2007 Dodge Ram 3500 Chassis Cab
#1
02-28-2006, 05:16 PM
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Tallahassee, Florida but missing Fort Myers
Posts: 903
2007 Dodge Ram 3500 Chassis Cab
2007 Dodge Ram 3500 Chassis Cab
The Chrysler Group is jumping back into the heavy duty commercial truck business after an absence of five years, with the 2007 Dodge Ram 3500 Chassis Cab. The brawny truck will debut March 1 at the National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA) spring show in Atlanta, Ga.
It's a move that makes sense for the Chrysler Group, since parent company DaimlerChrysler AG is the biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in the world, says Joe Veltri, Chrysler Group Director of Body-on-Frame Product Planning and Marketing.
Highlights from an interview with Joe Veltri, Chrysler Group Director of Body-On-Frame Product Planning and Marketing.
Tell us about the vehicle:
The truck we're bringing out is a 3500 series chassis cab aimed at the Class 3 market.
A lot of people think a chassis cab is just a pickup truck with the box taken off it. It's much more sophisticated than that. All these vehicles have some sort of upfit on them. Whether it be a rancher body or stake body or a dump body, there's a requirement that these things be upfitted. When we designed this truck, it was designed to make sure we're upfitter friendly.
Can anyone buy it?
They can still drop into a dealership and buy it, but customers will come in and explain the requirements they're going to use the vehicle for. The weight loads they plan to carry or tow, the application they plan to use it in, the frequency they plan to use it in, and the conditions they plan to use it in. It's something we call Job Rating.
How is it upfitter-friendly?
The first key element is the spacing of the frame rails. To be a true chassis cab the frame rails have to be spaced 34-inches apart. This will be our first chassis cab that actually has those true dimensions for frame rail spacing. Secondly, the tops of the frame rails, the flatter they are with no items attached to them, the better they are for the upfitter because the upfits fit on top of the frame rails. Other things we've done, we've taken the fuel filler hose and put it through the frame rail..so it makes it easier for the customer to get the upfit on and have that kind of access to the fuel filler.
Why jump back into the segment?
When we were in it several years ago we really weren't in it with a true chassis cab. Now we've gotten back into it for several reasons. One, to be a viable company we have to find areas where we can grow. The chassis cab segment in class 3 represents what we call "white space opportunity." Today it's currently dominated by GM and Ford which own over 90 percent of the share in this segment. As you look for places where you can compete you obviously are going to look at places where there aren't that many competitors.
Secondly, over the last 10, 12 years, we have taken our Ram pickup truck, and the market acceptance and the reputation that that truck has garnished has done nothing but go straight up. In fact, we've tripled our market share, we're now at about 18 percent market share with that truck over the last 10,12 years. The most important piece of that…has been our growth in heavy-duty.
What will make this vehicle competitive?
This is a very rational purchase for a commercial customer, as opposed to the retail customer which is a little more emotional when they buy it. Obviously, uptime is important to these people, because if their truck is down they're losing money. We made sure we made a very durable truck. We made sure we had a truck that had a large fuel tank…so they're not always filling up their truck. We looked at engine and transmission because powertrain is the heart and soul of the vehicle.
It's going to have a 6.7 liter, Cummins high-output turbo diesel. It will deliver 610 pound-feet of torque which is phenomenal for that type of engine and will help deliver all of the requirements of the vehicle. It will also come with both a six-speed automatic transmission and a six-speed manual transmission. It will have PT0 (Power Take Off capability) for the accessories these customers put on their vehicles.
It will have best in class frame strength (50 ksi steel) and best in class fuel tank capability..52 gallons.
It will have best of class (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) capability at 10,200 pounds.
All in all we think with those kinds of real heart and soul types of characteristics that make this a real work truck we think we have a real successful formula on our hands.
How will this truck contribute to the company's profitability?
By entering into the chassis cab segment, it represents pure incremental sales for the Chrysler Group. There's no substitution with respect to any vehicle we sell. It will bring us new customers into the showroom who today are going into Ford and Chevy.
It will also help us garnish what we call "link sales." These customers also have requirements for other types of vehicles besides a chassis cab. So within their commercial fleet they may have the need for a pickup truck or may have the need for minivans. They also have personal needs. They have their own personal vehicles that they drive. We believe by tailoring a true vehicle to this chassis cab customer we may also be able to reap the benefits of some additional retail sales.
