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1999 Ram pickups - READ ONLY

37 messages,  Last post on Jul 23, 1998 at 11:09 PM

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Messages Page 3 of 4

#18 of 37 a.k.a. ... by rsholland

Jul 03, 1998 (9:07 pm)

KC


Are you also on the AOL Car & Driver board a.k.a. mdniteeagl?

#19 of 37 kcram by kcram HOST

Jul 04, 1998 (12:50 am)

you found me, RS - how are ya?

#20 of 37 kcram a.k.a. mdniteagl by rsholland

Jul 04, 1998 (2:57 pm)

Pretty good KC.


I'm new to this board, but from what I've read so far it appears that they have some intelligent/adult people here. Quite a difference from C&D's boards!


I think you will find me here quite a bit in the future.

#21 of 37 kcram by kcram HOST

Jul 04, 1998 (3:00 pm)

definitely more civilized here, RS. Every now and then an idiot comes in, but 99% of the stuff here is informative, respectful opinions and hints. Glad you found it!

#22 of 37 Who is this guy? by rsholland

Jul 04, 1998 (4:18 pm)

KC


I've always found your comments to be intelligent and well thought out. From what I've read of your posts, I think you and I are pretty much in agreement on most matters.


I think where you and I differ just a tad is that, while you seem appreciate new technology, when push-comes-to-shove, you tend to rely a bit more on "traditional" ideas/solutions, whereas I tend to lean in the opposite (modern/hi-tech) direction. I find this somewhat curious, because I believe I'm probably about 19 years older than you. If anything, I, the old fart, should be the conservative one!


Just out out of curiosity, what do you do for a living that you need such a large HD truck such as as your Ram 3500? Is it strictly used for work? Do you use it for pleasure too? If for pleasure, do you pull a large trailer with it? Is it your only "daily driver"?

#23 of 37 kcram by kcram HOST

Jul 04, 1998 (6:48 pm)

By definition, I'm the senior programmer/system administrator for a maketing tele-services company. However, I tend to do most of my company's "labor" too, so the truck actually does see plenty of "truck" duty. It is my daily driver, and after leaving a string of half-tons squeaking and rattling in a heap when I was done with them, I knew I needed a stronger rig. And going back to the teenage days, I always thought 4x4 duallies were just too cool, and now I can afford one.


In terms of traditional vs modern, yeah, I do fall towards the "t" side of that. I appreciate the use of solid axles and real springs (plus to Dodge and the Ford SD). Pickups today are marketed as everything from basic transportation to work vehicles to leather-clad fashion statements. I prefer the work-vehicle aspect; as I mentioned a few posts above about the old W350, reliability under extreme use defines a "truck" to me. A computer may help a truck's build quality and its fuel delivery, but it's the steel underneath that is doing the work, and for me, it has to be there.


Looking at the next generation Rams, Chrysler/Dodge seems ready, willing, and able to match Ford SD-F strength for strength, and the fact that these two look the part as "trucks", probably explains their current (and future) sales. The Ram gets tweaked every year, and the next redesign is scheduled for MY2001. As long as the Ram stays true to that old W350, I'll keep buying them.

#24 of 37 Next generation RAMs by rsholland

Jul 04, 1998 (11:35 pm)

I can appreciate your point of view.


I do think, however, that some day independent suspensions will match and/or exceed solid axles in all respects. They certainly work on the Hummer, and I've seen them used on huge off-road Euclid dump trucks. Even the military uses independent suspensions on a number of assault-type vehicles. I think it's just a matter of time before they become commonplace on mainstream heavier trucks.


Got any insight on the next generation RAMs?

#25 of 37 jkendall by jkendall

Jul 08, 1998 (3:03 am)

I'm still trying to find out if anyone knows the start-up date for 1999 Ram production. Anybody know??

#26 of 37 kcram by kcram HOST

Jul 08, 1998 (5:28 am)

RS,


I would expect the next Ram to be an evolution of what it is now. The semi-styled nose will remain, and for the time being, the axles will too. I think Dodge is paying very close attention to the Ford Super Duty and will come very close to it feature for feature. Ford is marketing these trucks as lightweight mediums, not heay-duty light trucks, and their sales have been rising monthly - Ford says the Super Duty line is now 40% of all F-series, the highest that segment has ever been, so the market is there for a truck that is oerceived as a truck, not a car-replacemtn like the half-tons.


jk,


Production is still continuing at two of the Ram plants (Dodge City and Lago Alberto) this week, while the other two switch over, then next week, they'll swap and DC/LA will be down for two weeks. 1999s will begin at St. Louis and Saltillo then. Full 1999 production is scheduled for the end of July.

#27 of 37 rsholland by rsholland

Jul 08, 1998 (3:01 pm)

KC


I know Dodge is producing at full capacity. Do you see them expanding their production capability so that they could enter the crew cab market, and the the Class IV and Class V markets to compete with Ford? I'm wondering if the Mercedes merger would have any impact on that one way or another?


It will be interesting to see what happens between Ford and Dodge in the next couple of years. I'm sure Ford will freshen up the Super Duties a bit when Dodge announces their next generation Ram.


Any predictions as to what GM will be doing (assuming they ever get running again) with their 1 ton and above models? Do you think GM (and Dodge) are going to visually separate the HD vehicles from the lighter duty models as Ford did?


Bob

Messages Page 3 of 4

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