Honda Ridgeline

The Honda Ridgeline is a mid-size sport utility truck (SUT) produced by the Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company, Ltd. The Ridgeline was Honda's first foray into the North American pickup truck market and was known of its unibody construction, dual-action tailgate, and the industry's first In-Bed Trunk®. The Ridgeline was released in March 2005 as a 2006 model and was initially built in Alliston, Ontario, Canada (Honda of Canada Manufacturing) until 2008 when its assembly was moved to Lincoln, Alabama, United States (Honda Manufacturing of Alabama). Production ended in mid-2014.

Despite its low sales numbers, the Ridgeline was one of the more profitable vehicles for Honda. In December 2013, the automaker announced an all-new Ridgeline is planned for release which Honda recently debuted at the 2016 North American International Auto Show.

Design

The Ridgeline is "Honda's first foray into the true heartland of the American automotive way of life." The vehicle was designed and engineered in Honda R&D Americas facilities in Raymond, Ohio. A team of 37 engineers was led by a former General Motors designer who previously worked on the Chevrolet S-10, Gary Flint. Gary's team took about four years and around $250 million to develop the vehicle. The design was first revealed as the Honda SUT concept vehicle in 2004.

Honda

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (本田技研工業株式会社, Honda Giken Kōgyō KK, IPA: [hoɴda]; /ˈhɒndə/) is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and power equipment.

Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines each year. Honda became the second-largest Japanese automobile manufacturer in 2001. Honda was the eighth largest automobile manufacturer in the world behind General Motors, Volkswagen Group, Toyota, Hyundai Motor Group, Ford, Nissan, and PSA Peugeot Citroën in 2011.

Honda was the first Japanese automobile manufacturer to release a dedicated luxury brand, Acura, in 1986. Aside from their core automobile and motorcycle businesses, Honda also manufactures garden equipment, marine engines, personal watercraft and power generators, and other products. Since 1986, Honda has been involved with artificial intelligence/robotics research and released their ASIMO robot in 2000. They have also ventured into aerospace with the establishment of GE Honda Aero Engines in 2004 and the Honda HA-420 HondaJet, which began production in 2012. Honda has three joint-ventures in China (Honda China, Dongfeng Honda, and Guangqi Honda).

Kelley Blue Book

Kelley Blue Book is an Irvine, California-based vehicle valuation and automotive research company that is recognized by both consumers and the automotive industry. The company is part of Cox Automotive, a unit of Atlanta, GA-based Cox Enterprises.

History

The company began as the Kelley Kar Company founded by Les Kelley in 1918. Kelley started the company with three Model T Fords. His younger brother, Buster, worked with Kelley as a lot boy. By using data collected from the dealership, Kelley published the company’s first Blue Book in 1926, which became a standard guide in automotive trade in determining car value. Kelley Blue Book was formed in 1926, and the Kelley family continued its dealership business in Southern California for several decades. By the 1960s, the company moved from a car dealership to a specialty publisher and focused on the production of its automobile price guide.

In 1995, Kelley Blue Book created its company website, which contained tips and pricing information from its hardcopy guide.