Autoblog

When Mike Levine at Pickuptrucks.com sets his mind to something, it gets done in a big way. Witness last year's 2007 Heavy-Duty Diesel Truck Shootout. This year he's back with a comparison test that bests his previous effort not only in size and scope, but also in relevance. For 2008 he has assembled every player in the half-ton truck segment, including brand new 2009 models of the Ford F-150, Dodge Ram, Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, Nissan Titan and a 2008 Toyota Tundra. Despite the sagging economy, Americans still love us some trucks, and we've never encountered a more thorough comparison of their performance, towing abilities and fuel economy than what Mike has published at Pickuptrucks.com. Consider it the bible of half-ton pickup comparison shopping and have it pre-loaded on your iPhone when you start visiting dealerships.

We're not going to tell you which pickup won, but we will say that it was remarkable to learn how varied are the targets at which each of these trucks is aiming. Some were great for one task while failing miserably at another, and the winner was the one that performed well the most often. Click the source link below to check out the Pickuptrucks.com 2008 Half-Ton Shootout.

[Source: Pickuptrucks.com]

You know those videos that sometimes automatically start playing when you visit automaker websites? You know how you usually click right past them? Sometimes, they're worth paying attention to. If you visit to the 2009 Dodge Ram website, you're treated to a tour of the truck by Ralph Gilles and Mark Allen. Before the design guys give their spiel, however, you get a very brief glimpse of a poster showing '09 Ram body styles and options/accessories. There, clear as day, is a shot of the forthcoming Ram R/T.

When the new Ram was initially unveiled, PickupTrucks.com confirmed that the R/T was indeed on the way. Word at the time was that the R/T would be a standard-cab, 4x2, short-bed truck with a HEMI, 5-speed auto, and a 4.10 rear axle ratio. As you can see in the photo at right, the truck gets a monochrome treatment (a la the Ram Sport), a deep chin spoiler, and a hood reminiscent of the one used on the Challenger R/T and SRT8. As PickupTrucks.com reported, expect the Ram R/T's powertrain combo to deliver a sub-7 second 0-60 time. It'll be interesting to see the R/T's marketplace reception, given that gas prices are likely to continue climbing for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately for Chrysler, it's a less-than-perfect environment for welcoming a new performance-oriented truck. Nothing a little cash on the hood and a locked-in gas price can't fix, right? Thanks for the tip, David!

[Source: Dodge]

Click image for a hi-res gallery of the Ram reveal preparations

The official introduction of the 2009 Dodge Ram is still almost a half-hour away, but preparations for the cattle stampede that will herald the truck's arrival appear to be going exactly as planned. Tucked out of sight in a downtown Detroit parking lot-turned-corral are 115 head of longhorn cattle that came all the way from Oklahoma for the event. As you can see, they're fine-looking critters, and according to the wranglers babysitting them, they're also as friendly as can be. They just don't smell too great. But hey, get 100-plus steer in one place and there'll be no shortage of BS.

Also on hand with our animal friends are a trio of 2009 Rams. They're disguised, but we managed to get peeks of different elements as the trucks were readied for their big moment. We'll have photos and video of the reveal and press conference a little later, but until then, we've got these pregame pics to tide you over.

click above for 83 high-res images of the 2009 Dodge Ram

Since both The New York Times and AllPar.com have already broken the embargo, we don't mind telling you all you need to know about the 2009 Dodge Ram. The look is as aggressive as a Ram should be, but slippier through the air than past models. Instead of upping the ante with an even larger grille, Dodge designers instead tipped the angle of the grille forward to impart the face of their truck with a solid presence. Another interesting styling touch is molding the rear bumper around the two chrome tipped tailpipes instead of having the pipes just poke out beneath.

Mechanically speaking, the '09 Ram comes ready to play with a new 5.7L HEMI V8 with 380 HP and 404 ft.-lb. of torque (the Toyota Tundra's 5.7L V8 produces 381 HP and 401 ft.-lb. of torque for comparison's sake). There's also a 4.7L V8 available with 310 HP and 330 ft.-lb. of torque and a 3.7L V6 making 215 HP and 235 ft.-lb. of torque. Transmissions include a six-speed manual and four- and five-speed automatics, and gear ratios run from 3.21 to 3.55 to 3.92 to 4.10. When optimally configured, the new Ram can sprint to 60 MPH in a mere 7 seconds. Snappy for a full-size truck, wouldn't you say?

More after the jump, including the 2009 Dodge Ram's official rap sheet and 83 high-res images in our gallery below.

We tried to get it going for last week, but John had violence visited upon his mouth which reduced him to saying "Spibit?" We're back on the podcast horse this week for Autoblog Podcast #82, though. We start off proceedings with the teaser pic of the Chevy Volt, which then takes us to a wider-ranging split-grille vs. three bar smackdown. Speaking of teasing pictures, the 2009 Dodge Ram showed up on the internets, and it turns out that Chrysler broke their own embargo by mistake. Whoops. Official pictures of an upcoming Mopar were also released, this time on purpose. Some minimally informative macro shots of the Challenger SRT-8 were released by Chrysler, much to our delight. Moving on, we touch on the looming cage match between the Hyundai Genesis coupe (and how quickly the tuner world is going to adopt and rock that platform) and the neo-ponycars. Speaking of a newcomer challenging the old guard, Hummer's HX made its mug known, and the concept is pretty much what you'll see when the H4 goes gunning at the Wrangler. Wrapping it up, we discuss some recent visitors to the Autoblog Garage, thoroughly eviscerating the Lancer ES before calling it a show. Since we took a week off, we give you the extra-value duration of 53:30. Enjoy!

