The Ridgeline is not so much a pickup truck as it is Honda's take on the Chevy El Camino. Remarkably adept at light duty, it is well suited to tailgating thanks to, well, its tailgate, but there's more.

Seating: Passenger capacity is five.

Cargo: The rear-seat back flips down to make more interior cargo space. The cargo bed is small compared to full-size pickups, but will hold plenty of lawn chairs and a grill.

Convenience: Not only does the tailgate flip down, it also opens from the side. This provides easier access to the lockable in-bed trunk that's large enough to house a 72-quart cooler. You actually wouldn't require the cooler because the trunk has a drain plug, which means beverages can be iced down in the trunk.

Features: The standard audio system has six speakers and a CD player. All Ridgelines have 12-volt power outlets in the front and rear. Because none of the trim levels offer options, you must move up market into the RTS trim level to get an auxiliary input jack for the audio system and on up to the top-of-the-line RTL to get a 115-volt household power outlet. Generating Ridgeline's go is a 250-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 -- it ushers power to all the wheels through a five-speed automatic transmission.