Congrats! You're the WORST!

[LostWoods]

In fairness the gladiator isn’t a truck either. It’s also based off a SUV so your argument is dumb. I love this whole argument as to what’s a truck and not. How do you explain the amazing sales of the Maverick or Santa Cruz. Those are flying off the shelves faster then the Gladiator. If 4wd determines the worthiness of a real truck what do you say about 2wd trucks? Didn’t think about that one did you? I’d take AWD all day over a 2wd truck.

I'm curious how you come to the conclusion it's not a truck.

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[andrew8404]

I'm curious how you come to the conclusion it's not a truck.

I think it's a truck but the other poster said the Ridgeline is based off a SUV so isn't a real truck. The Gladiator is also based off a Wrangler which is a SUV. So in that sense it can't be considered a real truck either. A truck is a truck if it has a bed, can haul, and tow. I think that's a fair assumption. The engines in the Gladiator and Ridgeline are also very similar when comparing HP and torque.

 

[GOT FLOYD]

I think it's a truck but the other poster said the Ridgeline is based off a SUV so isn't a real truck. The Gladiator is also based off a Wrangler which is a SUV. So in that sense it can't be considered a real truck either. A truck is a truck if it has a bed, can haul, and tow. I think that's a fair assumption.

I believe the frame ( driver back ) is a half ton ram and Dana 44's front and rear. Jeep didn't want a wrangler with a bed so it's not an SUV.

 

[andrew8404]

I believe the frame ( driver back ) is a half ton ram and Dana 44's front and rear. Jeep didn't want a wrangler with a bed so it's not an SUV.

It's based off a SUV front forward. No getting away from that.

 

[Geoarch]

Between the guitars and the guns....I can barely hear now.

Outta be a drummer for 50 years.

 

[LostWoods]

I think the problem here is the differentiation between CUV which for years was more related to a car than a truck and a proper SUV which is basically a truck with a different frame. The Ridgeline is CUV underpinnings and has similar performance to the Passport (i.e. similar payload and towing) that basically makes it a revised Passport with a bed.

The Gladiator is very like it's related Wrangler but has a much better payload and much better towing than its brethren like any other pickup.

I'm not one who is going to argue that the Ridgeline isn't a truck, but it's very clearly the only vehicle in the midsize or up segment that misses very traditional truck pieces like true part-time 4wd and towing capability.

 

[dcmdon]

Looks like the Colorado is the most American truck in the class.

https://kogod.american.edu/autoindex/2021

Gas powered Colorado/Canyon is 5th. Diesel powered is 22nd.
Ridgeline is 9th.

One other thing is the Colorado is made by a truly US based company.

Jeep isn't an American company, with profits being moved off shore where corporate taxes are lower.

The same would be true of Honda except that Honda has been on a capital investment binge and is sinking its profits into more production capacity.

 

[DocMike]

It's the same old argument. If I wanted a Lexus, I would've bough a Mercedes. A W123 Wagon would fit the bill nicely. Solid driver, dead ass reliable, and zero road noise. I just wanted a truck that could get naked and go off road.

 

[dcmdon]

It's the same old argument. If I wanted a Lexus, I would've bough a Mercedes. A W123 Wagon would fit the bill nicely. Solid driver, dead ass reliable, and zero road noise. I just wanted a truck that could get naked and go off road.

We had a W123 wagon. About the only better vehicle on the planet was a W124 wagon. Then it was downhill after that. My mom only got 320,000 miles out of her non-turbo 300d. Ha.

We also had a W123 240D with a 4 speed stick shift.
It had 67 hp. Performance was . . . . lacking.

 

[DocMike]

I rest my case....my 95.5 URS6 was the last of the over built German cars I hit 300k on 400 hp and 30+ pounds of boost....I grinned ear to ear when she spooled. She would sing over 4k.
a million miles on a W123 is common.
If I wanted luxury and reliability I'd spend 20K on a nice W123 with a modern stereo. Probably smile close to my JT driving it.

The JT is and I'll say it again... A driver's vehicle. It's for enthusiasts. The guys and gals that park it and look back at it every day as they go shopping. Consumer Reports will NEVER get that.

Don't care if you did every mod yourself or installed your first set of grab handles....the JT is for enthusiasts.