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UPDATE: This is the real thing. See here.

A word of caution: We have no info other than the photo itself, which certainly appears to be the real deal and has been posted at DodgeTalk.com. For all we know, it's a 'chop, but let's assume for the sake of discussion that it isn't. If this is indeed the 2009 Ram, then Chrysler should soon find itself very much in the thick of the truck-segment mix. Of course, in the battle to win truck buyers, it's the tech specs that ultimately get people to commit. We don't know what those'll be yet, but in terms of appearance, this is a grown-up and classy evolution of the Ram nameplate.

The most important visual element, the grille, ensures that it is instantly identifiable as Dodge's full-size truck. Gone are the round-bottomed headlights in favor of the wraparound\parallelogram-shaped units shown. They're simple and fit the rest of the look. The truck pictured is obviously a higher trim level, as indicated by the polished wheels and two-tone paint scheme. Speaking for myself, it's easily as good-looking as the current GMC Sierra and Ford F-150, the two best-looking full-size trucks. 2008 is going to be a very interesting year in the segment as both Ford and Dodge bring their latest, greatest, best and brightest to the market and into battle against the year-old offerings from GM and Toyota.

If this is the new Ram, we're looking forward to seeing more of it.

Thanks to Gary for the tip!

[Source: DodgeTalk]

Gas prices are skyrocketing, car sales are down, and construction has been hurt by a slowing economy. For the auto industry, that means pickup truck sales are sagging. The Dodge Ram has been feeling the pinch, with sales down 2% vs. 2006 and sky-high incentives to keep numbers even that close. In years past, Chrysler management would have rammed more Rams down their dealers' throats, but the Cerberus regime is opting to idle plants instead. Both the Warren, MI and Fenton, MO plants will be shuttered for the entire month of January. The Coahuila, Mexico truck plant, which builds the 2500-5500 HD trucks, will also be closing for the first two weeks of the new year.

With the unveiling of the all-new 2009 Dodge Ram in Detroit only a few weeks away, things are looking pretty meek for the full-size truck market. While we're sure the thousands of temporarily laid off workers would rather be building trucks, at least they'll have plenty of time to check out their next build in Cobo Hall at the 2008 NAIAS.

[Source: pickuptruck.com]

With the arrival of Toyota's all-new Tundra on the scene, Dodge is at least entertaining the possibility that its solid third place in half-ton truck sales might be threatened for the first time... ever. Enter the 2009 Dodge Ram, caught here for the first time being tested. These mules are the real deal, reports Mike Levine at Pickuptruck.com, not like the ones that have been caught in the past with the truck's new nose grafted onto the current truck's body. Of course, that nose is as obnoxiously large as ever, a Ram trademark since the truck's highly successful redesign back in 1994.

We've also got new engine news to report. Seems the popular 5.7L HEMI may get variable valve timing and grow in displacement to achieve a simultaneous increase in both power and fuel efficiency. The 4.7L base V8 will also get a 30% increase in power and 10% increase in torque, again accompanied by an increase in fuel efficiency. Look for Chrysler's new Phoenix family of V6 engines to donate a motor for the Ram, as well, possibly with cylinder deactivation so save fuel. Finally, as we reported a while back, a new Cummins light-duty diesel V8 is still being developed for the new Ram, as well.

[Source: Pickuptruck.com]

A few weeks back, the top brass at GM stated that they intended to remain competitive in the hyper-competitive full-size truck market, and now we know just how serious the General is about protecting its truck turf. Beginning last Saturday, all 2007 extended and crew cab Silverados will have zero-percent financing for up to 60 months. GM spokesman John McDonald was quoted by Automotive News as saying that GM wanted to remain competitive with challengers that have been using "increasingly heavy spending" to move pickups.

While this news isn't exactly great for GM, there won't be many truck buyers complaining. It'll be interesting to see if Ford and Toyota further escalate the prodigious cash giveaway in a truck market that is more competitive than ever.

[Source: Automotive News (subscription req'd)]

In Parts 1 and 2 of his 2007 Heavy Duty Shootout, Mike Levine and his cohorts from Pickuptruck.com compared the acceleration of gas three-quarter ton and diesel one-ton pickups from Dodge, Chevy/GMC and Ford on flat surfaces, both unloaded and loaded with 10,500-lb trailers. For the third and final report, however, Levine introduced grades of 7% and 15% to the equation.

The results were surprising, and really had the most influence on Pickuptruck.com's final conclusions. We won't spoil the dramatic tail of each hill climb at Ford's Michigan Proving Grounds, but the 2007 Ford F-250 with its 6.8L Triton V10 was particularly impressive in the gasser category, and as anyone who has driven one would expect, the 2007 Chevy Silverado 3500 and its 6.6L Duramax diesel/6-speed transmission combo proved overly dominant among the oil burners. That said, the conclusions are only half the story, as Pickuptruck.com follows each truck through every gear as they climb their grades. These rigorous tests brought every truck's weakness, which were glaring in some cases, as well as their strengths.

Click the Read link below to read the conclusion to the 2007 Heavy Duty Shootout and learn once and for all what pickup these guys would park in their garage.

[Source: Pickuptruck.com]