If a fish had brains and saw someone holding a shotgun, would it choose to swim in a barrel? Why then would Mike Accavitti, director-Dodge marketing, say this to Ward’s Dealer Business, which has all the sales data on everything. “Accavitti notes the ’09 Ram, which he describes as Chrysler’s ‘bread and butter,’ is grabbing more market share than its ’08 predecessor. Since the October sales launch to mark the ’09 model year, the Ram owned 4.1% of the light-duty truck market, an increase of 0.2 share points over the ’08 model year, according to Ward’s data.” Yes, well, the article was written before December’s sales results; where Ram sales tanked by 48 percent vs. last year, down 31 percent for the year. I wonder how much that market they own now. In any case, it appears Dodge blew the launch.
“For weeks, not a single Ram was assembled with the revolutionary [Rambox] storage feature, considered a key differentiator in one of the market’s most bitterly contested segments. ‘It’s just been a nightmare launch,’ one dealer tells Ward’s. “(Chrysler) really stumbled.’ Says [general sales manager at Bob Hoss Dodge Chrysler Jeep in Kansas City, KS Brad] Johnson: ‘I go to ride-and-drives and all they talk about is all the cool stuff. And when (the truck) comes out, you can’t get the cool stuff.’
“The launch cadence was dictated by manufacturing constraints. Rambox – a dry, lockable storage compartment located in the walls of the truck’s cargo bed – can only be installed at the auto maker’s St. Louis assembly site. But Chrysler’s plant in Warren, MI, was first to launch production of the redesigned Ram.”
I guess Toyota’s failure to launch enough V8 Tundras taught The Dodge Boys, well, nothin’ much.
The 09s are all over dealer lots here in central IL, but I have yet to see a single one on the road, even when I drove to Chicago at Thanksgiving. Who is buying these?
Fenton (St.Louis) has been cut from 1 shift to none. For the forseeable future.
Personally, I doubt Fenton will reopen. They can make more than enough of those things at Warren to satisfy (non)demand. They already moved minivan production to Bob and Doug land.
The Rambox feature is kinda neat, but IIRC, a very pricey option. If Chrysler wanted to really take advantage of this differentiator, they would make it a standard feature.
Perhaps they can move the tooling out of Fenton up to Warren before DoveBid shows up. Or maybe they’re going to leave it for Nissan.
There is still a sea of the previous model out there at dealership all over the place, and they are dirt cheap.
I doubt many will go for the all-new model until the old ones more or less disappear from new car lots.
Consumer Reports did say that their initial impression of the new Ram is quite a bit better than that of other recent Chrysler products inside and out. It does look a bit better than everything else it shares the lots with from a quality and styling standpoint.
That introductory advertising launch of the Ram did it no favors.
It was cliche to the point of unwatchable.
Flying trucks, balls of fire, spraying mud….
Yawn.
They could have at least put the Swedish Bikini Team in a few spots. They’d have had a royal manflush and at least had something in there worth looking at.
Anyone else feel the Dodge Boys spots blew?
Let’s face it, last October was a lousy time to launch a truck; Dodge, Ford, Toyota, Trabant, you name it any of them would have trouble especially comming off of $4 per gallon fuel and entering a credit-less recession.
Admittedly, I don’t understand why Dodge would only make the toolbox quarter panel at one assembly plant and not the other and then close the one that does; that does sound like a f@<$-up.
And yes, Domestic Hearse, the ads are moronic, right up there with the “load-in-his-pants” voice-over who mouths the idiotic Toyota Tundra ads.
It seems like a nice truck, things will get better.
The problem with all the pickups is that dealers won’t stock base models that go for under $30K MSRP. All the trucks on lots around here are chrome laden crew cabs for $35K and up.
Anyone else feel the Dodge Boys spots blew?
Blew? It redefined bad advertising. ‘Aggressively stupid’ is how I would describe it.
I have been looking for these trucks, just to see what they are like in the flesh. They are VERY thin on the ground.
davey49, do you live in Canada? I have noticed the problem is endemic here…every truck is groaning under the weight of options and flirting with 40k sticker.
1.5 hours north of NYC
I’m sure the commercial buyers can make deals to have base trucks ordered but us poor schmuck individual buyers usually want cars off the lot. I know if I want a truck I’m going to buy whichever brand has the cheap base model in stock.
Ford’s campaign rolling out the new F-150, with Dennis Leary doing the voiceovers and radio ads, is much more attuned to the current market for pickups than the ads for the new Dodge Ram. The F-150 ads are targeted at working truck owners. The F-150 is still the best selling vehicle in America. The Silverado is something like #4 or 5, behind the Camcords. Businesses buy trucks when they need them. They may try to stretch out vehicle life when the economy is shrinking, but sooner or later they need a new truck. Ford is targeting F-150 ads at that market, the hard core of the pickup market. Chrysler, which did such a great job crafting the original 1994 Ram to appeal to working tradesmen, dropped the ball on the latest Ram. Not only wasn’t the Rambox available on early production models, but those tv ads are cartoonish. At least the Tundra ads mention its capabilities.
The only thing missing from the new Ram ads are the Village People.
Aside from the outright silly commercials, Chrysler blew the launch for a couple of reasons. The first was they failed to take advantage of Ford delaying the introduction of the new F-series. They probably didn’t have much choice on that one, though, due to all the previous year’s models sitting on dealer lots (which is precisely the reason Ford delayed the introduction of the ’09 F-series).
The other thing that doesn’t seem too bright was the fact that the only 2009 Rams to be found on dealer lots are all high-dollar, 4×4 Crew Cabs. There isn’t a cheaper 2WD regular cab (or even extended cab) anywhere. You know, the kinds of trucks that contractors buy.
IOW, to get an ’09 Ram, a buyer is going to need deep pockets and, in the current credit environment, that doesn’t seem too likely. Coupled with the unavailability of the one thing that really separates the Dodge from its competitors (as much of an improvement as it might be over the previous model), the overpriced ‘Rambox’, well, it’s just (killing) business as usual for Chrysler.
The only thing missing from the new Ram ads are the Village People.
That isn’t The Village People?!
Ram Ads = Poochie from the Simpsons.
I have seen a few 2009 Dodge Rams running around Kansas City. They look smaller on the road than the 2008. I already see ads in the newspaper from dealers advertising $10,000 off the 2009 Ram.
Chrysler has a history of coming out with unique features on their products (MyGig in Sebring/Avenger; soft top on the Liberty) and then not having those features available for immediate order when the new model comes out.