Dodge MAXXcab-what do you think?
Saw a spread on this new concept truck in Open
Road magazine. I think it looks great. The writer
thinks it doesn't have much chance of actually
making it to production though, at least not in a
form substantially like what they show. But if it
comes within the next couple years with the new
5.7L hemi engine, and gas isnt $4 a gallon by then,
Ill be placing an advance order. Does anybody out
there know anything more about this truck?
Road magazine. I think it looks great. The writer
thinks it doesn't have much chance of actually
making it to production though, at least not in a
form substantially like what they show. But if it
comes within the next couple years with the new
5.7L hemi engine, and gas isnt $4 a gallon by then,
Ill be placing an advance order. Does anybody out
there know anything more about this truck?
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Comments
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder...
I recall falling in love with the Dodge Ram 6 years ago... Ordered a '95 SB, loaded, and recall the look of horrer on my Dad's face when I drove out to his place in it... "That's not a TRUCK!... It's a gaudy, ugly chunk of metal," I recall him saying.
5-1/2 years later (last weekend), Dad drove me out to the dealership to pick up a loaded Dakota Quad Cab... Four of us piled into the truck and went out to dinner (quite comfortably)... He took the wheel on the way back to to his place... We got out of the thing... He walked around the front of it (which is virtually the same as the Ram)... Remarked, "You know? This is a very good looking vehicle!!"
The point? Actually two of them:
Chrysler has a knack for designing what I call "love-hate" vehicles... Either you love'em or you hate'em (e.g., the PT Cruiser). But somehow, those guys have been better able to anticipate the "future tastes" of buyers, and their sales fugures/profits will attest to that.
Two years ago I was working on a training project for Dodge. Knowing that I wanted to replace my Ram with a smaller, more user-friendly pickup in a year, I asked the client whether they'd be adding a third door to the Dakota X-cab in '99... His very blunt reply was "NO... Wait 'till 2000."
So... Here comes 2000. I expected to see a third or possibly fourth door in the Dak X-Cab, and agonize over stepping down from the 5.9 V8 (which I need for trailering) to the 5.2.
Instead, I find a beautifully-engineered Quad Cab available with a 5.9 V8!
I work for ALL of the "big three"... And I'm not sure what it is about the Chrysler design teams... But they've repeatedly demonstrated a talent for staying a step ahead of the competition.
As to the prototype pickup... I haven't seen it. But I'd wager that Dodge will gather A LOT of feedback from potential customers and come up with another winning design when it goes into production.
If you ever visit Europe, you will find most full-size pickups are cab-over designs, because they make more sense from a practical standpoint. The "American" traditional long nose pickup is regarded as impractical and wasteful by European customers.
A good example is the Ford Transit. Heavy-duty versions are equal to an F-350 in terms of work capability, yet is a much shorter vehicle because of the cab-over design. It looks like a van with a pickup bed. In fact, it is also available as a van too.
Bob
The next revolution is going to be the 2002 Ram.
Chrysler have been doing some confidential consumer studies on various designs. From what I hear the Ram is going to be a fairly radical design - but not to the extreme of a concept vehicle.
It is logical that the Dakota redesign will follow similar lines to the Ram, so maybe 2003. Can't see a new model in the line up there - just Club and Quad (maybe not standard).
Incidentally, I hear rumours (or rumors as they came from the US), that Dodge is going to introduce a distinct styling difference for the heavy duty Rams - can anyone say Power Wagon!!!
I suspect you're right with regard to a "new" Dodge heavy-duty truck coming down the pike. While they've done tremendously well with the Ram, they've fallen behind in the area of true HD trucks.
Ford pulled a very slick trick about a year ago when it unveiled its Super Duty line (F-250 through F-750)... In effect, it created new segments to replace what used to be known as "medium-duty" trucks (NOT "pickups")... The goal was to provide pickup buyers with more brawn and power than anyone else, but also to provide chassis/cab models to the upfitters for conversions to dump, brush-truck, emergency vehicles, etc. They did a good job indeed!
Then comes Chevy/GMC in a "knee-jerk" to Ford's move... A HD Silverado line developed in conjunction with Isuzu (diesel) and Allison (transmission) for release sometime over the next month.
Meanwhile, Dodge has rested on its success with the Ram, content to satisfy the non-commercial market and make loads of money.
My guess, however, is that the "Dodge Boys" have something up their sleeves to address both the pickup and commercial markets. As you suggested, it may be the modern-day version of the Power Wagon... But I suspect that they'll have a lot more to announce than simply a HD pickup... Guess we'll see!!!
Aren't trucks fun!!??
Producing a van and a pickup off the same platform makes a lot of sense. As I'd mentioned in my above post, Ford (and others) have been doing this (building vans & pickups off the same platform) for years in Europe.
Bob
The future plans I have seen for the Ram include a fully independent front suspension similar to Ford and Chevy.I always liked the way Dodge has went their own way,but I feel those days are numbered.Mother Mopar is dead,the future is being revealed,and I will not be a"Dodge Boy"anymore if this is the shape of things to come.
I have always been slightly apprehensive to many of Chryslers designs only to grow to like them later,it will not happen with the Maxx cab.I really haven't met anyone who liked the picture when I showed them.But I don't like the general direction any manufacturer is taking with their trucks,especially with these little high strung V8's that make big horsepower numbers at the expense of torque.I know many people that are finding out that thier old Ford or Chevy tows pulls and "wheels"much better than thier new one.And now Dodge is following suite.
By the way, I like the MAXXcab -- a lot! Granted, it's radical looking, but there are a lot of items on this vehicle that make a whole lot of sense, staring with the very short hood.
Remember, when Dodge first showed the new (radical) Ram pickup a few years back, most people hated it. I mean HATED it! Now it's one of the most popular trucks out there. Change is often difficult to deal with. Most people "do" get used to (and accept) new items however, once they start seeing them on the streets.
Bob
That goes to what moparmad is saying (sort of), maybe in just a similar vein however. As the guts of our beloved trucks are being made more politically correct, they lose their truck souls in the process. Espresso anyone?
If anyone can make any sense of this please feel free to e:mail me and explain what I've said?! :-O
Kind of reminds me of Drew Cary's new TV show, "Whose Line is it Anyway?"
At any rate, I agree with what ever you said.
Bob
As for Mad Magazine, if they put the Maxxcab on the fold-up back cover, all you'd see is about two feet of hood connected to 5 feet of bed. Take out the "cab" and there's not much left.
Bob
this topic is being "frozen." It will be archived or deleted in the next 10 days or so.
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