Blog Category Results

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...

Can't leave Chrysler out.  Today, the Pentastar announced they will close St. Louis South (minivan plant) and cut St. Louis North (Dodge Ram plant) to just one shift.  Chrysler has ridden the minivans and Rams for nearly 15 years - for a period time, both plants were open daily with multiple shifts...

This is the first of 1145 new buses headed for New Jersey streets.  They are being manufactured by North American Bus Industries (NABI) of Anniston, Alabama and will be delivered over 6 years.  The total contract is worth $409 million.  This unit was put on display for the press on February 13. There will be 1070 transit (local/city) buses, and 75 suburbans (equipped with high back seats, overhead parcel racks, and reading lights).  5201 shown here is a suburban. This is a redesigned front end for the NABI model 416, with new-style round headlights and a sculptured windshield and front sign area.  While the industry trend is to low-floor buses that have no steps at the doors other than the initial entry point from the ground, NJ Transit opted for the standard floor (two-step entry) model because they get more seats and legroom, plus some of the regions of New Jersey where these buses will operate are older infrastructure and rural areas where low floor buses may be at an operating disadvantage (e.g...

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...