2008 Dodge Rampage!
callmedrfill
Member Posts: 729
Trying to start a Grassroots Campaign here!
You all know me, and love me, as a Toyota/Lexus sycophant, but Chrysler is my favorite domestic automaker. They have style, and guts. And Mercedes engineering backing them. So let's inspect the next great design from the hottest US Maker.
The Rampage is just a concept, but I feel should definitely replace the Dakota for 2008, as the Dakota is ugly, underpowered, and is about as popular as eye snot!
As the Ram will eventually get a larger Hemi, this Hemi can fit nicely under the hood of the Rampage (What a name!).
Looks, power, verstaility. Let's go on a "Reading Rampage", shall we?
2006 Dodge Rampage Concept Vehicle — the only things it can't load more of are style and versatility
Dodge has issued the following press release:
Dodge unveiled its new Rampage concept vehicle at the Chicago Auto Show.
Bold, powerful and supremely versatile, the new Dodge Rampage concept vehicle is a fresh look at how many families actually use the popular pickup trucks.
"It's the truck for the non-traditional buyer," said Scott Krugger, principal exterior designer. "This is a truck for the person who wants the functional aspects of a truck yet doesn’t want a traditional vehicle. The Rampage has the capability of a pickup without sacrificing occupant space."
Combining the width of a Dodge Ram with the overall length of a Dodge Dakota, the Rampage features a host of people and cargo-carrying innovations made possible by a combination of unitized body construction, front-wheel drive, and unique independent rear wheel suspension. And, as with any Dodge concept, the appearance is striking.
In order to achieve their twin objectives of a family-size passenger cabin and exceptional pickup utility, the designers dramatically reconfigured the proportions of the truck. The largest portion of the Rampage is devoted to the spacious passenger cabin, followed by the five-foot cargo box, and last, the engine compartment (which still accommodates a 5.7-liter MDS HEMI® under the abbreviated hood). To visually reinforce the fact that the majority of the vehicle is dedicated to passengers and cargo, a slim appliqué of brushed aluminum runs along the cowl, up and over the roof rails and around the top of the cargo box, a shimmering silver ribbon that contrasts dramatically with the Liquid Carbon exterior.
Up front, the Rampage exhibits a fresh interpretation of the Dodge truck style architecture — a new look for a new truck. The signature Dodge six-sided crossbar grille is set flush within a curving plane that encompasses rectangular wraparound headlamps. Featuring LED lighting, all exterior lamps rely on light-piping and both clear and frosted acrylic to achieve a cleaner look.
The body side is dominated by "double-muscle" flared fenders with the widest part of the body centered over the 22-inch brushed aluminum wheels. The framed doors feature a continuous fore-aft glass plane while the reverse-angle “pillar” on the rear door and distinctive triangular window give a sporty coupe-like profile.
To draw attention to the generous occupant space, a U-shaped chamfered element runs above the sill and travels up the body along the leading and trailing edges of the door sets. Accented with brushed aluminum, this detail is subtly repeated on the exterior door handles.
Access to the interior is exceptional. When either door is opened, the sill pivots down to expose a handy step assist. While the front door is hinged conventionally, the rear door slides open to reveal an imaginative and supremely practical interior, entry to which is enhanced by the absence of the customary B-pillar.
"The interior of the Rampage is durable, functional and efficient," said Irina Zavatski, Principal Interior Designer. “Everything is there for a reason.”
Structural elements are exposed. The contoured center stack, for example, "floats" above the surface of the instrument panel. Composed of satin silver finished “framing,” the center stack can be pulled rearward and rotated toward either driver or passenger to access the navigation, HVAC and entertainment functions. The free-standing instrument cluster has a similar look and moves with the adjustable steering column while the steering wheel spokes harmonize with both cluster and center stack.
Overhead a "ladder-type" front-to-rear console with storage and entertainment units incorporates distinctive mood lighting along its edges. Flanking the console are fore-aft "skylights," bringing welcoming daylight to rear seat passengers as well as those up front.
"The seating is designed to be athletic, comfortable, yet rugged," said Chris Welch, designer of the seats, which are contoured around specially-fabricated folding framing finished in satin silver. To facilitate ingress/egress to the rear compartment, milled silver handles are integrated into the outboard sides of the front seat backs. The dark charcoal seats are trimmed in a smooth polyurethane-coated material and a three-dimensional open texture “spacer knit” fabric which is also used as a non-glare covering on the instrument panel. Contrasting red-orange fabric on the seat inserts echoes similar accents on the instrument panel, steering wheel and door armrests.
