2009 Dodge Dakota

Interior and Exterior Pictures of 2009 Dodge Dakota Trucks

Dodge Charger R/T

Now that SEMA 2009 is behind us, we can all bask in the glory of the awesome cars there. This one, according to my source, is one that has no glory, and could be labeled “Worst in Show”.

The Dodge Charger R/T comes in an ugly shade of orange, and strange scissor doors and a scissors trunk. Yeah, I didn’t know they made them like that either. Another complaint was the smell, which was horrendously described as “synthetic cat urine”. Man, I don’t know if you can compliment a car any less.

Dodge Ram to be more green

Yes, you heard it right. A truck is more "green". Ok, it's not as green as everything else should be, but it's a start. The 2009 Dodge Ram will apparently be much more fuel efficient on the highway, going from what the 2008 model of 19 MPG to 23 MPG. While there's been no real change to what is under the hood, the biggest difference is the truck's design.

As you should see in the picture, the truck now has a much more slick, aerodynamically pleasing look to it. Naturalists will scoff at the notion of almost giving it a "softer" look, but apparently it is enough to get you some better MPG on the highway, although the paltry 13 MPG in the city won't change (as I read on another blog, aerodynamics don't mean squat when you are sitting at a red light!).

Regardless, this is definitely a move for the better. It should be interesting to see what the feedback and sales are like on this going forward and how many other "redesigns" will happen in this category of vehicles. My guess is that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

2010 Dodge Durango

According to the automotive website Jalopnik it looks like the all new 2010 Dodge Durango will be undergoing a facelift. Personally, I'm thrilled to death, I thought that the latest generation Durango looked like a minivan on steroids, which is not a compliment. More closely, the 2010 Durango is kind of a jacked up Jeep Cherokee.

2010 Durango

2010 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty

• Competes with: Ford F-Series, Chevy Silverado
• Looks like: A bigger version of the redesigned Ram 1500
• Drivetrain: 383-hp, 6.7-liter diesel
• Hits dealerships: Late 2009

Chrysler is firing the first shot in what's certain to be a brutal battle pitting three-quarter and one-ton truck manufacturers against each other: It's introducing the new 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 heavy-duty pickups at the 2009 Chicago auto show.

The 2010 model year will be a challenging one for several reasons: The U.S. economy is expected to still be sputtering, with new-truck buyers likely sitting on the sidelines for awhile. The price of diesel fuel (the lifeblood of heavy-duty pickups) shows no sign of losing its 20 percent price premium over gas. Most important of all, though, Ford and GM are also expected to launch updated heavy-duty pickups with new diesel powertrains designed to meet stringent 2010 federal emissions standards that go into effect Jan. 1. The regulations will ratchet down NOx levels to the lowest on the planet — more than 90 percent lower than 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.

Chrysler has strategically prepared for 2010 over the past two years. In 2007, it introduced for its heavy-duty pickups an enhanced and innovative 350-horsepower, 650-pounds-feet-of-torque, 6.7-liter six-cylinder Cummins diesel, based on the previous 5.9-liter Cummins engine. The new diesel added a segment-exclusive exhaust brake, like over-the-road trucks use. The 6.7-liter motor not only met new 2007 EPA limits on soot emissions, but it reached 2010 NOx emissions requirements three years early.

On the gas-engine front, Chrysler replaced the Ram heavy-duty's legacy Hemi V-8 last year with the updated 383-hp, 400-pounds-feet-of-torque, variable-valve-timing version that debuted in the 2009 Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500. That Hemi is also carried over unchanged for 2010.

Good news for rock crawlers and wheelers: The Hemi-powered Power Wagon off-road version of the Ram also continues next year. It's the only Ram HD with a 4.56 rear axle and locking front and rear differentials.

What has changed for 2010 is almost everything above the Ram heavy-duty's carryover frame. The exterior has all-new sheet metal, and the interior is taken directly from the Dodge Ram 1500 half-ton. The front axle and suspension have also been improved.

"This isn't an all-new truck," said Scott Kunselman, Chrysler's vice president for the Jeep and Truck Product Team. "The 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 are the next steps to improve our heavy-duty pickups."

Though they share the aerodynamic styling first seen in the 2009 Ram 1500, the heavy-duty trucks have taller, more-prominent front ends. It's a case of form following their primary function of towing big loads.

"The light-duty and heavy-duty Rams are significantly separated visually for performance and aesthetic reasons, and for better cooling," said Ralph Gilles, Chrysler's vice president of design. "The cooling we've gained for the heavy-duty we didn't have to do for the light-duty, which is why the grille is smaller on the light duty."

