Irwin Motors

[sa meredith]

Originally Posted by The Phantom Gourmand

Honda has the highest rated pickup....Ridgeline...

Not going to get into a debate here, because this thread has already turned WAY away from it's intent, but Phantom, a Ridgeline, although possibly a handsome, reliable automobile is in no way a pick up truck. Not really a truck a all. It is an SUV/Crossover. Much like a Ford Sp Trac, or Chevy Avalanche. These vehicles can in no way be considered trucks, and if a contracter/ plumber/ mason tried to use one as such, any of them would last a very short time.
Strictly built to used as SUVs with light capicity to carry or tow (small amounts) from time to time.
Let me know the next time you pass a constuction site, and see a laborer emptying the cargo of a Ridgeline.

One more note...to anyone who was looking at a Chevy or Ford last year....when the business completly died two years back (gas 4.25/gal), and the economy tanked, both domestic manufacturers cut way back on invetory. Stopped building completely for a while.
Then, last year, the government came out with the cash for clunkers program...which was without a doubt the best deal for a consumer I had ever see in my 22 years in the business. People with old gas guzzlers worth 200/300 were getting $3500/$4500 real money for them from the government.
Just insane...and when the program caught on, we (dealers) quickly realized that our supply of vehciles would fall way short of the demand. Peope started to realize that the program was legit, and flocked fom dealer to dealer looking for what they wanted...but inventory ran out quickly. During this time, most dealers stopped offering discounts of any kind, as they were going to sell out anyway. I remember the last weekend of the program, having 5 or 6 vehicles left, as opposed to a normal 250/300. So, if you shopped last year, odds are a domestic dealer offered you little or no discount. It is just what the market dictated.
Even now as things are coming back a bit...the days of each dealer undercutting each other are going away. The days of the 3000/4000 rebate/discount are gone. Inventories are tightly controlled, and the market will never again be flooded.