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Comments
And the Hemi will be available in MY 04.
If the dealer is interested in selling one to you, have them call you. I have my salesguy have me on his Dbase.
If you know of a large Dodge Dealer, they will get them by the end of the month. You cannot make orders until the end of the month because they have not been released from the factory as "for sale". My dealer, Cerritos Dodge, says that they will have them by AUg. 31, and he will call me then.
However, September 15th will be opening season. ("wabbit season, duck season"). According to my postcard, there will be selected dealers that will have them for display.and yes, orders can be taken then.
Here is an estimate of pricing from one site:
http://www.car-truck.com/chryed/buzz/b080101.htm
Usually these guy's facts are exact(they were on the nose with everything about the Jeep Liberty.)
I spoke with Dodge CS and the rep said that actual pricing will not be out until the end of the month, but it will be barely above the '01 pricing, if not exact.
My dealer is also trying to persuade me to get an 01 model. $7000 off sticker of a loaded SLT+ is not bad but not good enough
Thanks for the info. Guess I'll just have to wait for the detailed pricing. I have seen the article at the URL you posted before. Gives you a general feel for the pricing - which as you say seems to be in line with the current pricing for the Dodge Rams. The points I am most interested in with the new Rams are (1) pricing versus the Ave (2) amount of backseat room versus the Ave, and (3) quality of ride versus the Ave. The ride in the Ave that I drove was very commendable and the backseat is great. The high price and the looks are the two drawbacks. Let me know when you actually get to see one and drive it. Thanks again!
have you tried the f150 supercrew? i have one and really like it...and i'm not even a traditional ford man. i too will be looking at the '02 quad, but from pictures, the back seat room looks scrunched compared to the s-crew. only time will tell...
(877) MEET-MAYOR
http://www.meetthemayor.com/
bowhuntwi, I have that postcard, too. Sept. 15 is just a preview day. You can drive it, on and off road, and show people how to tow (to demonstrate the towing abilities). I signed up.
And of course, if you want to make deals and buy, Chrysler Financial will be there.
you can now go to http://www.4adodge.com and build an '02 ram! unfortunately it looks like dodge has made some options tough to get. for instance, you can't get the 20 inch wheels on any truck other than an slt+ (the most expensive one). also, you can't get the high tech 4.7l v/8 and 45rfe tranny on the slt+ plus version. that is just plain stupid!
The Ram Quad starts under $23K, STRIPPED. Ford Screw (S-Crew) starts at around $28, right? But it is no where near stripped. All of those typical options will put up to the price of a supercrew, but will still come under a Chevy Avalanche (Supercrew's main competitor), which starts @ $31K.
For me, I'm getting a stripper truck because it will be for play and play only. I don't tow much, and an ATV will be the heaviest thing that will ever be in the bed, so the hemi won't be needed...for now. The ram is the better looking of the bunch, so it's the winner. IF the S-crew came as a stripper, I would have consider that a while back.
Even though Ford and I have had our disagreements, I haven't test drove any that has compared with what I have got. The HD chevy/gmc has cheap looking interior, cardboard sunvisors, narrow buckets, and the list goes on....Dodge doesn't have a crew cab........and this new quad, they are limiting the configurations, so I'll probably stay with my Ford.
I saw another "covered up" Ram this morning on my way to work. This time is was a black HD dualie. It appeared to be a crew cab to the full tilt. This guys refused to acknowledge that i was looking at his tester. i knew it was the ram because of the interior, the door handles, and the location of the model label (which was also covered up.)
Like I said, the quad cab is not as roomy as a s-crew or the gm twins crew cabs, but it is far larger than the xtended cab versions of the competition. However, the HD had rear doors that appeared larger than the QC's rear doors.
like you and i said, you have to see the dodge ram QC in person and test it. pictures do no justice. the first 02 ram i saw a few months ago, 1500, it looked like a crew cab. The interior is quite roomy. those pictures you see on the websites are computer generated, not photos.
what GM 1/2 ton pickup is crew cab? the avalanche? That plastic coated truck is marketed as an suv.
yeah, ford has that market sewn up. i see a supercrew every ten minutes.
gm just started making a heavy-half ton crew cab. intially they were only producing heavy duty crews and of course the gawd awefull avalanche!
Definitely interesting and fun.
The Truck
The new truck looks much nicer in person than in pictures. No one could answer technical questions and they did not even know that pricing had been released. Rear axle looks like corporate 9.25" + disc. Front suspension looks nicely done but difficult to lift if so inclined. Interior is sharp and there is definitely enough room in back seat for adults. Nice tie downs (like marine cleats) in truck bed. Very solid tailgate. I'm not sure how common this is with modern vehicles but the engine is not centered (a little to the right) in the vehicle so the driveshaft has a compound angle. I don't know if this will effect longevity of u-joints.
On Road Course
I compared with a Chevy Silverado but it was not apples to apples. I believe all the trucks were supposed to be in 4 wheel drive but the Dodge I drove was not and it also did not have ABS which the Chevy did. The instructor gave some lame excuse about the lack of ABS which did not really make sense because part of the course was a swerve and stop accident avoidance drill. The Chevy stopped better but the Dodge handled better and felt more solid. The standard rear wheel only ABS is as bad as ever on the Dodge.
