Pickup is finding its niche
Brand-loyal truck buyers may find this model is worth a second look
Pickup truck buyers are the most brand-loyal buyers in the business, so it’s a hard row to hoe for those who aren’t already on top.
But that segment has mushroomed over the past decade, and Chrysler’s line of Ram pickups has benefited from the added bandwidth.
The Ram nameplate was introduced way back in the 1930s as a model within the Dodge truck line, dropped in the 1950s, resurrected in the 1990s and became the formal name for the entire family in 2009.
The 2019 edition, the company’s first all-new pickup since the “restructuring,” is on sale now, starting at $42,095. Since that restructuring, Ram sales in Canada have risen from 36,000 to 104,000 last year. Ram also does relatively better in Canada than the U.S., accounting for some 40 per cent of sales versus 27 per cent in the U.S.
Nobody really seems to know why.
Trying to fully describe a new pickup truck line in a few hundred words is impossible. My rough notes alone are twice as lengthy as that. So, I’ll focus on a few highlights and some specific technologies that are Ramexclusive.
This truck is about as all-new a vehicle gets these days. The four-year development program only carried over a couple of engines, each with significant upgrades, and the eight-speed automatic transmission, again with some significant — and in this case much-needed — upgrades.
Like its main competitors Ford and GM, Ram has gone aluminum. Not whole-hog like Ford, or even quarter-hog like GM (hood, doors, and tailgate). Ram has the light metal just in the hood, tailgate, engine mounts and some underbody components.
Jim Morrison, the Canadian who heads up the Ram brand for North America, says their customers preferred steel for the doors because they felt it was safer in a side-on crash.
The fact that it saved Ram $1 billion, give-or-take in tooling costs, I’m sure had nothing to do with it...
Joe Dehner, Ram’s chief exterior designer, noted that “Big Rig” styling has long been a Ram trademark, and they wanted to retain that. However, the crosshair grille, also a longtime Ram feature, has bitten the big one. Dehner said that design must evolve, but I’m guessing they are also trying to separate Ram from its former Dodge roots.
One of the tricky bits for modern vehicle styling is to incorporate all the sensors and cameras that new safety technologies demand without making them look like they were just pasted on. So, Dehner’s team integrated them into the design, hiding them in places like the lighting systems so they didn’t look like afterthoughts.
The tailgate has a damping feature. It doesn’t crash down when you open it, but glides smoothly into place. Not new in the segment, but new for Ram.
One clever feature which I believe is unique — a warning light on the dash that indicates if the tailgate is down so you don’t back into your garage door with expensive consequences. A deployable step improves access to the pickup box, which also now is fully flat for its entire length.
Another clever feature is the expanded blind-spot warning camera system. It can look beyond the back of the truck for up to 10 metres to mitigate against the risk of running somebody off the road with a trailer. Why they don’t have a camera on the rear trailer bumper itself is another million-dollar idea I’ll never get around to patenting...
The interior is by far the most upscale I’ve ever seen in a pickup, with high-quality materials and bright colours everywhere. On at least one trim level, you can even get real tree wood trim on dash and door panels, with “Laramie Longhorn” branded right into the wood.
All the modern conveniences are available, highlighted by one of the largest central screens in the game — 12 inches — which can be divided in half top-to-bottom and reconfigured a zillion ways. Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, SiriusXM Radio with that company’s new OnStar-like roadside assistance support service — it’s all here. One thing Ram has long owned is the massive central storage bin between the front seats. This one can be reconfigured to suit, and can accommodate a 15-inch laptop, or even hang standard 12-inch office folders. Ram is a real work truck.
A 10-centimetre wheelbase stretch in the Crew Cab model — which accounts for about 75 per cent of Canadian Ram sales — has gone mainly to increased rear seat legroom. The rear seat backs even recline about eight degrees for added comfort. There’s also a secret hidden storage area under that rear seat.
Overall, the new Ram is about 100 kilograms lighter than its predecessor. About 60 kilograms of that came out of the frame, which, thanks to a variety of high-strength steels, is about twice as strong.
Two suspensions are offered on Ram. The steel-sprung one continues with coil springs at the rear rather than leaf springs like just about everybody else. Ram believes this gives superior ride and handling. The oneup option is the air suspension system, which gives an even better ride, and a variety of ride heights. It automatically lowers itself a couple centimetres at highway speeds to reduce drag and improve ride quality, and also can be jacked up for offroad use. An example of how far Ram has gone in pursuit of fuel economy without compromising driveability are the ATMMs — active tuned mass modules. The problem: when the V8 is running on four cylinders, it generates some vibration. The more fuel saved, the bigger the vibration. These ATMMs are electronically driven weights on the frame which can generate their own shaking forces, but 180 degrees out of phase with those from the engine. This allows Ram to push the fuel-saving mode harder without getting unwanted vibration into the cabin. To a similar end, the upper-end sound systems have active noise cancellation.
Mike Szymkiewicz, senior manager of product strategy and volume planning for FCA Canada, admitted that Ram had fallen a bit behind in towing capability and payload metrics compared to Ford and GM, so they’ve upped their game to a maximum of 5,783 kg towing and 1,043 kg payload. That said, he noted that towing ranks about fourth or fifth in purchase reasons, so it’s not quite as critical as it once was.
Three engines will be offered at launch, or soon will be. The only one available immediately is the tried-and-true Hemi, a 5.7-litre V8 producing 395 horsepower and a substantial 410 pound-feet of torque. A diesel option, presumably the Cummins Diesel they use now, will launch in about a year.
In a month or two, the Hemi V8 along with the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 will come on board with the so-called eTorque mild hybrid system. A 48-volt generator-cum-motor can provide up to 90 lb-ft of additional torque on the V6 or 130 lb-ft for the Hemi, and which apparently is only used for a second or two on initial launch and to enable the stop-start function, which really does save fuel in city traffic. We’ll have to wait to see how this works in the real world; I spent my time in a normal Ram.
Now, about that pricing. Szymkiewicz noted that about 99 per cent of Rams in Canada are sold with four-wheel drive, so that $42,095 base list is really more like $46,095. Yikes. And that’s for the base truck. The range-topping Laramie starts at $74,195, and you can option that out to darn close to six figures. Double yikes.
If you’re a Ford or GM truck person, I know it would be quite a stretch for you to even look at a Ram.
But, you might just be missing out.