"Honda planned its truck well"

The Ridgeline is based on Honda's global large car platform, which was
created for the Accord and which also spawned the Pilot/MDX and the
Odyssey (not to mention the Acura TL).

There are by necessity compromises required when one chooses to engineer
like that. By definition, one cannot get the same results as compared
to sitting down with a clean sheet of paper to design a pure truck.

 

I won't disagree with your comments about the origin of the Pilot/Odyssey,
but that has changed and the Odyssey and Ridgeline are now based on the
Honda Global Light Truck Platform, designed in 2005, not the large car
platform. Taken from
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KJI/is_4_117/ai_n13651500 : "In
fact, Honda had to re-design so much of its global light truck platform to
accommodate the requirements of a pickup that the Ridgeline's body ended up
with the mixed blessing of 93% exclusive parts. Likewise, the chassis is 69%
exclusive and features independent suspension all around (a first for a
pickup), and front and rear subframes isolated by rubber mounts."

 

blah, blah blah...

November 2006 results show Ridgeline sales off 33% compared with last
November. Both Element and Pilot are off by 20%.

The newly redesigned to-be-more-like-a-car CRV is doing very well,
sales up 50% compared with last November.

Honda's truck plans and fantasy re. competing with Toyota nearly sunk
the company. The quicker they get out from under the Ridgeline and on
top of the next Prelude the better.

 

and crx...

 

Yes!

Please forgive the oversight.