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First-generation Honda Ridgeline exterior design lead Don Herner discussed the pickup’s development in an interview with YouTuber Jack Bontatibus. Herner said the project began as an internally named “Advanced Capabilities Vehicle,” with engineering priorities shaping its unusual unibody design and practical features.
Don Herner, the exterior design lead for the first-generation Honda Ridgeline, has described how the pickup took shape in an interview with YouTuber Jack Bontatibus. Herner said Honda initially framed the project as an “Advanced Capabilities Vehicle,” rather than a conventional truck—an account that helps explain the model’s unusual unibody construction and emphasis on practical features.
According to Herner, the Ridgeline began with informal sketching by a small group of designers, including Herner, at a time when he said there was not much else happening in the studio. A marketing executive later saw the truck concepts and promoted the idea of turning them into a production vehicle. The project was not initially treated internally as a standard pickup program.
Herner said the name “Advanced Capabilities Vehicle” reflected Honda’s engineering limits and priorities. In his account, Honda did not have a transmission robust enough for the very large wheels and tires designers had explored in early sketches. Herner recalled concepts with 32-inch and 35-inch tires, but said engineering favored smaller wheel-and-tire combinations to maximize torque at the wheels.
The production model used a 3.5-liter V6 paired with a five-speed automatic transmission. The source reports output of 255 horsepower and 252 pound-feet of torque, along with a 5,000-pound towing capacity and 1,550-pound payload capacity. Herner said the cargo box was made of fiberglass with durability in mind, and described testing intended to determine how much weight the bed and rear suspension could withstand.
How the Design Shaped the Ridgeline
Herner’s account offers an explanation for why the Ridgeline differed from the body-on-frame pickups that many buyers expected. The first generation used a unibody structure based on a modified version of the then-current Odyssey platform, rather than following conventional truck construction. That decision reflected Honda’s design and engineering approach, not simply a styling choice.
The development story also connects the model’s distinctive layout to features intended for everyday use. The Ridgeline had a dual-action tailgate, a lockable in-bed storage area, fold-up rear seats and small cabin storage details. Some of those choices may help readers understand why the truck established a distinct place in Honda’s lineup, even though its design did not appeal to every traditional pickup buyer.
2006-2014 Honda Ridgeline bed extender
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From Sketches to a 2006 Model
The first Ridgeline arrived in 2005 as a 2006 model and marked Honda’s first production vehicle with a pickup bed. It was also the largest Honda production vehicle at the time, according to the source, requiring changes to assembly lines. Its tailgate carried the Honda name in the company’s typeface, a departure Herner said needed personal approval from the company president.
Herner joined Honda after graduating from California’s ArtCenter College of Design and interning at General Motors’ Corvette design studio. The source also credits him with work on the third-generation Acura Integra and leadership of the first-generation Acura RDX design; he later worked at Fisker. The interview is a retrospective account from a designer involved in the Ridgeline’s development, rather than a new announcement from Honda.
Today’s Ridgeline has more conventional exterior styling than the original, while retaining unibody construction and several of the earlier model’s practical ideas. The source says the next generation is expected to look more like a traditional truck, but provides no confirmed timing or specifications.
“This never really started out to be a truck project per se, because Honda doesn’t make a transmission robust enough to turn gigantic wheels and tires.”
— Don Herner, Ridgeline exterior design lead, in an interview with Jack Bontatibus
first generation Honda Ridgeline tonneau cover
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What the Interview Does Not Establish
The source presents Herner’s recollections of the design process, but does not provide Honda documents or a company statement independently confirming each detail. It also does not give the interview’s publication date, identify the marketing executive who backed the project, or explain the full sequence of internal approvals.
Some figures and technical details are reported in the original article, while the interview account is the basis for comments about the design process and testing. No confirmed release date, platform information, powertrain details or specifications for a next-generation Ridgeline are included. The suggestion that the future model will look more like a truck is not accompanied by a named Honda source or a formal announcement in the material provided.
Honda Ridgeline in-bed trunk organizer
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Awaiting Honda’s Next Ridgeline Details
The immediate development is the publication of Herner’s retrospective interview, which gives added detail about the original truck’s design and engineering trade-offs. The source does not identify a next event or a scheduled Honda announcement. Any future information about a replacement model—including its timing, construction and features—would need to come from Honda or another clearly attributed source.
For now, the interview offers a designer’s account of how the first Ridgeline moved from studio sketches to production. Readers should treat predictions about the next generation as unconfirmed unless Honda provides specifics.
Honda Ridgeline all-weather floor mats 2006-2014
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Key Questions
Who discussed the first-generation Honda Ridgeline?
Don Herner, the first-generation Ridgeline’s exterior design lead, spoke with YouTuber Jack Bontatibus about the truck’s development.
What was the Ridgeline called internally?
Herner said Honda designers used the name “Advanced Capabilities Vehicle” for the project internally.
Why did the original Ridgeline use a unibody design?
The source describes the Ridgeline as based on a modified Odyssey platform. Herner also discussed engineering limits and priorities, including a focus on wheel-and-tire sizes that would support torque at the wheels. The material does not attribute the unibody decision to a single factor.
What engine and capabilities did the first Ridgeline have?
The reported setup was a 3.5-liter V6 with a five-speed automatic, producing 255 horsepower and 252 pound-feet of torque. The source lists a 5,000-pound towing capacity and a 1,550-pound payload capacity.
Has Honda confirmed details of the next Ridgeline?
The source offers no confirmed next-generation specifications or launch date. Its suggestion that the next model may look more like a traditional truck is not presented as a formal Honda announcement.
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