10-10-2020

Honda Motor Co is redesigning the looks and the marketing for its sport utility vehicles and trucks to appeal to US consumers who are paying premiums for rival automakers' vehicles that offer a more rugged, off-road adventure image. Since the 1970s, Honda has been synonymous in the United States with understated, well-engineered and highly efficient cars such as the Honda Civic and Accord. Honda's SUVs, minivans and its Ridgeline pickup truck are built on the smooth-handling chassis of those sedans.

But over the past five years, US consumers have shifted toward larger vehicles with all-wheel drive, beefed-up suspensions, big grilles and body armor designed for plowing over desert paths and mountain trails - though most such vehicles never leave pavement.

Ford Motor Co's new Bronco sport utility and its F-150 Raptor model are chasing this trend. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is expanding its Jeep brand to harvest more profit from a segment it dominates. More than 70% of vehicles sold in the United States last year were midsize trucks and SUVs, while 53% of Hondas sold fit those categories. Honda does not sell a large pickup that competes with the Ford F-150, and is therefore shut out of one of the US market's most profitable segments.

Honda on Thursday unveiled a new look for its midsize Ridgeline pickup, giving the vehicle a bigger grille and other off-road cues. A new advertising campaign launching on Friday shows the Ridgeline hauling dirt bikes and charging down unpaved roads in the Rocky Mountains. Former wrestler John Cena gives the ads a "tough guy" voice.