Far more than most new vehicles, pickups lend themselves to strapping on all sorts of accessories and lifestyle clutter in an effort to personalize them and add utility. Honda knows this, and before the automaker has even put its 2017 Ridgeline on sale, it's rolled up with a raft of factory accessories for the second-generation model at Thursday's Chicago Auto Show.
At least for the moment, the 2017 Ridgeline's list of optional bolt-ons is pretty straight forward, including 18-inch "Black Glint" alloy wheels wrapped in Yokohama all-terrain rubber, all shrouded by matching fender flares.
The accessorized Ridgeline also features blacked-out roof rails and cross bars for carrying kayaks, bikes and the like, and you'll find added bars below the doors, too -- die-cast running boards to ease ingress and egress. The latter probably won't do much for the Ridgeline's off-road clearances, but at least there's an accessory skid plate for keeping the vehicle's underbelly safe should, you decide to venture a little further afield.
Honda knows that dealer-installed accessories can be a bit profit driver for its franchisees.
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Finally, the Chicago Auto Show Ridgeline wears a Honda Genuine Accessories towing kit with a 2-inch ball mount. The Ridgeline will likely drag a modest but useful 5,000 pounds or so.
No word yet on pricing -- either for the accessories or the Ridgeline itself -- but we expect to learn both before the model goes on sale this spring.