The Ram heavy-duty shares its headlamps and fenders with the 1500. The hood is differentiated to make room for the Cummins diesel. The front bumper has very aggressive stamping. It's a single-piece chrome bumper that wraps around the front fenders to give it a modern look and help aerodynamics.

Like last year's heavy-duty Ram, 2010 buyers will have three cab options, but the middle configuration has been changed. A two-door regular cab model remains, while a new four-door Crew Cab, with bigger back doors and more rear passenger space, replaces the previous, smaller four-door Quad Cab. A new 8-foot cargo box option (a 6-foot, 4-inch bed is standard) should make the Crew Cab Ram HD an attractive choice for fifth-wheel towers. "The Crew Cab has replaced the Quad Cab in the lineup," Kunselman said. "It gets an 8-foot box — a key part of the market we weren't participating in."

Though Dodge eliminated the Mega Cab option for its half-ton Ram, it's keeping the Mega Cab heavy-duty model with best-in-class interior space.

The inside features all the high-quality materials and ergonomic and infotainment options the Ram 1500 has, plus it adds a new integrated trailer-brake controller like Ford and GM offer in their HD pickups. The brake controller eliminates the need for an aftermarket kit to control a trailer's electric brakes for improved towing control.

The external rearview mirrors have also been revised to better facilitate towing. They can be pivoted horizontally or vertically depending on trailer size, and they have larger convex mirrors for better visibility. Turn signals are integrated.

According to preliminary towing and hauling figures, Dodge has raised the front gross axle weight rating from 5,200 pounds to 5,500 pounds on diesel 4x4 pickups, and from 4,700 pounds to 5,000 pounds on diesel 4x2 pickups. Gross combined weight ratings have been improved from 23,000 pounds to as much as 25,400 pounds on some 3500 models. Accompanying the increase in GCWR, max towing has also improved.

The sum of all these changes is a new Dodge Ram heavy-duty pickup that has evolved to better meet the needs of Chrysler's existing customers, and to take competitive advantage of gains already made meeting 2010's stricter and more expensive emissions standards. We expect both GM's and Ford's responses for 2010 to have significantly more power than the Ram HDs, but they'll also likely come with higher initial purchase costs relative to the new Ram than their current trucks are to today's Ram HDs.

Future Truck Technology 2010 Dodge Ram 1500

Future Truck Technology: Lean & Green

THE DODGE 1500 4WD A FULL SIX INCHES

Skyjacker Helps Dodge 4WD Owners Increase Their Ride Height

Dodge owners are a tough crowd, just like the trucks they drive. They want options, particularly when it comes to improving their trucks for the things they like to do. Half-ton RAM owners seem to have been forgotten by some manufacturers when it comes to manufacturing a healthy lift kit. Skyjacker is here to change that with their new Skyjacker 6'' 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 4WD lift kit designed for half-ton 1500 series RAM pickups.

The system includes dropped center cross members to lower the control arms, front drive axle assembly and torsion bars along with new spindles (steering arms) which together increases the ride height and suspension travel while providing the owner with the option to install larger tires which enhances the increase in ground clearance that off roaders demand. The kit also includes new rear leaf springs along with Skyjacker shocks, longer links and all the necessary hardware. You'll even find a trick skid plate included to protect your front suspension when taking that Dodge out into areas you couldn't before.

Dodge Ram BFT Truck - Rear View

Dodge Ram BFT Pickup Truck

The design team installed a 6-inch Superlift lift kit to create enough clearance for the truck's 22-1/2" inch dual rear wheels.

2009 Dodge Ram Bianco

The Dodge Ram Bianco started life as a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Sport with a 5.7-liter HEMI V-8. The Dodge Ram is modified to reflect an upscale feel and appearance with the aid of Mopar performance parts and accessories. Colors, textures and accessories are combined in a manner that showcases the sophisticated side of the Dodge Ram 1500.

Exterior modifications include a Mopar hard tonneau that adds a classic, sporty appearance. The inside of the truck bed features Mopar’s bed rug--a plush, yet washable carpet. For the exterior, a Mopar body kit and modified Mopar fender flares give a unique, sophisticated look. The stance is aided by a Mopar lowering kit that not only lowers the vehicle, but also provides excellent ride and handling. The Dodge Ram Bianco is layered in several coats of Arctic Ice pearl paint that give it a rich appearance. Holding true to the upscale theme, Mopar’s 22-inch wheels are painted in a matching, high-contrast design. Performance upgrades include a Mopar cold-air intake and a throaty Mopar dual exhaust with just enough growl to let you know there is something powerful under the hood.

