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Future Vehicles 2008 Dodge Rampage!
40 messages, Last post on Feb 21, 2007 at 7:05 PM
You are in the Future Vehicles Forum. Your Host is kirstie_h
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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
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Is this thing on?  DrFill
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Replying to: callmedrfill (Feb 09, 2006 3:29 pm) |
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But if you see the photos, it's like 1000X hotter, with a stylish cab, and a Hemi that the Dakota doesn't offer. Hopefully, the name will change. Rampage is too cool!  DrFill |
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| i think that the rampage isnt as great as some people may think, the reason for this is that it is a copy of the honda ridgeline because of the independent suspension, which no other truck had before, also, i think that the ramp that it has from the tailgate isnt gonna be useful at all to some people. the bigger engine is a plus, but y only front wheel drive, there needs to be a 4wd on it, i have to admit that the stow and go seating is a good idea,the 22 in tires seem way too big for it, i bet half of the truck is going to be changed by the time production rolls around | |
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Changes that MUST be made to Dodge Dakota: 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
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Replying to: drfill (Mar 13, 2006 11:09 am) So please don't compare this to any other truck on the market....thisa is in a class of its own |
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| Is the Hemi really needed if this goes into production. Especially if its front wheel drive.. How much power will this thing need. I would hope they would like to keep the price down.... | |
the sliding doors in the back have to go, they make it seem like a van, also make a smaller engine or get 4WD, the front end needs to be changed, and the lights on it rite now will never be on the production line, it will be cheap lights instead, these are only for show, the ridgeline is the same thing, and it has better features than the rampage, so, this may be better than the tocoma, but it will not beat the features of some other trucks
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