Replying to Hauling or Crawling?: 2006 Honda Ridgeline RTS

and if it *could* carry sheets of drywall in poor weather <which it can't>, if you got a flat tire, you'd have to remove the cargo.

how much utility is there in that?

one sheet might too heavy for it to carry.  drywall is heavy you know.

Also, another advantage the Chevy has is standard double entendre. For example, "Help! I'm trapped in an Avalanche!" or "An Avalanche is headed for that town!"

Honda's Ridgeline doesn't feature a double entendre.

I'm going to disagree on this one.  Can a Ridgeline carry a 4x8 sheet of drywall.... in bad weather?

Hey Fly, you don't mind if I chime in with some stats to back you up, do you?

Appearance items (interior/exterior styling) are generally subjective - so it is hard to compare.  The gap between the Ridgeline and the Avalanche is so large between the Ridgeline's interior and the Avalanche that, in this case, you can make a definitive case for the Avalanche.  The Ridgeline's interior isn't cohesive and is built around hard plastics.  It's embarassingly bad.  Go sit in one & you'll instantly see what I mean.

As for measurables:
Acceleration (0-60):
Avalanche 5.3l = 8.5s
Avalanche 6.0l = ????
Ridgeline 3.5l = 8.0s
Winner = Undecided
Note: I'm reluctant to give this to Honda as the '06 Avalanche 2500 pulls 7.5s in the 0-60.  I can't find '07 info to declare a winner here.

Horsepower:
Avalanche 5.3l = 325hp
Avalanche 6.0l = 366hp
Ridgeline 3.5l = 247hp
Winner = Chevrolet (in a rout I might add)

Torque:
Avalanche 5.3l = 340ft-lbs
Avalanche 6.0l = 380ft-lbs
Ridgeline 3.5l = 245ft-lbs
Winner = Chevrolet (in another rout)

Fuel Economy
Avalanche 5.3l = 15/21
Avalanche 6.0l = ??
Ridgeline 3.5l = 16/21
Winner = Honda, barely - and give the award to Chev if you plan to tow

Payload
Avalanche: 1350 lbs
Ridgeline: 1100 lbs
Winner = Chevrolet

Towing Capacity
Avalanche: 7000/8000 lbs
Ridgeline: 5000 lbs
Winner = Chevrolet

Utility
Avalanche, enclosed rear bed + midgate
Honda, under-bed trunk
Winner = push, each provide unique utility

Reliability
Undetermined.  This is Honda's first attempt at building a truck in the US. As witnessed by the multiple million-mile entries on GM full-size trucks @ chevy200k.com, I'd be heavily inclined to lean towards Chevy, but I'll leave this undecided.

Resale (2006my)
Avalanche: Trade in value of 22,717 - 25,589.  Sold new at 25,466 - 28,687 (89.21%-89.20%)
Ridgeline: Trade in value of 19,414 - 24,227.  Sold new at 22,365 - 27,809 (86.80%-87.11%)
Winner = Chevrolet

You certainly don't want me to go into things like ground clearance, interior volume, bed volume - I think we all know who'll handily win those comparisons too..

Sources:
0-60:
http://autoweek.com/...16001/1006/FREE
http://www.autos.com...alanche_2500/ls
http://www.theautoch.../26/106997.html

HP & Torque:
http://media.gm.com/...nche/index.html
http://autos.msn.com...eline&trimid=-1

Mileage, Payload, Towing Capacity:
http://media.gm.com/...nche/index.html
http://autos.msn.com...eline&trimid=-1

Resale values:
http://www.edmunds.c...salevalues.html
http://www.edmunds.c...salevalues.html