With all seats in use, the Rampage is able to carry five passengers, but that's just the beginning of its functionality. The right front seat and the 60/40 rear seats can be folded into the floor, marking the first use of Dodge's popular and innovative Stow 'n Go TM Seating and Storage System in a pickup truck and the first Stow 'n Go front passenger seat ever.
The stowing process is facilitated by headrests that flip down into the seat backs, a solution that also allows taller-than-normal seat backs for greater support. To enhance the available interior volume with seats dropped into the floor, the armrests on the front and rear passenger doors also fold out of the way, maximizing the cabin's cargo-carrying capacity. As with all Stow 'n Go seating, with the seats upright, the bins beneath become handy storage areas for sundry items.
Since the interior is designed to accommodate both people and cargo, a durable marine-type rubberized material is used for the cabin flooring.
Behind the rear seats the backlite retracts into a midgate which in turn folds down into the forward part of the cargo bed. With the both midgate and one or more of the passenger seats in a stored position, lengthier items can be carried without having to lower the tailgate.
After the midgate, the five-foot box offers many utility options, including retractable cargo hooks and built-in formations arranged to secure 2"x4" boards. The three-position tailgate can be deployed upright, folded down 98 degrees, or dropped further to an angle of 117 degrees. In this position a stored-in-the-tailgate slide-out ramp can be extended to acc
You all know me, and love me, as a Toyota/Lexus sycophant, but Chrysler is my favorite domestic automaker. They have style, and guts. And Mercedes engineering backing them. So let's inspect the next great design from the hottest US Maker.
The Rampage is just a concept, but I feel should definitely replace the Dakota for 2008, as the Dakota is ugly, underpowered, and is about as popular as eye snot!
As the Ram will eventually get a larger Hemi, this Hemi can fit nicely under the hood of the Rampage (What a name!).
Looks, power, verstaility. Let's go on a "Reading Rampage", shall we?
2006 Dodge Rampage Concept Vehicle — the only things it can't load more of are style and versatility
Dodge has issued the following press release:
Dodge unveiled its new Rampage concept vehicle at the Chicago Auto Show.
Bold, powerful and supremely versatile, the new Dodge Rampage concept vehicle is a fresh look at how many families actually use the popular pickup trucks.
"It's the truck for the non-traditional buyer," said Scott Krugger, principal exterior designer. "This is a truck for the person who wants the functional aspects of a truck yet doesn’t want a traditional vehicle. The Rampage has the capability of a pickup without sacrificing occupant space."
Combining the width of a Dodge Ram with the overall length of a Dodge Dakota, the Rampage features a host of people and cargo-carrying innovations made possible by a combination of unitized body construction, front-wheel drive, and unique independent rear wheel suspension. And, as with any Dodge concept, the appearance is striking.
In order to achieve their twin objectives of a family-size passenger cabin and exceptional pickup utility, the designers dramatically reconfigured the proportions of the truck. The largest portion of the Rampage is devoted to the spacious passenger cabin, followed by the five-foot cargo box, and last, the engine compartment (which still accommodates a 5.7-liter MDS HEMI® under the abbreviated hood). To visually reinforce the fact that the majority of the vehicle is dedicated to passengers and cargo, a slim appliqué of brushed aluminum runs along the cowl, up and over the roof rails and around the top of the cargo box, a shimmering silver ribbon that contrasts dramatically with the Liquid Carbon exterior.
Up front, the Rampage exhibits a fresh interpretation of the Dodge truck style architecture — a new look for a new truck. The signature Dodge six-sided crossbar grille is set flush within a curving plane that encompasses rectangular wraparound headlamps. Featuring LED lighting, all exterior lamps rely on light-piping and both clear and frosted acrylic to achieve a cleaner look.
The body side is dominated by "double-muscle" flared fenders with the widest part of the body centered over the 22-inch brushed aluminum wheels. The framed doors feature a continuous fore-aft glass plane while the reverse-angle “pillar” on the rear door and distinctive triangular window give a sporty coupe-like profile.
To draw attention to the generous occupant space, a U-shaped chamfered element runs above the sill and travels up the body along the leading and trailing edges of the door sets. Accented with brushed aluminum, this detail is subtly repeated on the exterior door handles.
Access to the interior is exceptional. When either door is opened, the sill pivots down to expose a handy step assist. While the front door is hinged conventionally, the rear door slides open to reveal an imaginative and supremely practical interior, entry to which is enhanced by the absence of the customary B-pillar.