We had a W123 wagon. About the only better vehicle on the planet was a W124 wagon. Then it was downhill after that. My mom only got 320,000 miles out of her non-turbo 300d. Ha.

We also had a W123 240D with a 4 speed stick shift.
It had 67 hp. Performance was . . . . lacking.

 

[NachoRuby]

In fairness the gladiator isn’t a truck either. It’s also based off a SUV so your argument is dumb. I love this whole argument as to what’s a truck and not. How do you explain the amazing sales of the Maverick or Santa Cruz. Those are flying off the shelves faster then the Gladiator. If 4wd determines the worthiness of a real truck what do you say about 2wd trucks? Didn’t think about that one did you? I’d take AWD all day over a 2wd truck.

Are Santa Cruzes and Mavericks really selling faster than gladiators? That's actually surprising to me. Definitely not disagreeing, because I don't know. But I've only seem like 3 or 4 of each so far.

I think the difference comes down to frame type, at least in recent tradition. The Gladiator is based mostly on the Wrangler, which is body on frame, and so usually classed as an SUV rather than a crossover. The Ridgeline is based on a unibody crossover, the Pilot.

The Wrangler is related to the Gladiator like the Silverado is related to the Tahoe, or the F150 is related to the Navigator, or the Ram is related to the Wagoneer. All on traditional truck frames.

Of course, even that tradition is fairly recent, and blurred, because my beetle is body on frame (platform frame), and is definitely not a truck. A Crown Vic is body-on-frame, and is fully car. And a classic XJ is unibody, but not a crossover. So it's all semantics, but no one would ever argue that a Wrangler is a crossover.

But usually, in the current era, when people think truck, they think body on frame, and when they think car, they think unibody. The Maverick and Santa Cruz are blowing that perception out of the water though, along with Rivian.

 

[andrew8404]

Are Santa Cruzes and Mavericks really selling faster than gladiators? That's actually surprising to me. Definitely not disagreeing, because I don't know. But I've only seem like 3 or 4 of each so far.

I think the difference comes down to frame type, at least in recent tradition. The Gladiator is based mostly on the Wrangler, which is body on frame, and so usually classed as an SUV rather than a crossover. The Ridgeline is based on a crossover, the Pilot.

The Wrangler is related to the Gladiator like the Silverado is related to the Tahoe, or the F150 is related to the Navigator, or the Ram is related to the Wagoneer. All on traditional truck frames.

Of course, even that tradition is fairly recent, and blurred, because my beetle is body on frame (platform frame), and is definitely not a truck. A Crown Vic is body-on-frame, and is fully car. And a classic XJ is unibody, but not a crossover. So it's all semantics.

But usually, in the current era, when people think truck, they think body on frame, when they think car. They think unibody. The Maverick and Santa Cruz are blowing that perception out of the water though, along with Rivian.

yup completely agree with you. And yes the Mavericks are selling like crazy. May not be selling as much as Gladiator as in volume because they can’t make them fast enough. They aren’t even taking pre orders because they are sold out for the year. And when you do find one they are selling 5-20k more then MSRP even if used.

 

[NachoRuby]

yup completely agree with you. And yes the Mavericks are selling like crazy. May not be selling as much as Gladiator as in volume because they can’t make them fast enough. They aren’t even taking pre orders because they are sold out for the year. And when you do find one they are selling 5-20k more then MSRP even if used.

I consider that Subaru Brat and Ford Ranchero and Chevy El Camino to be trucks. Also, too bad Subaru didn't make the Baja right now!

Our friends in Australia have the perfect word for these car-based trucks. They call them utes.

 

[Echo 6]

Dear CR and JD Power…

 

[Cadilacjoe]

MotorBiscuit: Consumer Reports and J.D. Power Agree on the Worst Midsize Truck.
https://www.motorbiscuit.com/consumer-reports-j-d-power-agree-worst-midsize-truck/

Only things I agree with in this article are the fuel efficiency should be better and the steering needs improvement as well. But I would never buy a Ridgeline, no matter how many great reviews it gets. I believe in buying American and nothing is as fun as a Jeep!

I gotta say the one thing that bothers me. Is that it seems like when you pull your foot off the gas the transmission slows you down.

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