I thought the 2010 Dodge Ram heavy duty trucks were supposed to be shown at the Det. Auto Show. Haven't seen any pictures of it yet. Anyone from the Great White North been to the Show yet? If there are pics, where can they be found? Not the "spy" photos that are basically hidden.

 

Looks like the light duty will be on hold:



"Chrysler says the planned introduction of a Cummins-built, light-duty diesel engine for the Dodge Ram 1500 has been delayed until 2011 or later.

"We've moved its introduction back; it was 2010," Frank Klegon, Chrysler’s executive vice president of product development, said at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Sunday. "It will be 2011 calendar year or later."

Cummins had previously announced that it planned to start manufacturing the new engine no later than the end of 2010 at its Columbus, Ohio, engine plant.

Klegon cited the high cost of new hardware needed to meet diesel emissions regulations in all 50 states for 2010. Those regulations mandate lowering nitrogen oxide exhaust levels more than 90 percent from 2006 levels. NOx is a major air pollutant that contributes to smog, asthma, and respiratory and heart diseases. It's a byproduct of high combustion temperatures. The extra gear will add to the purchase price and could also cost diesel owners additional dollars in maintenance, depending on the NOx trap hardware used.

Pickup truck manufacturers have announced two methods to lower NOx by 2010. The first method depends upon a trap-type NOx catalyst that uses precious metals to create a chemical reaction that lowers NOx levels. It requires no maintenance. The second method is urea selective catalytic reduction. That process is more complex and requires periodic refilling of the urea tank. Urea is injected as a fine mist into the hot exhaust gases. The heat breaks the urea down into ammonia that, when combined with a special catalytic converter, breaks the NOx down into harmless nitrogen gas and water vapor.

Chrysler is the only company that already meets 2010 diesel emissions, in its 6.7-liter six-cylinder Dodge Ram heavy-duty pickups. Other manufacturers, like GM, have said they will use urea SCR for their 2010 light- and heavy-duty pickups.

Klegon said Chrysler and Cummins are trying the determine the best emissions approach to use.

"Emissions (regulations) keep getting tougher and the equipment keeps getting more expensive," Klegon said. "We were hoping to use our current system (NOx catalyst trap), but the extra cost is a reason to bring (urea) SCR forward in time."

Another Chrysler concern is the cost premium that diesel fuel carries over regular unleaded gasoline. Klegon said, however, that diesel fuel in the low-$2 range could negate that."

 

But the questin was specifically about weather anyone has seen the new HD pickups yet. We are all interested to see what the 2010 line will look like.

 

R6-
I do appreciate the info but at this point, I don't have an interest in a diesel 1/2 ton. I am curious about the new HD's. I hear the interiors will be the same as the 09 1500's - a good thing. The new interiors rival Ford trucks in my opinion. I am hoping that the exterior will be very close to the new 1500's which I also like.

 

Probably delayed things because of the state of affairs the big 3 are in. Priorities first....keep the company in business then come out with new trucks...

 

Come out with new trucks to stay in business.

 

You have been awake lately right? You have seen the huge drop in pick-up sales right? You do remember $5/gal fuel right? New trucks are not needed if the existing inventory isn't selling.

The dependence on large inefficient vehicles has caused the failures that the big three are experiencing right now and you are advocating they invest more of the same? We need capable, alternative fueled vehicles from the big three, not more of the same.

 

Uh... last I checked the pickups were still the #1 selling vehicles for the big three and their #1 profit makers. Not a market you want to abandon when you're in financial trouble. Just because the sales have dropped to levels where they're over capacity and not selling enough to support their crappy cars doesn't mean trucks aren't important. It just shows that you can't run a car company on a single profitable vehicle line alone. They need manufacturing/capacity flexibility and cars that make money! If Ford/GM/Chrysler had come out with the Prius instead of Toyota... guess what? They'd still be in big trouble. If it wasn't for trucks and SUV's they would have been bankrupt years ago.

 

Yes, but my original criticism was that the big three need not develop new trucks, but instead invest in alternative power/fuels and better built cars that meet consumer needs. I'll still hold my opinion that the big three will not be saved on trucks. I'll even go further and say that the era of large vehicles is over. If large gasoline powered vehicles make a comeback it will be solely because consumers are largely idiots.

 

BACK TO THE TOPIC: Any pics of the 2010 HD ram?

 

Wow, no half ton diesel, that blows. I wanted one.

 

You pretty much just summed up Adam's point with that statement. They were unprepared for the spike in oil prices and the economic crash. At a time where quality, economical and reasonably priced vehicles are what sells, it should be a priority to offer competitive products that will turn a profit. When your #1 selling cash cows (by an alarmingly high margin) are at the opposite end of this spectrum, your company would be woefully unprepared for a major shift in the market like this. You are in trouble when your #1 selling/margin vehicles are sitting on the lots in large surpluses....what does that say about your lesser selling/margin vehicles, I wonder?

Stakeholders in these companies can and will apply pressure to invest in products that will have a meaningful return....in times like this, the companies may not have a lot of say in where any of their dwindling finances are directed. It could very well mean financing for slower moving products at the very least could be temporarily suspended when the lots are full.

 

I've been searching for "newer" info on the HD and all I find is the old spy photos.

Judging from the other replies to your post, I would say no one has any info.

 

That's right, build new, that is NEW, trucks to stay in business. Not more of the old ones. But I will not be seen in a "Smart Car" or any other little coffin with four wheels. I have seen this all before in the 70's. Gas was at 30 cents and headed up to a buck, people went nuts. Ted Danson, the wacko said we only had ten more years of oil on the earth. The big three have been hit by the junk loans and the economy more than gas prices. This time will pass, the sky is not falling.

 

The 2010 HD trucks are going to debut at the February (Chicago I think) show. They have been debuting there since at least the '94 redesign I think. I spent hours trying to get on the live web cams for the 2003 trucks and eventually got some nice pics I posted on this site of the new trucks.

I don't expect any bug sheet metal changes for '10. Probably a different grill treatment, dually flares of course. Nothing major. I like the interior of the new 1500s and I'm sure the HDs will be virtually identical.