My local stealership has a new 09 Ram quad cab, red, 4x4, big horn - on the
lot. It was dark when I was on the lot but I gotta say I really like it. I
was holding judgment on the trucks looks until I got to see it in person. The
front end is a big improvement over the outgoing body style. The front end is
nosed forward slightly - and its not as bad as some photos made it look. I'm
going to take one for a test drive soon, so I'll be sure to give me feedback on
that.
The ground clearance on the front end is much better than I was expecting.
Like its GMC and Chevy competitors, the front end is lowered. The air dam on
the front is the lowest hanging part of the body of the truck. The IFS is
neatly tucked up and as for overall ground clearance, the rear differential is
actually the lowest protruding part of the undercarriage. Removal of the lower
air dam would be recommended if you planned on doing any offroading. Another
exterior style element the Ram has used, is the mammoth sized emblem in the
center of the tail gate. As the major truck brands have pushed styles more and
more "in your face bold" - each trying to out-do eachother after the origial
1994 Ram started setting the trend... each manufacturer seems to now want to
have the biggest emblem on the rear of the truck, to make sure you know what
truck just passed you.
I don't much care for that bigass emblem. And upon close inspection - I saw
that debadging the new Ram would leave the tailgate with an embossed Ram-logo
shaped spot on the tailgate. The emblem is actually recessed and set INTO the
tailgate sheetmetal. Tail lights are a big improvement from the "afterburner"
style Dodge started using on its trucks and SUV's The afterburner looked good
at first, but then Chevys started using them, Toyota used something that
resembled that style - and it was looking quite overdone.
The box sides are much thicker than the previous models. The new "ram box"
option is the obvious reason for this. However the models that do not have
this feature look a little weird at first if you are used to the older designs.
The interior really is as awesome as the photos suggest. This could quite
possibly be the best dodge truck interior ever designed. Again I cant wait to
get in one and test it out.
Rumors have it a diesel will be available in the 1500 Ram for 2010, and the
2500 and 3500 trucks are allegedly supposed to have a different body style than
the 1500 trucks. Similar to what ford started doing in 1998 when they
redesigned the F-series trucks. This would be a first for the Ram, as the
1500, 2500, and 3500 trucks have always shared the same body styles. I hope
the HD truck designs are good! While I love the new 1500 Ram, the IFS is still
something that would keep me from buying one. I'm still oldschool and prefer a
solid axle under the front of my 4x4's.
Kudos to Dodge for this redesign. This is the first truck in years they have
produced that I actually am excited about. I'll letcha know how my test drive
goes when I get behind the wheel of one.
TerribleTom
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