Reference page: http://www.car-truck.com/chryed/buzz/b012901.htm
I've been receiving tons of questions about the next
generation Dodge Ram truck codenamed DR. Most seem to
be wondering when will we get our first look at the all new
truck?
We'll get our first official peek at the next generation Dodge
Ram on February 7th 2001 at the upcoming Chicago Auto
Show. But you don't have to wait till next week to see it. The
image above is a composite created by our Ace one man art
department. I've run it by several of my Buzz Patrollers
who've seen the new truck and it gets high marks for
accuracy. The only flaws are the headlights (my sources tell
me that instead of the Ram units in the composite the DR
have headlights that "that look like the ones on the 300M.)
and that the air intake under the front grill is too small,
other then that they say its very close.
Dodge's St Louis North assembly plant where the current
Ram Quad Cab is built will get the privilege of being the
launch plant for the next Ram. The first pilots will run in
March. Production of the current Ram will wrap-up at SLN
on June 22nd. New Ram production will begin on the 6th of
July with the first production model rolling of the line on
July 26. If everything goes as scheduled, we should expect
the new truck to be available to the public in the fall of this
year
As you can see from the composite image the new Rams
styling is evolutionary rather then revolutionary. Sources
who've seen the new truck report that it has a much more
imposing presence then the current model "The new truck
just looks BIG. With the hood up, you need to look down
into the engine bay to see the motor, if you wanted to
package a super charger or something like that there is
plenty of room on top, reaching the spark plugs is a pain
though."
One beef that owners have had with the current model is the
fact that the 16 inch wheels look too small. To remedy this,
the new Ram will come standard with 17", 18" rims and 20"
wheels will be an option. Another often heard complaint
from readers regards the lack of a crew cab option. The
good news is that Dodge will be offering crew cab version of
the truck. In-fact the crew cab will be the truck that Dodge
unveils next week in Chicago.
The biggest news will be the all new 5.7 liter HEMI V8 under
the hood. The rest of the engine line-up will include the new
3.7 liter V6, 4.7 liter V8 and the new 8.3 liter V10. For the
time being the Cummins Turbo diesel will continue to be
offered. The Buzz is that either a Mercedes or Detroit Diesel
engine will replace it in the coming years.
I'll have all the details for you next week when Dodge
officially unveils their new truck.
-------------------------------------------
Steven St.Laurent
Test Engineer
Test Branch, GSD, MCTSSA
MARCORSYSCOM, USMC
760-725-2506 (DSN 365-2506)
Work:mailto:stlaurents@mctssa.usmc.mil
Home:mailto:saint1958@home.com
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