Cars have used unibody construction for years to decrease the amount of weight and improve handling by incorporating the load-bearing sections with the body’s structure. General Motors was recently considering developing a truck using a similar construction technique, but buyers looking for a more car-like pickup may want to check out used Honda Ridgelines in New Jersey instead.
That’s because the American automaker couldn’t find a way to make their unibody truck cost-effective to produce, since market research participants didn’t want to pay a premium for a vehicle with less weight-carrying capacity than standard pickups, notes AutoWeek.com.
“We felt there would be a significant fuel economy improvement” from the mid-sized platform, Tom Stephens, GM vice chairman of global product development told the news provider. “But as we dived deeper into it, there wasn’t that much additional fuel economy to be gained.”
Although General Motors couldn’t make it work, people looking for an all-wheel drive vehicle that can carry a lot but still handle like a car could look at used Honda Ridgelines in New Jersey, the only model with unibody construction in the U.S.