Chrysler Looking to New Big Rams to Haul in Some Cash
October 23, 2009
Chrysler Group LLC's Dodge Ram pickup has been the company's biggest - literally and 
figuratively - success story since the launch of the "big rig"-looking light-duty Ram in 1993. That new-generation Ram reinvigorated Chrysler's market share in the segment in which it was a distant No. 3 in a two-company race.
Now Chrysler needs the Ram to come through again. The new, 2010 Heavy Duty variant of the Ram coming to showrooms next month is the first genuinely fresh product Chrysler has launched since emerging from bankruptcy in early June and many analysts believe Chrysler - starved for new product and with few meaningful prospects in its near-term pipeline - could use a boost for what is widely believed to be a cashflow-poor bottom line.
Heavy-duty pickups are one of the industry's most profitable model lines, with MSRPs often in excess of $50,000. Buyers - in the case of the Ram Heavy Duty, about 83 percent of them - typically pay thousands extra for the optional diesel engines favored for towing and hauling heavy cargo, adding more profit potential.
But the nation's economic travails put a chill on the once-steaming pickup market and although the 1993-vintage Ram started Chrysler's steady climb towards parity in the segment with chief rivals Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co., sales for the Ram line (encompassing both light- and heavy-duty models) were off 27 percent through September. And that's compared with 2008 sales figures that were themselves markedly diminished from prior years.
Although Chrysler is launching its new Ram Heavy Duty line in just a few weeks, Ford will be close behind with its new lineup of F-Series Super Duty models for 2011, launching in early spring. The new Super Duty line also will feature an all-new, in-house-designed turbodiesel V8 for which engineers are promising big performance and best-in-class fuel economy.
Ram Carries The Load
Michael Berube, director of pickup truck product planning, says the heavy-duty segment accounts for one-third of the total fullsize-pickup market, which last year totaled about 1.6 million sales.
Ram's portion of the heavy-duty market is about 23 percent, Berube said at a media event this week to introduce the 2010 Ram Heavy Duty lineup.
In a segment with intensely loyal customers, he said Chrysler hopes to improve on its 23-percent share by grabbing an additional one percent of the market with the new Heavy Duty Rams. Based on last year's total industry sales, that would amount to somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 to 5,500 additional customers taken from the segment's only other players, Ford and GM.
Carving out new share will not be simple, given the well-known allegiance of the segment's buyers. But Chrysler has a one-two punch that may help get it done: aggressive pricing and a new crew-cab body style.
Pricing Power
Chrysler's opening gambit for increasing the 2010 Ram Heavy Duty's market share is lower prices and enhanced content.
The truck at the Ram Heavy Duty lineup's absolute entry point (a configuration few retail buyers choose) - a 2-wheel-drive Ram 2500 regular cab ST with an 8-foot bed - is $1,970 less than the equivalent 2009 model. The truck's starting price, including destination, is $28,165.
That includes the Ram Heavy Duty line's standard engine, the 5.7-liter Hemi V8, which in newly upgraded form generates 383 horsepower and 400 lb.-ft. of torque and more standard features, said Chrysler.
A more-typical configuration, a Ram 2500 SLT with 4-wheel drive and the Ram HD line's new crew cab body style and shorter, 6.3-foot bed, starts at $39,430, an amount that's $40 less than last year's model with the smaller quad cab body.
The gasoline-engine lineup tops out with the Ram 3500 4x4 in the Mega Cab body style and Laramie trim with the 6.3-foot bed: $51,595.
But considering more than four out of five Ram HD buyers choose the Cummins Turbo Diesel engine option, its price needs to be factored in to the price of just about any truck in the lineup.
For 2010, the Cummins Turbo Diesel option is a resounding $7,615.
In all, there are three cab styles (more on that below), two bed sizes, five trim levels (ST, SLT, TRX, Laramie and Power Wagon) and single and dual-rear-wheel layouts.
Crew Cab Crucial
But it's the crew cab body style that has Ram planners geeked. Previously, the Ram HD lineup did not offer a crew cab - the most popular body configuration for heavy-duty pickups, accounting for about half of the segment's sales.
Previously, the Ram HD lineup was comprised of regular cab (a single bench seat), quad cab (two rows of seats but with smaller-sized rear doors) and the Mega Cab (the supersized body style that also represents the top of the line in pricing).
Crew cabs have grown from about 20 percent of the segment in 2002 to almost 50 percent last year. Without a the crew cab style that addresses the heart of the segment, the old Ram was left with the less-useful quad cab or the prospect of moving up the buyer to the most-expensive body style, the Mega Cab.
"Research confirmed that heavy duty customers want a cab with four full-size doors," said Fred Diaz, president and CEO of the newly formed Dodge Ram Brand.
"We're finally in the crew-cab business," added Berube.
Along with the new crew cab body style, the new 2010 lineup also marks the first time the heavy duty models have a totally different look from light-duty Rams. There's no mistaking the familial bloodlines, but the Ram HDs have an even larger grille.
"Nobody was going to argue about that," said Joe Dehner, head of Dodge design, laughing about adding even more prominence to the Ram's signature styling element.
Along with the new grille is a more upright hood - a lot more upright, as it turns out, for anyone hoping to see something directly in front and below these freight trains - a restyled front bumper and, for dual-rear-wheel models with optional fender flares, some of the largest and most outrageously flowing all-metal flares the industry's probably ever seen.
Inside, the materials are noticeably upgraded, particularly on highline models, and there are some 42 individual storage areas. The shifter was moved to the steering column to enable more center-seat space and there is practically every amenity that can be imagined, including an iPod connection cable, rear-seat entertainment and even heat for the rear seats and steering wheel.
Capability Sells
Ram HD vehicle line executive Mike Cairns said 83 percent of Ram HD buyers chose the Cummins 6.7-liter Turbo Diesel engine last year. It has 350 horsepower and 650 lb.-ft. of torque. The torque figure - as well as better fuel economy and longer driving range - is what appeals to buyers, almost all of whom use the truck to tow large trailers or haul heavy loads in the bed.
Most important, both Gross Vehicle Weight Rating for 2500 models and Gross Combined Weight Rating for 3500-series models have had maximums meaningfully increased, to 9,600 lbs. and 24,000 lbs., respectively. Front Gross Axle Weight Ratings also have been hiked for several models.
Engineers say 85 percent of buyers opt for 4-wheel drive. About 58 percent tow some kind of trailer.
It's a male-dominated segment: 90 percent of buyers are men and 85 percent are married. "They eat breakfast and they like bacon," Cairns summarized. - Bill Visnic, Senior Contributing Editor
Photos by Chrysler
1. Most vital to 2010 Ram Heavy Duty lineup is the addition of a crew-cab body style.
2. Materials are upgraded and there is a lot less hard plastic - at least for upper-trim interiors.
3. Optional full-metal fender flares for Ram 3500 are things of beauty.
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