Autoblog

Chrysler VP of product planning sees slot for small pickups

Chris Tutor — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 15:46:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Truck, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram

"There is a vacuum left in the small pickup category," says Jesse Toprak, vice president of market intelligence for TrueCar.com in a new Detroit Free Press report. And as we all know, the automotive industry abhors a vacuum.

Joe Veltri, VP of product planning for Chrysler, sees that vacuum as a potential for profits.

"Based on our data, young males still aspire to own a pickup," Veltri says in the story. "Historically, if you go back to the '80s, the compact or midsize pickup segment was bigger than the full-size segment."

So why are small trucks no longer popular? Veltri and others argue that as the sticker price of smaller pickups got bigger, larger pickups began to look more affordable. Why buy a small pickup for $20k when a full-size truck is only a couple thousand more? We might add: Why by a small pickup when they've gotten so large that they're not much easier to drive or park than their full-size contemporaries?

Veltri says nothing has been finalized, but the company has been talking about a new small pickup for ages now. In fact, way back in 2002, they rolled out the blazing yellow Dodge M80 concept shown above. We loved it then, we like it now. A little bit retro, a whole lotta masculine. Build it on a unibody platform for better fuel economy, price it well below the full-size Ram and, bingo, vacuum filled. Like the Honda Ridgeline, it would give non-traditional truck buyers a more economical choice. If it were properly executed, well-priced and managed appreciably better fuel economy, we think it could be a strong seller seller (a trick that has thus far eluded the Ridgeline).

News stories the past few years have suggested that Chrysler has been investigating a unibody pickup as a replacement for its now-deceased Dakota midsize truck for several now, but we haven't heard much about the possibility since CEO Sergio Marchionne admitted in January that there's a "Better than 50-percent chance" that the next Dakota will rely on unibody construction.

Chrysler VP of product planning sees slot for small pickups originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Jul 2012 15:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Chrysler developing TR Ram Life Style Truck to compete with Honda Ridgeline

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 18 May 2011 14:29:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Plants/Manufacturing, Crossover, Chrysler, Dodge, Canada

2006 Dodge Rampage Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery

Does the world need a competitor to the Honda Ridgeline? While sales figures of Honda's half-truck would lead us to believe consumers aren't clamoring for such a vehicle (Honda only sold 16,142 Ridgelines in all of 2010, barely more than the 13,047 Dakotas that Dodge moved), recent reports indicate that Chrysler seems to think otherwise.

We've known for some time that Dodge was considering a small urban-style pickup - ever since it showed off the Rampage Concept (shown above) at the 2006 Chicago Auto Show and then mentioned it again in Chrysler's rambling five-year plan announced in 2009 - but talk of the so-called Lifestyle Pickup had cooled off... until now.

According to wheels.ca, Chrysler suppliers were recently briefed on the automaker's future product plans, and a replacement for the unloved Dakota is on the docket. It's thought that Chrysler may build the vehicle in Windsor, Ontario atop its minivan platform, which lends credence to the Ridgeline comparison.

We have to wonder if the crossover platform employed by the latest (and very well-received) Durango might be a better bet, but we'll surely reserve judgement until something more concrete than these rumors begin to surface. We're also curious as to whether the small pickup would wear a Dodge or Ram badge. Stay tuned for more...

Chrysler developing TR Ram Life Style Truck to compete with Honda Ridgeline originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 May 2011 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Ram considering new mid-size unibody pickup to replace Dakota

Sam Abuelsamid — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:20:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Chrysler, Dodge

2008 Dodge Dakota - Click above for high-res image gallery

In a rambling presentation that presented almost nothing of any value, Fred Diaz, CEO of Chrysler's newly-created Ram brand, did drop at least one little tidbit in passing. Currently the Dodge truck offerings consist of only two vehicles, the full-size Ram and the mid-size Dakota. The long-term fate of the Dakota has been the subject of much speculation but one of Diaz's slides did mention that Ram was considering a replacement. The key word was "considering."

Interestingly, the possible replacement would be based on a unibody platform which in all likelihood would be derived from the new Grand Cherokee/Durango architecture. That would be a big departure for Chrysler - jumping into a vehicle type that currently consists of only the slow selling Honda Ridgeline. If Chrysler were to build this vehicle, it would make sense to do something to differentiate it from the big Ram, and perhaps with the right styling and powertrain - perhaps something like the Rampage concept from 2006 - it could be more successful than the Honda.

