HONDA

SEMA 2018: Before diving into the Speculation Machine, let's look at a rig for which we have concrete details - the Ridgeline Overland Project. This machine incorporates a slew of upgrades and modifications to turn the 2019 Honda Ridgeline Black Edition into an overland adventure vehicle. Working with Jsport Performance Accessories, the mods on this Ridgeline Overland are meant to bolster its off-road cred without compromising its on-road comfort.

In a fit of great news, this is apparently approved for production and will soon be available for purchase. Skid plates, off-road wheels and tires, and a leveling kit are designed to help Ridgeline make the most of its all-wheel drive system. 

JSport sidesteps offer a leg up when accessing the roof rack system, while the table bed rack allows for more flexibility. Mounted in that roof rack is a lightweight generator - a Honda unit, natch - for powering electrical accessories brought along on your own, the company is not doling out too much detail about its forthcoming Rugged Open Air Concept, but it does not take too much imagination to picture what it might be. One of the possibilities is of course, some sort of powerful side-by-side or dune buggy built to take on the Polaris RZR and its ilk. Such a machine would fill the "Open Air" promise of this announcement.The company could go in another direction, crafting something completely new out of an existing platform such as the one underpinning the Ridgeline or CR-V. 

A rig hewn from those bones would put Honda on the map in terms of having a off-roader to sell in their showrooms, a market in which the company does not currently play. An open-air CR-V or Ridgeline, especially the latter given that the upcoming Jeep Scrambler is allegedly keeping the Wrangler's folding top, would be a delightful departure from Honda's staid and play-it-safe attitude.We will not have long to wait. Honda will be revealing the Rugged Open Air Concept tomorrow, October 30th, at the SEMA show in Vegas.verland excursion.

M. Guy