Dodge is launching its 2009 Ram into some rough sales seas. And don’t they just know it. Automotive News [sub] reports that Dodge is quietly offering $1k incentives on every all-new Ram to get sales going. But even cash on the hood of an all-new truck might not be enough. “You need money on it because you’re trading somebody out of a truck they’re upside-down in,” says Earl Hesterberg, chairman of a Houston-area Chrysler dealership group. In other words, Dodge salesfolks will have to sympathize with potential customers’ pickup depreciation before talking them into yet another (sure to depreciate like a Phoenix suburb) pickup truck. And all while the new Ram sits on lots cluttered with ’08 Rams with up to $10,500 on the hood. In other words, not good. A new 2009 Ram quad cab 4×2 SLT will sticker for $30,675, better equipped and a grand less than a comparable 2008. Remember when we told you that ChryCo was having a hard time pricing its RamBox option to be available on the new Ram Crew Cab? Well, Tom LaSorda’s baby will cost a tidy $1,895 as an option… but not until November. For that money you get lockable boxes on each side of the bed, each capable of holding “240 12-ounce beverage cans, with enough ice to keep them ready for a party,” according to Chrysler. And a stern lecture on not drinking and driving. You also get a bed divider and a bed extender. But is it gimmick enough to turn down ten grand on an ’08 model? In this economy, you’d have to guess no.
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The guys working in the Chrysler factories in Canada are buying them for less than $22k out the door including the 13% tax. That is the 4 door 4 wheel drive version without the leather but well optioned. Who would pay 10k more for a 2009?
With dealers giving away the current Ram, and with about 5 years of stock on the lots, I can’t see this selling very well.
It’s supposed to be a much better truck than the outgoing model, but when an ’08 is going for half price, most buyers will opt for the old one.
I suspect $10K is just the beginning. You can probably score one for 15K off.
I’m intrigued by the new Ram. It’s got a multilink coilspring rear, long overdue in full-size trucks, something which nobody (including Toyota) had the guts to engineer. I agree it’s not worth $10k more than an ’08, but I think it’s worth $5k more. I think in a year or so, if they don’t overproduce it (hah!), this could really help Dodge.
That feature seems quite useful really. That space is otherwise wasted. Not sure how much I would pay for it, $2,000 seems like a lot. What are the actual dimensions of the space?
For that money you get lockable boxes on each side of the bed, each capable of holding “240 12-ounce beverage cans, with enough ice to keep them ready for a party,” according to Chrysler.
Crucial information for somebody purchasing a truck for their construction business, etc. Somebody send a memo to Chrysler, the average Joe is no longer buying a truck to make himself feel big and tough, not with the price of gas today.
Zarba,
Dealers here in Albuquerque are advertising Rams with about $14.5K off, though they don’t specify which model.
I have seen Ram’s for $12.5k + tax a month or two ago (comes out to $14.7k here). Todays paper had new F-150’s for $9920 + taxes. I’m thinking of going to talk to them.
“Todays paper had new F-150’s for $9920 + taxes.”
Until you get there, and they make you read the fine-print wherein they are not responsible for typographical errors.
Or you get a truck with no radio, no a/c, no carpet, headliner, dome light or bumper whilst simultaneously needing to qualify for loyalty and conquest cash– and be a member of the farm bureau, american quarter-horse association, a member of the military, a current college student and a new college graduate.
Lumbergh21
And with light, sweet Coors trading at over $100/barrel, keeping that 2,880 ounce “tank” full won’t be a walk in the park either…
I kill me.
Also, you can fit a shovel in one of those things too.
Not to worry – you’ll be able to get $10K off the 2009 model soon enough.
ineon>
The $12.5k dodge ram 1500 I saw was exactly as advertised…IIRC it had AC, cruise control & some other options as well. It was a stick though which I think would have disappointed most people, but would probably be sufficient for my needs even with a lower tow capacity. With taxes/other crap it came out to $14.7
Also, next to the $9920 price for the F-150, it said “111 available”. Yep, at a single dealership.
I’d buy an `09 if they threw in an `08 along with it.
I caught an ad on tv a couple of weeks ago, “Buy a Ram pickup and get a Caliper for FREE”. What a deal, 2 POS for the price of one.
Large businesses like ours that need a pickup truck (or 4) will buy the ’08 with all the cash on the hood and check the item “Buy new pickup truck” off the list and move on to the next thing.
The new features on the ’09 will only be pondered by individuals for the time being.
sean362880 :
September 22nd, 2008 at 1:54 pm
I’m intrigued by the new Ram. It’s got a multilink coilspring rear, long overdue in full-size trucks, something which nobody (including Toyota) had the guts to engineer. I agree it’s not worth $10k more than an ‘08, but I think it’s worth $5k more. I think in a year or so, if they don’t overproduce it (hah!), this could really help Dodge.
I too am interested in this design element. It doesn’t strike me as something that would be terribly difficult to engineer, which is why I wonder why no one else is currently doing it (I seem to recall certain Chevy pickups in the past having rear coils instead of leaf springs).
Dodge says that the rear coils don’t reduce towing or payload capabilities, and that the frame is improved over the previous generation, but I’d like to see some hard data comparing the 2009 Ram, 2009 F-150, and the current Silverado and Tundra in some actual tests first.
One thing I will admit is that the new Ram is a very good looking truck, Dodge has always had a good eye for exterior styling. The Ram box is also a cool idea, and combined with the other improvements across the range could give incentive to go for the ’09 over the ’08.
In the end however, people who need trucks for work don’t tend to buy Dodges. Fleets are almost entirely made up of Fords and Chevies, with most Dodge trucks I see on the road are just guys who wanted a truck.
Chevrolet had coil springs way back in 1960-1972
the towing capacity is lower with the rear coil springs.
Yeah, with 15K on the hood of a 2008 pickup I cant imagine a single person buying this pickup for even 1,000 below invoice.
Then again pickups have been priced so high to generate the cash that runs the 2.8 that pricing these things with the same margin of cars might move the metal but defeat the purpose of selling them.
What about a lightweight truck? at 7,000 pounds I wonder why a double can can weigh so much when a sedan can weigh half that…
What about carbon fiber?
Are they going to put the 390hp Hemi in the 3/4 ton? Anybody know?