The exterior theme continues through the interior. White and black Katzkin seats with matching door trim set the stage for a high-class ride. Piano Black and Arctic Ice accents add to the luxurious theme. For sound, Mopar contributed a Kicker audio system consisting of an audio amplifier, a powerful subwoofer and upgraded speakers.

2009 Dodge Ram Bianco

The Dodge Ram Bianco started life as a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Sport with a 5.7-liter HEMI V-8. The Dodge Ram is modified to reflect an upscale feel and appearance with the aid of Mopar performance parts and accessories. Colors, textures and accessories are combined in a manner that showcases the sophisticated side of the Dodge Ram 1500.

Exterior modifications include a Mopar hard tonneau that adds a classic, sporty appearance. The inside of the truck bed features Mopar’s bed rug--a plush, yet washable carpet. For the exterior, a Mopar body kit and modified Mopar fender flares give a unique, sophisticated look. The stance is aided by a Mopar lowering kit that not only lowers the vehicle, but also provides excellent ride and handling. The Dodge Ram Bianco is layered in several coats of Arctic Ice pearl paint that give it a rich appearance. Holding true to the upscale theme, Mopar’s 22-inch wheels are painted in a matching, high-contrast design. Performance upgrades include a Mopar cold-air intake and a throaty Mopar dual exhaust with just enough growl to let you know there is something powerful under the hood.

The exterior theme continues through the interior. White and black Katzkin seats with matching door trim set the stage for a high-class ride. Piano Black and Arctic Ice accents add to the luxurious theme. For sound, Mopar contributed a Kicker audio system consisting of an audio amplifier, a powerful subwoofer and upgraded speakers.

Dodge Ram enjoying the truck party

As long as there’s dirt to be moved, trailers to be towed and country songs to be written, there will be pickup trucks.

And plenty of them, judging by the sales charts that show light trucks — a category in which pickups make up a big ol’ chunk — moving off Canadian dealer lots as fast as passenger cars.

Guess my household isn’t the only one with a list of need-a-truck chores.

Like collecting a load of gravel for a backyard project, for instance. Fortunately, a red-and-shiny 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 sat in the driveway, awaiting assignment.

Except this immense Dodge was almost too shiny (but not too red; no truck can ever be too red) to be loaded down with gritty gravel. A high-end Laramie Crew Cab 4X4, it flashed chrome from every angle, but especially from the broad-as-a-barn grille that now slants forward above crisp angled headlamps. This high, confident prow, the Ram’s biggest design change in 15 years, made us think of Joan Holloway Harris on Mad Men.

But trucks gotta work. And fortunately — again — the bed was already scuffed from some previous tester’s cargo, relieving us of that first scratch guilt.

We asked for a cubic yard of No. 2 aggregate, but when the lad at the landscape depot cautioned that even half a yard — the contents of one loader bucket — weighed some 1,750 pounds, we said, “That’ll do.”

The gravel dropped in on the tarp we had spread in the bed (yeah, still worried about scratches), and the back of the Ram settled a lot more than we expected. Only later, looking up our truck’s specifications, did we realize by how much we had exceeded its 1,060-lb. maximum payload. Oops.

Not long ago, a pickup by another name was a half-ton truck, but today 1,060 lb. seems light for a mountain of red metal like our Ram. And its 6,100-lb. towing capacity? Near puny.

But Dodge, like other truck makers, knows its market. Its new Crew Cab, though smaller than the unwieldy Mega Cab that’s been dropped from the 1500 lineup, still offers four fullsize doors and a big back seat. This format has become a favourite with pickup buyers willing to give up hauling capacity in favour of a sedan-proportioned cabin that rides high above 20-inch tires and a full frame.

If you have different priorities, Dodge will sell you a different 1500. A two-door Regular Cab that can lug 1,900 lb. of patio stones or pull a 32-foot trailer, for example, or a Quad Cab (four doors, midsize back seat) that splits the differences in passenger space and load capacity between Regular and Crew.

Then there are the seven trim levels, from base ST to this Laramie, which for 2010 starts at $40,690 for a Crew Cab with automatic all-wheel-drive, leather upholstery and heated steering wheel. Add $6,000 for our tester’s heated back seats, heated and power-ventilated front buckets, DVD navigation, backseat video and other additions.