It's been nearly a decade since Dodge wowed 'em with the big-rig looks of its 1994 full-size Ram pickup. And now, with competition from Ford, General Motors and Toyota eating into sales, it's time for a new Ram.
The covers come off today at the Chicago Auto Show--Highway 1 has the first pictures--and Dodge executives are betting that this revamp won't be a repeat of the disappointing debut last year of the redesigned minivans from elsewhere in the corporate truck family.
When DaimlerChrysler unveiled the new Chrysler and Dodge model minivans last year, critics yawned, called
them mildly evolutionary and wondered why the company that created the category hadn't taken a bolder approach in restyling them.
Company designers said they had no choice. Marching orders from the executive suite were clear: Improve and change the content but don't fool with the look.
But the auto market is one that demands change. Consumers hesitate to stick with tried-and-true when there's so much fresh and new out there. Minivan shoppers emulated the critics and yawned too. And Dodge and Chrysler minivan sales sputtered as shoppers went looking for vehicles with more flair.
So with that lesson fresh in mind and with the popularity of its once trend-setting full-size pickups waning, Dodge was determined that the new 2002 Ram wouldn't wrap technical improvement and increased features in a warmed-over package.
"We don't want to rest on the current success" of Ram's styling, said Chuck Rightler, senior manager of Dodge truck business operations.
The new Ram 1500 goes on sale this fall. In a preview last month, Rightler and other Dodge truck specialists showed off a completely re-engineered vehicle that continues to use the brand's signature big-rig styling but does it bigger and bolder than before.
The result is a light-duty truck that won't easily be mistaken for its predecessor but also won't ever be taken for anything but a Dodge Ram.
"I've only seen pictures so far but, from what I've seen, it looks like they did an excellent job of redesigning it," said Jim Hossack, vice president of AutoPacific Inc., a market research and consulting firm in Tustin.
His team's task, said Dodge truck design studio chief Dennis Myles, "was to keep what we own--the Ram image--and yet be different, to exceed our own design."
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