Forget the G8 ST: Chrysler studying unibody pickup

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.

[Source: Detroit News]