Honda Unveils Pickup Truck

Honda Motor Co., last of the major Japanese automakers to offer a pickup truck, said Tuesday that Ridgeline would be the name of its new 2006 model year truck set to arrive in dealers’ showrooms next spring.

The company does well with its sport utility vehicles, but Honda has had nothing to offer in the profitable pickup truck segment, and its overall sales -- which have been flat this year -- reflect the absence.

Enter the Ridgeline. The name was announced in Las Vegas as Torrance-based American Honda Motor Co. unveiled a concept version of the truck at the annual Specialty Equipment Market Assn. trade show.

The truck, to be built in Ontario, Canada, will be sold only in the U.S. and Canada at first. Pricing has not been disclosed, but the Ridgeline will compete in the mid-size pickup market with vehicles such as the $23,000-to-$27,000 Subaru Baja and the $24,000-to-$31,000 Ford Explorer Sport Trac.

Honda executives say their truck, which features a four-door, five-seat cabin and a 5-foot truck bed, integrates frame and body for the “unibody” construction of a conventional car rather than the body-on-frame construction of a conventional pickup.

The result would be a “crossover” pickup with a smoother ride than a conventional truck and, Honda hopes, fewer squeaks and rattles as it ages.

Plans call for the truck to use a 3.5-liter, six-cylinder engine with a five-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. Safety features would include stability and traction-control systems.

Honda executives say the truck’s name is intended “to emphasize the vehicle’s adventurous spirit and truck capabilities.”