Off Road Course
Got to drive by yourself. Short course but tough. Muddy and extremely rutted great showcase for a very solid chassis and properly working suspension. The truck had regular all-season tires and if had not seen the truck get through the course I would have been skeptical. Also the 4.7 liter engine is very refined. Powerful and quiet.
Tower of Power/Tug of War
I am not an expert and this was likely designed for entertainment but I am a little suspicous. They hooked up the Dodge back to back with each of the following F150, Silverado, Tundra. All trucks were in 4 Lo and had a tug of war. Naturally the Dodge won all the pulls. The announcer was touting power and torque but it seems to me that traction was the key. None of the trucks were power limited, all slowly spun their tires during the pull. The Dodge less than the rest. The surface was concrete and the tires all looked fairly standard. Maybe the Dodge was weighted down somehow to give it a traction advantage?
The Tower Of Power was supposed to be showing towing capacity and implied that the Dodge could lift 8,650 lbs straight up. I don't doubt that any modern truck has the hp/torque to lift that kind of weight but I am not so sure of the traction needed
Spiel
Lots of touting Safety, Style and Value. Unfortunately the neglected to say why 4 whl ABS and side air bags are expensive options. Gave away silly dogtags with Ram on them. A fairly useless gimmick from a marketing perspective since no one would ever wear them. Small pamphlet on truck was available but no real brochures.
I don't go until September 15th in Alamitos, CA. They can keep them dog tags. I'm looking forward to it, even though now i know what to expect.
When i went to DC's Jeep 101 event and test drove and off roaded the Jeep Liberty, they didn't know squat, either.
GM has this same thing called autoshow in motion. their off road course sucks, however.
did they feed ? If they don't, i can forget about bringing the family.
When I first saw it on the web, i said that's cool looking, but leery. When I saw it in person, I put it on my shopping list. When I priced it on the net, I became back leery. When I test drive it, that is my decision to buy.
Now that i found out that at the base price for a
quad cab barely comes with the seats and everything is an option, that puts me in skepticsim.
Yeah, I agree, it really does not give much ummmph. How can it? After the supercrew, avalanche, heavy duties, and even the toyota tundra (which all made big press news) it doesn't have much to offer that will make it stand out over that.
OPTIONAL side Air bags, OPTIONAL 20 inchers and a redo on the shnozz is not enough.
But it is enough for me..
Dodge may speed up the process and put the hemi in just for you, emale.
the only hemi hope is that there has been conficting info about that motors intro. some publications say it will join the engine lineup for '03...other '04 and yet some say it will be available mid '02. only dc knows for sure...and they ain't fessin' up yet!
wfbarto,
the v10 has always only been availabe in the 3/4ton or heavier trucks...never in the 1/2 ton.
The real race is for the new hybrid vehicles or fuel cells that generate hydrogen. I put on a lot miles hauling building materials because I have an older fixer house. I only tow heavy loads a few times a year and then I have the option of using a friend's old 3/4 ton Dodge tank. I would like to drive a pickup as my daily vehicle if it doesn't cost me my whole paycheck to feed it. 10-12 mpg doesn't turn my crank with $2 gas or $2 diesel.
The Hemi was god when gas was $.25 a gallon. A Hemi that only gets 10-12 mpg that you can only afford to roll out only on weekends to wax is not how I want to spend the next $27,000.00 for a vehicle.
DC if you're listening - Teach the Hemi to sip gas, or start bolting a hybrid engine into the new Ram so that those of us with mortgages and teenagers can still afford to buy and drive a Ram truck!
I also commute 35-40 round trip daily, and that will also be a problem for me, too. The best combination would be of course a regular cab v6 with a 5-speed for us commuters.
Apparently NONE of us wants that.
i didn't no alcoholics drink gas...well, maybe ethanol blends?
They guzzle down gas like a college frat downing a brew. Is that better?
I believe 2003 will introduce a hybrid Durango. I think that will be a tester to see whether if it sells or if it is durable enough.
At least the great thing about the pickups is that they still can take regular gas. My SUV and car doesn't require the high octane, it DEMANDS it. Here in LA, regular gas is averaging $1.55.
tason67, the average pricing of gas varies from sections to cities. LA Airport (LAX) prices are about $1.85-2 bills. Mid LA areas average $1.55. Valley areas are $1.40 BEverly Hills, believe it or not, I saw a Mobil Station last week at $1.40.
Tip on squeezing an extra few miles: the bed absorbs some of the aerodynamic wind. Put a tonneau cover over the bed or take the rear gate off when not using the bed.
that reminds me. bowhuntwi, I just received a solicited call from a Ford dealer offering me a great program on a supercrew lariat 4x2, and chevy already has been sending me "coupons" for $1000 off towards a 1500 2001 Silverado. They are already trying to make deals.
if i were you, i woul wait until 2003, bowhuntwi. I already saw a half covered up "preemie tester" heavyduty ram and it had a crew cab.
well, it works for my toyota...when i put 92 octane in Texaco versus 92 octane of Arco (i don't think you guys have arco), i was able to get about 20-25 extra miles a week (both freeway and innercity driving combined), no joke. Arco is some cheap a** gas.
I know that i won't get the same with a 5000+lb v8 equipped full sizer.
Anyway, my saleslady from Dodge dealer just called me and told me that they will get about 15 rams between monday and wednesday. After visting the truckville thing, I'll make my decision and place an order, or move on to something else.