The Chrysler Group is jumping back into the heavy duty commercial truck business after an absence of five years, with the 2007 Dodge Ram 3500 Chassis Cab. The brawny truck will debut March 1 at the National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA) spring show in Atlanta, Ga.
It's a move that makes sense for the Chrysler Group, since parent company DaimlerChrysler AG is the biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in the world, says Joe Veltri, Chrysler Group Director of Body-on-Frame Product Planning and Marketing.
Highlights from an interview with Joe Veltri, Chrysler Group Director of Body-On-Frame Product Planning and Marketing.
Tell us about the vehicle:
The truck we're bringing out is a 3500 series chassis cab aimed at the Class 3 market.
A lot of people think a chassis cab is just a pickup truck with the box taken off it. It's much more sophisticated than that. All these vehicles have some sort of upfit on them. Whether it be a rancher body or stake body or a dump body, there's a requirement that these things be upfitted. When we designed this truck, it was designed to make sure we're upfitter friendly.
Can anyone buy it?
They can still drop into a dealership and buy it, but customers will come in and explain the requirements they're going to use the vehicle for. The weight loads they plan to carry or tow, the application they plan to use it in, the frequency they plan to use it in, and the conditions they plan to use it in. It's something we call Job Rating.
How is it upfitter-friendly?
The first key element is the spacing of the frame rails. To be a true chassis cab the frame rails have to be spaced 34-inches apart. This will be our first chassis cab that actually has those true dimensions for frame rail spacing. Secondly, the tops of the frame rails, the flatter they are with no items attached to them, the better they are for the upfitter because the upfits fit on top of the frame rails. Other things we've done, we've taken the fuel filler hose and put it through the frame rail..so it makes it easier for the customer to get the upfit on and have that kind of access to the fuel filler.
Why jump back into the segment?
When we were in it several years ago we really weren't in it with a true chassis cab. Now we've gotten back into it for several reasons. One, to be a viable company we have to find areas where we can grow. The chassis cab segment in class 3 represents what we call "white space opportunity." Today it's currently dominated by GM and Ford which own over 90 percent of the share in this segment. As you look for places where you can compete you obviously are going to look at places where there aren't that many competitors.
Secondly, over the last 10, 12 years, we have taken our Ram pickup truck, and the market acceptance and the reputation that that truck has garnished has done nothing but go straight up. In fact, we've tripled our market share, we're now at about 18 percent market share with that truck over the last 10,12 years. The most important piece of that…has been our growth in heavy-duty.
What will make this vehicle competitive?
This is a very rational purchase for a commercial customer, as opposed to the retail customer which is a little more emotional when they buy it. Obviously, uptime is important to these people, because if their truck is down they're losing money. We made sure we made a very durable truck. We made sure we had a truck that had a large fuel tank…so they're not always filling up their truck. We looked at engine and transmission because powertrain is the heart and soul of the vehicle.
It's going to have a 6.7 liter, Cummins high-output turbo diesel. It will deliver 610 pound-feet of torque which is phenomenal for that type of engine and will help deliver all of the requirements of the vehicle. It will also come with both a six-speed automatic transmission and a six-speed manual transmission. It will have PT0 (Power Take Off capability) for the accessories these customers put on their vehicles.
It will have best in class frame strength (50 ksi steel) and best in class fuel tank capability..52 gallons.
It will have best of class (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) capability at 10,200 pounds.
All in all we think with those kinds of real heart and soul types of characteristics that make this a real work truck we think we have a real successful formula on our hands.
How will this truck contribute to the company's profitability?
By entering into the chassis cab segment, it represents pure incremental sales for the Chrysler Group. There's no substitution with respect to any vehicle we sell. It will bring us new customers into the showroom who today are going into Ford and Chevy.
It will also help us garnish what we call "link sales." These customers also have requirements for other types of vehicles besides a chassis cab. So within their commercial fleet they may have the need for a pickup truck or may have the need for minivans. They also have personal needs. They have their own personal vehicles that they drive. We believe by tailoring a true vehicle to this chassis cab customer we may also be able to reap the benefits of some additional retail sales.
#2
03-11-2006, 01:41 AM
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Tallahassee, Florida but missing Fort Myers
Posts: 903
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