In the first installment of a 2-part video, Edmunds shows us what its like to drive to the Death Valley race track for an upcoming torture test of a 2017 Honda Ridgeline and a 2016 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road with a 2016 Nissan Titan XD Pro-4X providing support. Yet, the road out was brutal enough with two trucks completely destroying a variety of shocks. And no, the Ridgeline wasn’t one of them.

For most truck fans, the 2017 Honda Ridgeline was a ho-hum addition to the marketplace. With its uni-body construction, lack of ground clearance and the odd in-bed trunk, it doesn’t exactly scream truck. Instead, it is a much more subtle version of a truck which many journalists have claimed is perfect for the vast majority of consumers.

Those consumers though haven’t exactly gone crazy over the Ridgeline with last month’s sales barely topping 2,700 units sold. In comparison, the top-selling F-150 sold 77,895 units.

While the consumers have been a bit shy on it, the Ridgeline is actually more surprising than it first looks. Sure the in-bed trunk is unusual, but it is handy. The in-bed speakers are great for tailgating and the uni-body construction along with independent rear suspension delivers a surprisingly good off-road feel.

Don’t ask us. Check out this video by Edmunds.com. They took three trucks out to Death Valley to find a hard-packed sandy race track to really test them out. Also, they had the goal of seeing how much Honda had improved their product over the past 10 years when the prior generation lost all of its shocks.

Woah right? All that driving over dirt roads resulted in blown shocks on the vaunted Mr. Reliable Toyota Tacoma or how about the Nissan Titan Pro 4-X losing parts? Crazy!

What do you think? Did you expect the carnage from just driving out to the desert?