Pickup manufacturers are always trying to come up with new ways to make trucks more desirable in the market. Most of the time we see them boasting of a truck’s payload or towing capacity. Or they’ll make large claims on their powerful pickup engines. Sometimes we hear about their wheels, or a new styling feature they may have implemented on their truck.

But, the newest feature on the block, so to speak, to get attention happens to be the tailgate. Big truck makers, like GM and Ram, are offering some newsworthy tailgates in their newest model pickups. Some of them claiming to be the first to offer this feature. But, are they really? The Honda Ridgeline may have something different to say about that. The Best ride website discusses the tailgate trend.

The tailgate trend

Truck makers are turning their attention to the tailgate now to entice more buyers to their pickups. We’ve seen the Chevy Silverado commercials that show generations of people lifting their tailgates to close them on years and years of pickup trucks. Now, GM offers the power liftgate that enables you to close it, on the Silverado truck, with the push of a button instead of doing it manually.

The GMC Sierra is the most famous to get on board with this trend with its Multi-Pro tailgate. This one has countless positions that you can place it in, that performs specific functions. It allows you to have a load stop, inner workspace shelf, and steps to gain access to the truck bed, to name just a few of those functions.

How the Honda Ridgeline was ahead of the curve

The tailgate trend may have just begun, but the Honda Ridgeline has been on point with it for quite some time. Two generations of the Honda truck had a tailgate that you could pull down, like normal, or swing out to one side to gain access to the truck’s bed. They were the only pickup with this feature, at least until recently when the other truck makers decided to get on board.

Honda made it this way to help truck users load some of their larger items without haggling with the gate. By moving it out of the way, you can not only load the truck bed easily, but you can quickly unload it as well. The dual-action mode of the tailgate lets you control how you access the back of the truck depending on what your needs may be for each situation.

What other features make the Honda Ridgeline unique

Besides its tailgate, we also know the Ridgeline for its unique truck bed feature. Honda designed the cargo bed to have its own little trunk space within the truck’s bed. You can store some of your more valuable items by locking them into the trunk area. Or you can haul more cargo than you could otherwise with storage underneath the bed itself.

The Ridgeline also became popular for having a lot of storage, not just on the outside, but also in the interior space as well. Honda pulled out all the stops to give you ample room to store all your items in the center console and door pockets of the truck.

For extra storage, lift the cushion of the rear seat and you’ll find a nice large area to stow items you need to haul, but want to prevent them from getting broken.

All the other trucks can have their day by offering new tailgate features, but the Honda Ridgeline still comes out as the first to make theirs unique. They’ve been on trend for quite a while, long before it actually became a trend within the pickup market.