"The interior of the Rampage is durable, functional and efficient," said Irina Zavatski, Principal Interior Designer. “Everything is there for a reason.”
Structural elements are exposed. The contoured center stack, for example, "floats" above the surface of the instrument panel. Composed of satin silver finished “framing,” the center stack can be pulled rearward and rotated toward either driver or passenger to access the navigation, HVAC and entertainment functions. The free-standing instrument cluster has a similar look and moves with the adjustable steering column while the steering wheel spokes harmonize with both cluster and center stack.
Overhead a "ladder-type" front-to-rear console with storage and entertainment units incorporates distinctive mood lighting along its edges. Flanking the console are fore-aft "skylights," bringing welcoming daylight to rear seat passengers as well as those up front.
"The seating is designed to be athletic, comfortable, yet rugged," said Chris Welch, designer of the seats, which are contoured around specially-fabricated folding framing finished in satin silver. To facilitate ingress/egress to the rear compartment, milled silver handles are integrated into the outboard sides of the front seat backs. The dark charcoal seats are trimmed in a smooth polyurethane-coated material and a three-dimensional open texture “spacer knit” fabric which is also used as a non-glare covering on the instrument panel. Contrasting red-orange fabric on the seat inserts echoes similar accents on the instrument panel, steering wheel and door armrests.
With all seats in use, the Rampage is able to carry five passengers, but that's just the beginning of its functionality. The right front seat and the 60/40 rear seats can be folded into the floor, marking the first use of Dodge's popular and innovative Stow 'n Go TM Seating and Storage System in a pickup truck and the first Stow 'n Go front passenger seat ever.
The stowing process is facilitated by headrests that flip down into the seat backs, a solution that also allows taller-than-normal seat backs for greater support. To enhance the available interior volume with seats dropped into the floor, the armrests on the front and rear passenger doors also fold out of the way, maximizing the cabin's cargo-carrying capacity. As with all Stow 'n Go seating, with the seats upright, the bins beneath become handy storage areas for sundry items.
Since the interior is designed to accommodate both people and cargo, a durable marine-type rubberized material is used for the cabin flooring.
Behind the rear seats the backlite retracts into a midgate which in turn folds down into the forward part of the cargo bed. With the both midgate and one or more of the passenger seats in a stored position, lengthier items can be carried without having to lower the tailgate.
After the midgate, the five-foot box offers many utility options, including retractable cargo hooks and built-in formations arranged to secure 2"x4" boards. The three-position tailgate can be deployed upright, folded down 98 degrees, or dropped further to an angle of 117 degrees. In this position a stored-in-the-tailgate slide-out ramp can be extended to acc
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Comments
DrFill
Hopefully, the name will change. Rampage is too cool! :shades:
DrFill
1. Change the name of the Dakota to Rampage!
2. Change the front end to the Rampage front end
3. Make 20" wheels available
4. Make Hemi available (But have 400+HP, 6.1 Hemi, available for the Ram when it gets redesigned around 2009!)
5. Stow and Go rear seats, with a power rear window, or removable, door action rear cab wall available.
3.5 V6 (250HP), or Hemi power (drop the outdated 4.7 V8).
Toyota's Tacoma would be sweatin' bullets!
DrFill
So please don't compare this to any other truck on the market....thisa is in a class of its own
i read an article that most trucks will go to sto and go seating in the next few years...
And a Hemi, AWD model.
DrFill
DrFill, thats the best idea ive heard today, make more than one type of an engine, this truck deoesnt seem like its gonna be made for off road, just seems like a family truck, do u think that they will have a two door model also?
Also, how long does it take for Dodge to decide if they will make this go into production, 2-3 years ??
2. The Dakota has no buzz, no press, and is off the radar screen, passed by vehicles like Nissan Frontier. If Frontier can pass you, you need a major overhaul of how you compete in that class.
3. If the Ridgeline had a halfway conventional look, or if Honda had any type of truck pedigree, it would outsell vehicles like Frontier.
4. The Ram will have to get more powerful when it is redesigned, and I doubt the 5.7 Hemi will be retired anytime soon, so why not use it to revitalize a dying vehicle in your truck stable? They have the 6.1 they can use for the next Ram.
5. Having driven the Ram, forget it's styling, if they can give it a great "lead-in" vehicle, they will have a Dodge Truck buyer for a long time, once in the fold.
I don't see a downside to changing the name, adding the Hemi, or even making it a soft-roader. They are on the right path, and can take huge chunks from clearly inferior trucks like Colorado and Ranger.