The current Durango will remain in production until mid-2011 and the new truck, if approved, would not launch until at least then.

Gallery: 2008 Dodge Dakota

Gallery: 2006 Dodge Rampage Concept

Ram considering new mid-size unibody pickup to replace Dakota originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

eBay Find of the Day: Chrysler Imperial - Rampage edition

Sam Abuelsamid — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:39:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Truck, Auctions, Etc., Chrysler, Dodge, Specialty

1990 Chrysler Imperial pickup -click above for high-res image gallery.

If you have kids, you probably know that no matter how times you tell them that two wrongs don't make a right, they still have to find out for themselves. Case in point, the 1990 Chrysler Imperial - which clearly had way more than two wrongs against it from the start - has been with a Dodge Rampage. The Rampage actually wasn't a terrible idea, although the execution left something to be desired, especially on the inside (where have we heard that one before?).

The Imperial, on the other hand, stretched the K-Car to within an inch of its life - and beyond. With ridiculous overhangs and narrow width, the front-drive Imperial was simply no match for Cadillac and Lincoln - to say nothing of Europe's luxury machines. However, we can't help thinking that if Lee Iacocca had a ranch somewhere, he might have had the Chrysler engineering staff whip up something just like this. As we write this, there are no bids on this luxurious load lugging gem, so have it. Thanks to Craig for the tip!

Gallery: Chrysler Imperial Custom - Rampage edition

[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Find of the Day: Chrysler Imperial - Rampage edition originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

eBay Find of the Day: World's nicest Dodge Rampage?

Alex Nunez — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:02:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Auctions, Dodge, Specialty

1982 Dodge Rampage - Click above for photo gallery

Listen, we're not complaining here. Folks who restore old cars are to be applauded. Period. Mostly, the resto subjects are rides with mass appeal -- cars everyone is familiar with. Those are great and all, but the really insane aficionados are the ones who restore things you'd never think of. Seriously, though -- would you restore a 1982 Dodge Rampage? Frankly, we probably wouldn't either. But in this case, some Mopar lunatic did. And we want to hug him. We'll go out on a limb here and say that this is probably The Nicest Rampage in America, because on the exceedingly rare occasion when we actually see one out and about, it's usually a tired-looking disaster that's hauling something like 300 pounds of manure and/or a month's worth of recycling. This one? Concours condition. It's pretty amazing. Anything that wasn't up to snuff was replaced. You could touch the engine bay and then perform open-heart surgery without scrubbing in -- it's that clean. If a perfect Rampage in Sport Edition duds is the missing link in your personal collection, $12,900 on eBay is all that stands between you and forgotten-car Nirvana. Will people think you're crazy for spending that much on a Rampage? Probably, but screw those haters. They're just jealous. Follow the jump for a video produced by the seller, Best of Show Automotive in Mentor, OH.

Gallery: eBay Find: 1982 Dodge Rampage

[Source: eBay Motors | Images: Best of Show Automotive]

Continue reading eBay Find of the Day: World's nicest Dodge Rampage?

eBay Find of the Day: World's nicest Dodge Rampage? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Forget the G8 ST: Chrysler studying unibody pickup

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:01:00 EST

Filed under: Truck, Chrysler, Dodge

Click above for a gallery of the Dodge Rampage concept

Just as General Motors announces the death of the short-lived ~~El Camino revival~~ Pontiac G8 ST, comes news that Chrysler is considering making a place for the same market with a uni-body pickup. Perfect timing, right? Considering the Pentastar brand trotted out a revived Dodge Rampage concept back in 2006 at the Chicago Auto Show, the news isn't particularly shocking. That concept was supposed to preview the direction the brand could take with future pickups, as sales of the Dakota mid-sizer were falling rapidly.

Despite the slow sales of traditional small trucks, the market isn't exactly dead. Competition for a new Rampage truck could come from Toyota, which already announced it was considering producing the A-BAT and General Motors, which could replace its GMC Canyon with a unibody truck based on the Denali XT concept. Honda is currently the only player in the uni-body truck market with the Ridgeline, though that model has been on the market since 2005, has seen few meaningful changes and hasn't set the world on fire.

Gallery: 2006 Dodge Rampage Concept

[Source: Detroit News]

Forget the G8 ST: Chrysler studying unibody pickup originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments