Dodge commercial trucks coming

When the “big rig” Ram first appeared with its Cummins turbodiesel and V10 gas engines, quite a few buyers made them into tow trucks, panel trucks, and other heavier-than-usual-duty vehicles, saving quite a bit of cash over buying a standard commercial truck. However, that market never really took off, because commercial vehicle customizers really need a standard frame to attach their equipment to - the kind of frame the GM TopKick and Ford 4500/5500 have. For over a decade, Dodge was reportedly working on such a vehicle (”reportedly” does not mean “actually”).

Now, finally, we will be seeing Dodge commercial trucks designed with an industry standard frame, using the Hemi gas engine and a new-to-Dodge, larger Cummins turbodiesel coupled to an Aisin six-speed automatic or, presumably, a heavy-duty manual transmission. The Aisin automatic eliminates what might be the biggest drawback of the Rams to commercial buyers, which is the perceived or real inefficiency and unreliability of the Ram automatic in medium duty vehicles. (Medium duty in this context means heavier-duty than “heavy duty” Ram, Silverado, and F-350 trucks.)

What we do not know, and are not likely to find out from official sources, is where this truck came from. Was it designed by Dodge or by Freightliner, or, as is most likely, by engineers from both companies? Was the frame adapted from a Dodge or Freightliner design, borrowed from some other DCX company, or built fresh for this purpose? (The latter seems unlikely but one never knows.) In short, how much Ram is in this new Ram?

These trucks are due to be debuted tomorrow, but as usual we have advance information, this time at http://www.allpar.com/model/ram/medium-duty.html … this is a 140,000 vehicle/year market that Dodge currently has no presence in, with 93% of the sales going to GM and Ford. Getting into the commercial truck market will both benefit Dodge directly with added sales, and by implication make Dodge’s pickups seem more, well, Ram-tough. The name on the utility company rig, tow truck, motor home, or cube truck can become the name in your driveway, just like with GMC, Chevrolet, and Ford trucks. It adds a certain amount of credibility and macho flavor.

It seems like a sensible decision; we just have to wonder, why did it take ten years? Like a turbocharged Neon, some ideas just seemed to make more sense in 1993-1996, but are still welcome even if just a tad late.