DrFill
33 years old.
wife is 8 months pregnant
just bought a house 3 months ago...
Sounds like I need a mini-van , right ??
WRONG!!!!
--I don't want a car cuz I'm tired of driving on the highway and not being able to see whats going on.
--But I don't want a gas hog either - (300 miles a week)
--I run to the hardware store very often considering I just bought a house and never have room to haul anything back home....
-- I don't plan on going off-road anymore . Been there, done that.
-- I need something that has easy access to a baby seat and the rear seating.
-- And....I want something cool. I may be in my early thirties, but I'm far from dead and shouldn't have to be tied down to mini-van life....
I probably wouldn't have said this ten years ago, but this whole concept of a family truck is for me !
If the Rampage comes out, it won't be until 2009, so the Hemi Rampage would be a nice 2nd generation step up.
DrFill
Interesting to see this thread AND the questionaire on Dodge website. :surprise: I would be very interested in this vehicle should they bring it to market. It definitely has the future of LIGHT duty trucks with no apparent apologies. FYI: Sorely disappointed with Honda's recent effort. :mad:
In the questionaire on Dodge's website they seemed to ask the proper questions (4 different engine options!) and specifically asked what vehicle was currently owned. Even asked your level of interest in the overall design! Time will certainly tell, but this seems to be what the current light duty trucks coulda, woulda, shoulda been! :shades:
Honda missed the mark, not only in styling, but price as well.. Lets keep our fingers crossed. Concepts go through a long drawn out process to become production models.
I agree with you on the Hemi. I think it would be a little much for this truck, but the Hemi do have multi-displacement now. Add that with a hy-brid and we could see one of the best MPG in truck history ...
BTW, Hoow far down are the Dakotas sells right now? Last I heard was they were down 25%. OUCH! :sick:
I think that the Rampage will be a chance for Dodge to hop on the enconomy-friendly train and get serious but they will screw it up if they try to sport tune it like they have EVERY OTHER vehichle they make. I think Dodge over done the Hemi when the Magnum was introduced with Hemi power ( C'mon...a souped up station wagon? ) :confuse:
Tacoma 14,842 14,363
Colorado/Canyon 10,144 13,966
Ranger 9,628 11,098
Frontier 7,409 5,104
Dakota 6,749 11,840
Ridgeline 4,655 3,297
Isuzu i Series 638 0
Well, here's the most recent numbers. If one single sales month helps anyone decide the future of the light truck market!
A diesel motor would help all of these be more efficient. Hopefull the EPA will settle down and be consistent with their annual rule changes!
Hopefully the Rampage will come to pass. Being that it would be off a completely different platform than a Dakota (which is heavily related to the Ram), I'm not so sure the success of one will mean the demise of the other. :confuse:
BTW the Dodge Magnum is impressive. Any car based wagon that can be outfitted to tow 3,850lbs is a damn useful design! Caddy's SRX can tow 4,250 lbs as well. Both solid platforms for a light duty rampage truck...possibly! Not sure if they'll offer the fold flat seats though.
Dodge pops the Hemi in it too? Dodge has the Hemi in their trucks, cars, station wagon, and the Rampage is gonna be car based right? Minivan Hemi??? :confuse:
Dodge ought to put some serious thought into researching a new engine that is about a 3.0L V6 that they can dub the SEMI HEMI :P
Dodge has totally abused the Hemi. Back in the 70s. The Hemi was rare and only found in muscle cars. Now...um...its in trucks and statio wagons? SEMI HEMI would at least get better mileage and would not be against history. I dunno maybe thats just me talking.
Tubb Bilford Jr
The Rampage can't take down Tacoma, even with a Hemi, but it can pass Ranger/Frontier/Colorado.
Colorado is even sorrier than Dakota! Or just as sorry (that's a tough one!) :confuse:
Considering the size of the Rampage concept, I'd bet on whatever high end V-6 that goes into the Chrysler Minivan for 2008, and the Hemi being the engine lineup.
Finally, the 4.7 gets a room in Retirement Village! Woo-Hoo!
I must fill out my survey now.
DrFill
If they keep the Dakota name, after this dud, there is no hope for the Chrysler in the mid-size market.
Haven't seen a more perfect name for a P/U since they were actually named "Pickup"!
DrFill
Having seen the Rampage again last month, I hope the Rampage has a major influence over the next Ram, and not the Nitro's styling, which hasn't exactly set the market afire.
DrFill