Everyone’s gotta have a truck. It’s inextricably linked to our identity as Americans for whatever reason. Unfortunately, it’s kind of hard to get a truck, hell, any car right now. The chip shortage has kneecapped new car inventory and ruined production. Thankfully, I found out you can actually buy a 2021 Honda Ridgeline at sticker. There’s your truck.

Is the 2021 Honda Ridgeline a good truck?

So, let’s talk about why you should want a 2021 Honda Ridgeline. To save some of you more time-conscious readers the trouble, yes, the 2021 Honda Ridgeline is a good truck. It has been for a long time, and I know that from personal experience. A family member owned one long enough to put 200,000 miles on it. Unfortunately, some pack rats put an end to it.

Now, about the 2021 model. It’s Honda’s newest entrant in the small truck title fight, built to compete with vehicles like the Maverick and Santa Cruz. It’s got good specs (280 hp, 262 lb-ft, 20 MPG) and typically thoughtful Honda features like an in-bed trunk and multi-functional tailgate. The 2021 Honda Ridgeline is also strong enough to do some light towing; a nice plus in this segment. Moreover, it beats out the Santa Cruz in bed size.

The Ridgeline is the people’s truck for $40,0000

Allow me to circle back to the autos market for a moment. The chip shortage has made getting anything with a computer in it hard, including cars. However, I’ve recently started to notice inventory in some places picking back up. It’s a combination of two things. First, a lot of consumers have finally gotten the message and stopped buying cars. Second, production in some cases has started to pick back up. Regardless, both are good things to hear if you want a new car without being taken for all you’ve got.

Honda has done a good job of keeping things moving, and it shows with Ridgeline inventory. A quick perusal of AutoTempest reveals there’s a smattering of new models that aren’t terribly marked up. Even better, some light digging around on the internet revealed several trucks at sticker. However, don’t be surprised if those start to sell. People still want cars. Thankfully, you should have no problem snagging one if you’re quick on the draw.

You can afford one, I promise

But what if you don’t have the cash for a new, $40,000 car? Well, older models are plentiful. I found three Ridgelines for right around $12,000-$18,000 with between 40,000 and 60,000 miles on them. So, there’s a Ridgeline for everyone. Regardless, you can’t go wrong with one, new or old. And even better, we now have some small signs that things may be recovering a little bit in regard to the massive chip shortage. Whether this becomes more of a trend, however, remains to be seen.