Like a lot of Americans, I was downright irate when the federal government announced it was bailing out General Motors (GM) and Chrysler. This is, after all, a capitalist economy — companies that can’t compete fail and are replaced. Bailing out a company that can’t cut it seems, well, fundamentally wrong.
After fuming over bailouts for awhile, I swore to never buy an American car again (I drove a Toyota Matrix at the time). I then swore to never buy an American car again unless it was made by Ford. Yes, Toyota and Ford were worthy of my cash, but Chrysler and General Motors were not.
I now own a 2010 Dodge Ram 1500 with a crew cab and a ridiculously powerful V-8 under the hood.
So, what happened? Simply put, the threat of financial ruin seems to have inspired Chrysler officials to put some serious thought into the vehicles they were releasing to the public.
The Dodge Ram has always been a good truck, but this new batch of them is nothing short of impressive. The build quality, ride, features, warranty and price are hard to touch. My wife and I test drove Ford F-150 and liked that very well. We also enjoyed the Toyota Tacoma we looked at but, surprisingly, decided the Dodge was the best of the lot for our needs.
We can haul up to 1,700 pounds of stuff and have enough room in the cab to fit four adults (at least) in comfort. Chrysler’s decision to use coil springs on the back axle instead of leaf springs means the truck glides down the highway with car-like smoothness (that’s right — the Dodge has the least “truck like” ride of anything we drove). The interior is very comfortable and attractive rather than merely utilitarian.
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