Around the Industry - 4WD185
HONDA BEATS GM AT THEIR OWN GAME
When talking to those in the trades, chances are they are looking at the Big Three full-size truck-makers for their next purchase and not the new Honda Ridgeline. However, Honda has had a unique opportunity to maybe make people think twice about their next truck purchase, and it’s all thanks to GM. In their latest of never relenting shots at Ford and their use of aluminum, GM staged a commercial shoot where landscaping stones were dropped from a height of 1.25 m onto the unprotected beds of both a Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado. First, we don’t know of any tradesmen who use an unprotected bed, but the ensuing damage showed several punctures and large dents to the F-150. The Silverado held up quite a bit better, but still sustained a fair bit of damage.
The twist in this story is that Honda saw this and figured they would duplicate the test on their new Ridgeline, which features a composite rear bed. With a one-take scene, Honda replicated the test, yielding only a few scratches in the composite and no real damage.
We’re betting GM didn’t see this one coming, and we’re guessing there was a valuable lesson learned here.