Chrysler bets big on revamped Ram pickup
DETROIT (Reuters) - With a herd of Texas longhorn ambling down a Detroit street as a backdrop, Chrysler LLC on Sunday unveiled an updated version of its best-selling full-size pickup truck, one the No. 3 U.S. automaker is banking on to drive more profitable sales in a tough market.
The new Dodge Ram pickup truck models from Chrysler will compete with Ford Motor Co’s (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) redesigned F-150 trucks at a time when sales in the segment are under pressure from a housing slump and high gasoline prices.
The 2009 Dodge Ram, which will be available this fall, features a number of improvements including 41 exterior and interior storage spaces, twice as many as the current model.
It also features a variety of interior improvements and safety upgrades, including a heated steering wheel, trailer sway control and a built-in spoiler. Jim Press, the company’s co-president and head of sales and marketing, said the spoiler gave the Ram “best in class aerodynamics” and permitted Chrysler to “separate itself from the rest of the herd.”
Looking forward, Press promised a turbo diesel version of the Ram in 2009 and a hybrid in 2010.
Chrysler is rolling out its first hybrid light truck, the Dodge Durango, later this year. The automaker developed the hybrid technology in a consortium with General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), BMW AG (BMWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and former parent Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research).
The new Dodge trucks go head to head with a new version of Ford’s market-leading F-150, which also debuted at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
It will also face tough competition from the Chrysler Silverado from General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) as well as Toyota Motor Corp’s (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research) Tundra, both of which were just redesigned.
U.S. sales of full-size pickups, which are used as work vehicles by contractors, farmers, ranchers and as recreational rides for millions of other Americans, fell just over 3 percent last year. Continued…
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