D. Power reliability survey

Lexus and Porsche are the most dependable car brands after three years of ownership, according to the 28th annual survey conducted J.D. Power, the global marketing research company. It is the sixth consecutive year that Lexus topped J.D. Power’s annual U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study. The streak puts Lexus halfway to tying its record of 12 consecutive titles for most dependable brand between from 1997 to 2008. Toyota, Buick and Mercedes-Benz rounded out the top five brands overall. Mercedes, Hyundai (No. 6), BMW (No. 7) and Jaguar (No. 10) were newcomers to the Top 10 this year, while GMC, Acura, Ram and Lincoln dropped out. The industry averaged 156 problems per 100 vehicles in the latest dependability study, up by four

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