Chevrolet Upstages Ford - Then Honda Throws Composite Shade on Both

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

You may’ve noticed an ad campaign by General Motors touting the toughness of its steel cargo bed in comparison with Ford’s aluminum cargo hold. The Chevy came out battered and bruised, but Ford’s aluminum-bodied F-150 incurred multiple lacerations. GM, in its comparison, proclaimed itself the winner.

Then late Friday, a plucky upstart called Honda (you may know the company for its motorized bicycles and electrical generators), threw massive shade on the Detroit rivalry using the same test.

Honda’s engineers (not the PR folks, though Honda PR distributed the video) performed roughly the same rock-drop test as the Chevrolet advertising campaign. The result? Just some scratches in the Ridgeline’s composite bed. Not a dent. Not a break. And the in-bed storage door still opened and closed as designed.

Well done, Honda. Now all we need is a real truck for your trick bed.

Mark Stevenson
Mark Stevenson

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  • Jeff S Jeff S on Jun 14, 2016

    Denver Mike--I don't like either Dennis or Howie. Maybe a Ford fan boy would like Dennis. I always liked Mike Rowe and I liked Sam Eliot on the Ram commercials--both are more believable. Ford should hire Mike back. Anson Mount would be a good spokesperson for Chevy trucks.

  • AlexEng AlexEng on Jan 14, 2018

    I'm not a Ridgeline fun but come on! It is a nice truck just is different! Why it isn't a truck? Because hasnt got a frame under the chassis? Not everybody need a truck to carry heavy stuff some need a truck to carry lighter stuff and this can do it the Ridgeline very well. In the other hand it drives and feels quite comfortable just like as an SUV or a common car with excellent ride and fuel consumption.I think Honda has create a different truck is something completely different than the mainstream truck and they deserve all the credit for their try.

  • Ltcmgm78 Just what we need to do: add more EVs that require a charging station! We own a Volt. We charge at home. We bought the Volt off-lease. We're retired and can do all our daily errands without burning any gasoline. For us this works, but we no longer have a work commute.
  • Michael S6 Given the choice between the Hornet R/T and the Alfa, I'd pick an Uber.
  • Michael S6 Nissan seems to be doing well at the low end of the market with their small cars and cuv. Competitiveness evaporates as you move up to larger size cars and suvs.
  • Cprescott As long as they infest their products with CVT's, there is no reason to buy their products. Nissan's execution of CVT's is lackluster on a good day - not dependable and bad in experience of use. The brand has become like Mitsubishi - will sell to anyone with a pulse to get financed.
  • Lorenzo I'd like to believe, I want to believe, having had good FoMoCo vehicles - my aunt's old 1956 Fairlane, 1963 Falcon, 1968 Montego - but if Jim Farley is saying it, I can't believe it. It's been said that he goes with whatever the last person he talked to suggested. That's not the kind of guy you want running a $180 billion dollar company.
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