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The Honda Ridgeline<\/a> is going on sabbatical. The midsize pickup is taking an approximately 18-month break so that Honda can tinker with its powertrain to meet the next phase of emissions standards. Like the Pilot and Passport with which it shares its architecture, the Ridgeline utilizes an old-fashioned V6. Pretty soon, all of them will be getting an upgrade<\/a>, and it sounds like the Ridgeline will be getting a pretty significant facelift to go with it. <\/p>\n According to<\/a> Automotive News, the Ridgeline\u2019s re-engineered powertrain will launch with a design update intended to \u201ccreate the impression of a next-generation truck,\u201d as the outlet put it, paraphrasing an unnamed Honda employee. <\/p>\n A Honda spokesperson told The Drive, \u201cRidgeline remains an important model in our lineup and one of our top conquest models with unique appeal within the industry and pickup segment. The Ridgeline will continue to play an important role in our product lineup now and in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n When it returns from its hiatus, the Ridgeline will still be powered by V6, only it\u2019ll be paired with two electric motors. That may sound complicated, but it\u2019s just the way Honda\u2019s hybrid system is engineered. This dual-motor setup not only gets electric power to the wheels, but it also substitutes for a conventional transmission; Honda\u2019s hybrids don\u2019t need one<\/a>. <\/p>\n The new hybrid system accompanies a clean-sheet redesign of the V6 itself. Honda says the new combination will offer a 10% improvement in \u201cfull-throttle performance\u201d (whatever that means) and a 30% improvement in efficiency. In other words, it should be both more fun and more fuel-efficient. We\u2019re not sure how \u201cfun\u201d a Ridgeline\u2019s engine really needs to be; that\u2019s not really the point of Honda\u2019s midsize pickup<\/a>. But hey, we\u2019ll take a little more oomph if it\u2019s being offered. <\/p>\n Honda\u2019s new V6 should replace the existing one everywhere it is currently offered, from the aforementioned SUVs and the Ridgeline to the Odyssey and Acura MDX. We don\u2019t expect the others to need a sales hiatus in order to prep for it, but you just never know these days, do you? <\/p>\n Got a news tip? Let us know at tips@thedrive.com!<\/p>\n Update 5\/262026,\u00a011:31am ET: This story was updated to include a statement from Honda.<\/p>\n Byron is an editor at The Drive with a keen eye for infrastructure, sales and regulatory stories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The biggest car news and reviews, no BS Our free daily newsletter sends the stories that really matter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":666617,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[28,12246],"class_list":["post-666616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-pickup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666616\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/666617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}