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Sorry to have been so long since the last entry... been a wild year for me. Let's see, what's been going on?..

As the former owner of a 1996 Ram 3500 and the present owner of a 2005 Ram 3500, I've been awaiting this introduction for quite some time.  It was going to determine whether I hung on to my 05 or started saving for a new one. In my blog post on the 2009 Ram 1500, I noted three things that I hoped would appear on the 2010 Ram HD, and it looks like I scored on all three.  The front bumper is indeed fully separate from the body (unlike the 1500) so that auxiliary equipment like plows and winches can be installed easily.  The ST model offers an all-vinyl interior that you can get dirty.  And the front springs in particular have been uprated and it now appears that they may permit a snow-plow package for the diesel pickups (a Dodge first, Ford has offered it for years). As for the truck itself...

A couple of good articles from the November/December issue of Road King magazine that are worth a look... Color Me Safe - High visibility seat belts encourage truckers to buckle up  - more truck manufacturers are offering, and more operators are installing, brightly colored seat belts. Trying Times - During some tough years this driver discovered his resolve to succeed - a 25-year veteran of the highway shares his experiences with health, family, and finances...

The late arrival to the party could very well be wondering why they bothered. Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA was quoted in Automotive News last week from the Paris Auto Show regarding the company's outlook on the Tundra.  Lentz noted that Toyota does not want to get caught in the Ford F-Series vs Chevy Silverado war for first place in sales, or market against the all-new Dodge Ram 1500 or Ford F150.  He acknowledged that many of the former buyers of pickups - commuters and those who wanted the "image" - have left the market for more fuel efficient vehicles (aka, cars) and likely won't return. Toyota expected to sell 20,000 units per month after a fairly successful launch year, but their September 2008 sales were a dismal 7696, down over 60 percent from the September 2007 tally...

March 8 2005 - I pulled in to my Dodge dealer's lot with my '96 Ram 3500 and left with my '05. There's nothing like new car smell, especially when you order your vehicles like i do and wait patiently for them.  This one took 7 weeks from my signature and deposit to the temp plate stuck in the rear window. To my delight, this truck has unquestionably been the best I've had.  I currently have 57,909 miles and 1387 engine hours on the odometer, and I actually still have the original tires and brakes.  I have not needed an alignment - it still drives beautifully straight.  No engine or transmission problems at all.  All the electric and electronic systems and accessories are doing what they should.  Stereo still does its job, whether it's radio, cassette, or CD.  And even though I don't wash and wax as often as I should, the paint still gleams in the sun...

I can thank the folks at my favorite Sun Oil Company outlet for this one.  For the first time since November, I tanked up the Ram for under $100 - $96.66 to be exact, at a pump price of $3.239.  My MasterCard thanks you.

The excuse for getting rid of the floor-mounted 4-wheel-drive shifter was to improve front seat legroom and reduce floorspace clutter.  As such, my 2005 Ram may be the last truck I own with such a floor shifter. Then I saw the new trucks introduced at NAIAS, the 2009 Ram 1500 and F150.  Both have introduced these huge full center consoles with floor-mounted automatic transmission shifters (the Ram is pictured to your right)... especially odd for the F150 which no longer offers a manual transmission...

The 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 and Ford F150 were revealed today at the North American international Auto Show.  As a current Ram owner and former F150 owner, I certainly feel qualified to offer my pair of pennies on these new designs.  So here goes: 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 I like the evolutionary design changes on the exterior.  The lines are cleaner, getting the aero value back down to where it was with the 1994 design.  I understand why the grille is no longer attached to the hood, but i will miss that.  I also have a problem with the rear "uni-bulb".  My 2005 Ram has separate rear turn signals/hazard lights, and since I drive in the dark every work night, complete lighting is very important to me.  A single bulb can be misconstrued by inattentive drivers, plus you lose brake light function when hazards are on - only the high-mount brake light actually functions in this situation.  There is certainly enough room in the new truck to allow for separate rear turn/hazard lights.  I think Dodge made a good move by creating a crew cab over continuing the oversized Mega Cab.  They may lose some bragging rights, but the truck will be a lot easier to handle.  One thing I find very annoying though - on both the quad and crew Cabs, the rear seat cushion is cut down in the center - this makes child-seat placement almost impossible - especially for a rearward facing infant seat, as there's not enough cushion to support it. Which leads me to the rest of the interior.  I like the new dash and gauges. The front seats clearly have improved bolstering for more back and side support, which is appreciated by those of us who make long commutes.  The increased number of storage bins will be useful for most buyers, and the materials used are definitely an upgrade.  But I have my complaints, too.  Still using the beige upper interior, no matter what color seats/dash/carpet you order (see my blog entry "Every day is a gray day") tells me the effort to improve the interior is only half-hearted...

The actual receipt from this morning.... I think I first noted diesel prices in an online forum about 10 years ago.  It was $0.899... at the very same Sunoco, ironically...

Most consumers don't order their cars... they look over the dealer inventory and find what comes closest to what they want.  Conversely, truckers order exactly what they want right down to the tire tread on each axle. Heavy duty pickups are getting caught in the middle.  Because of the surge in sales of full size pickups over the last 15 years, manufacturers have increasingly followed the lead of cars and make their trucks available in large option "packages".  This saves costs by reducing the number of configurations and cutting build time.  And with the notable exception of Ford, whose heavy pickups are on a completely separate chassis and body, these cost saving measure are shared over the entire line.  This option package mentality is understandable for small and midsize cars because of the volume and lack of profit margin...