AJC CAR NEWS
Dodge Ram targets the utility truck market
Pickup sales are down, but automaker charges full speed ahead
San Antonio Express-News
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Santa Barbara, Calif. — The redesigned 2009 Dodge Ram is now on its way to dealers in a market that’s not as robust as it was a year ago, thanks to recent record-high gasoline prices.
But even with the drop-off in pickup sales this year, the numbers show that there still is a lucrative truck market, Chrysler LLC officials say. Trucks account for 11 percent of new-vehicle sales.
Chrysler
With the redesigned 2009 Ram, Dodge isn’t following the trend of other automakers in shying away from full-size pickup trucks.
Chrysler
The new Ram has an optional center console that has a side slot that can hold file folders. Its center storage area is large enough to keep a laptop computer out of sight.
Mostly gone from the market, though, are the “casual truckers,” Dodge Brand Manager Mike Accavitti said during a recent media ride-and-drive event for the new Ram.
“Those are the buyers who are the greatest risk in troubled times because they have no need for a pickup,” he said. But there are four other groups of consumers who still need and buy pickups, and it’s primarily to those people that Dodge will market the new Ram, he said.
They include “new-fabric families” who can afford only one new vehicle and find a pickup to be the best choice for their everyday needs; “recreational riders,” who use their trucks to pull horse or boat trailers, or to haul recreational equipment; “traditional truckers,” the people who always have owned pickups for personal use; and the “work first” buyers, who use their pickups almost exclusively to earn their incomes, Accavitti said.
To keep Dodge competitive, the new Ram is “the most well-crafted vehicle we’ve ever produced,” Accavitti said.
“This truck is a game-changer,” he said. “We’ve reinvented the pickup truck segment again.”
Accavitti poked some fun at Ford’s decision to delay the introduction of its redesigned 2009 F-150 pickup from September to November or December, as well as Toyota’s shutdown of Tundra production for three months and Nissan’s plan to stop building its Titan pickup after 2010 and instead market a rebadged version of the Dodge truck.
“Our competitors are running and hiding,” he said. “Are these tough times? Yes, but the truck market is still alive and well, and we want to compete.”
The new Ram begins with the single-cab ST work truck, which has a starting price of $22,170. Other trim levels include the SLT, which Accavitti calls the “value truck”; the Laramie, which he says comes with “all the bells and whistles”; the Sport, designed for on-road driving; the TRX, which is the off-road model; and the performance-oriented R/T regular cab, which goes from zero to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds.
For 2009, the Ram also comes in its first true crew-cab model, which expands the space of the Quad Cab version (which carries over to the new lineup as well).
The Quad Cab, with four doors and a back seat, isn’t as roomy and functional as other manufacturers’ crew-cab models, but is comparable to the extended-cab version of the Chevrolet Silverado. But unlike the Silverado, the Quad Cab’s doors open to the rear from the outside.
The Ram crew cab has full-size rear doors and a back seat that is comfortable for three full-size adults. Crew cabs have become the biggest segment in pickup sales, Accavitti said.
“The crew cab was virtually nonexistent seven years ago, but now is 50 percent of the market,” he said.
Three engines are available in the new Ram, including a 3.7-liter V-6.
Standard on the two-wheel-drive regular and Quad Cab models, this engine is rated at 210 horsepower and 235 foot-pounds of torque.
With the standard six-speed manual gearbox, the V-6 has EPA ratings of 15 miles per gallon in the city and 20 on the highway; with the optional four-speed automatic, the mileage is 14 city/20 highway.
Next is a 4.7-liter V-8, with 310 horsepower and 330 foot-pounds of torque. With a five-speed automatic, this engine is EPA rated at 13 city/19 highway with two-wheel drive and 13/18 with four-wheel drive.
The top engine is the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 with 380 horsepower and 404 foot-pounds of torque. Also connected to the five-speed automatic, this engine has the same EPA ratings as the 4.7-liter. That’s in part because it has a cylinder-deactivation system that cuts out four of the cylinders during level cruising to increase highway mileage. An indicator on the dash shows the driver when the engine is operating in four-cylinder mode.
On a test drive in the mountains north and east of Santa Barbara, both the 4.7- and 5.7-liter engines proved to be more than capable of moving the crew-cab model easily. And, surprisingly, the regular-cab model with the V-6 performed well on those mountain roads.
The new Ram’s ride is the smoothest I’ve ever experienced in a pickup, thanks to a new five-link, coil-spring suspension on the rear that replaced the traditional leaf-spring arrangement that pickups normally have.
Inside, the cab was quiet and well laid out. In the uplevel models, the interior is on par with some luxury
SUVs. The new Ram has an optional center console that has a side slot that can hold file folders. Its center storage area is large enough to keep a laptop computer out of sight.
A great new feature is the optional Ram Box, built into each side of the cargo bed. These storage compartments can keep tools, supplies and golf bags in a place with quick, convenient access. They are waterproof, so they can double as coolers — stuffed with drink cans or bottles and filled with ice — as Dodge demonstrated during a dinner on the beach.
Available amenities include automatic climate control, GPS navigation, rear-seat DVD/satellite TV entertainment center, leather seats, surround-sound audio with rear-seat subwoofer, and automatic headlights.
The redesign has given the exterior a more carlike quality and craftsmanship with narrow gaps and less wind resistance. The narrow gaps between body panels help eliminate whistling noises that can make their way into a passenger compartment at highway speeds.
Dodge kept the signature Ram grille, but it now leans forward at the top to give it an in-your-face “drill sergeant” look, Accavitti said. Unlike the current generation of the Ram, the grille remains in place when the hood is lifted. This makes the hood lighter and easier to handle.
