I went to an invitation only event where I was asked my opinion on which version of 3 different RAM 1500's I preferred. Two of the "Versions" had distinct swept forward grills, one that looked very similar to the Charger's front grill(but bigger, obviously). They all looked like they are taking the Mega-cab idea to the Quads, the rear doors are now going to be as big as the front doors with a longer rear door window being evident also. The insides of all of the versions were not to be examined though, instead they had a fourth "conceptual" version with an interior in it that we were allowed to sit in but not touch since 95% of the thing was a clay model(the seats and carpet were all we were allowed to touch while trying to sit in it). All versions had a 375 HP/ 415 lbft torque 5.7 liter. The next gen ram will have a power up/down rear window option, a 5.7 ft long bed instead of the 6.25 available now, cool rear bumpers that are more flush on the sides with the bed and with duel exhaust cut-outs in the bottom molded into the bumper itself. I really liked the sides and back of one of the models I saw but prefered the front of another. One that I didnt like looked very similar to the side of the F150 but had the strange front end of the power wagon concept truck. It also mentioned having an MP3 input jack for Ipods and other MP3 devices. The MPG rating was terrible though, quoting 9 city and 19 freeway... Prices loaded up for the models shown were at about $32,000 or so. The headlights on the 2 trucks with similar charger fronts have not shrunk any from the current model and they are now kinda pointy on the sides by the wheel wells where they follow the line. I wish I could have smuggled in my camera phone or a tiny camera, but they took everybodies phones before we walked in and they had a buttload of security watching while we took our surveys, plus I didnt want to blow getting paid my $150 for taking it either.

I must say that the new styling will be a refreshing change to even the newest street version out and that I will probly wait till they are available before I trade mine off again. I tried to catch a peak at some of the new SUV's that were in the area next to the p/u area but they had everything all curtained off so it wasnt enough to tell anything.

This HAD to have been put together by Chrysler because of the amount of conceptual trucks available and the comparison trucks were all regular street versions from Nissan, Toyota, Ford and Chevy.

This was here in the DFW area?

yep it was thursday, friday and then on today and tomorrow at the dallas convention center. I got the invitation in the mail... I think I get these things because I usually buy new vehicles about every 2-3 years or so and I must fall into the right demographic profile or something.

OK I am adding to this post... I went down to the Convention center tonight to see what if anything could be seen when the survey was over. They load the vehicles out the backside so I thought maybe I could catch another look and maybe snag a pic or 2, but alas they were backing the Reliable semi's right into the center and with the security driving and standing around I wasnt able to get anything or see anything except all the comparison cars and trucks that they were loading onto car carries out on the street. I am bummed that I got to see the new Dodge Truck designs but have no way to share them with everybody else. I guess we will all have to wait till they materialize in the future to enjoy them.

Yea, I went to one at Lone Star Park a few years back since I was a safety director and in charge of the fleet vehicles. We were all Ford so Ford paid me and the office manager (my GF at the time) to come out and sit in new trucks for 45 minutes saying what we liked and disliked about them. Kinda cool but the really cool part was the $300 made in 45 minutes!!!

Is it anything like this PowerWagon concept from a few years ago? I hope so, I really like the way this looks.

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ORIGINAL: vipersforsale

a 5.7 ft long bed instead of the 6.25 available now

That's disapointing to hear, that was the one big advantage Dodge had over Ford and Chevy for pickups IMO, you could get a four door pickup and not get stuck with a shrunken bed.

ORIGINAL: Silver_Dodge

Is it anything like this PowerWagon concept from a few years ago? I hope so, I really like the way this looks.

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Actually that is what one of the designs that they had there looked like... the front was fairly similar but it had 4 doors and the fenders were not quite as big and round like the concept power wagon. I personally liked the one that had the swept forward grill like the charger has. The only things I really didnt like was that the front fender area was a bit plain and flat and the tailgate had a bulging area that reminded me of that ugly thing on the back of the titans... except that it was molded in metal and actually part of the tailgate. It also had a dodge ram emblem that was easily 3 times as big as the current one planted dead center in the middle of the tailgate.

did one of the three look like the rampage concept?????

draw us a sketch and scan/post it maybe vipers4sale?

Great Info, thanks for the update!

ORIGINAL: jhalfhill

draw us a sketch and scan/post it maybe vipers4sale?


little chance of me drawing a sketch of it... I can draw but memory fails me for all the details now.

I saw the Rampage concept and it has a few hints from the designs I saw, like the way the headlights meet the fenders but the grill area was more pronounced and sharper in appearance on the concepts. And of course they had a seperate bed like a normal truck not ala ridgeline style.

I think Chryslers timing in releasing a final re-design will come after the Tundra and Ford or Chevy come out with whatever they can keep their particular style under wraps. Its obvious that the Tundra has taken design cues from the Ram and the fact that it also has a 5.7 shows that even they are trying to play to the Dodge loyal fans. I will just keep my Hemi parked in the garage until the new model comes out or until they make an SRT8 Ram with that 6.1L in it, it will be worth the wait.

a 5.7 hemi output is 375 hp and 415 torque[sm=escape.gif] **** fire and save the matchs. well my god sir!!!!i bet the new tundra wont spit out anything out like that.damn looks like dodge a ****ing around this time.i would say the 07 tundra hp will be 350 torque around 390-395. iam sure what it is its no trouble for dodge to out top it.i would say the next ram will look like the 1999 dodge powerwagon concept with a little bit of m80 in with it. the nitro / cailber/and the durango are just saying to much they all have simlier wheel fenders the durango is in the works of a refresh to the headlights and grill.[sm=smiley32.gif]

ORIGINAL: dakota rampage

a 5.7 hemi output is 375 hp and 415 torque[sm=escape.gif] **** fire and save the matchs. well my god sir!!!!i bet the new tundra wont spit out anything out like that.damn looks like dodge a ****ing around this time.i would say the 07 tundra hp will be 350 torque around 390-395. iam sure what it is its no trouble for dodge to out top it.i would say the next ram will look like the 1999 dodge powerwagon concept with a little bit of m80 in with it. the nitro / cailber/and the durango are just saying to much they all have simlier wheel fenders the durango is in the works of a refresh to the headlights and grill.[sm=smiley32.gif]


according to dodge, your info on the hemi is off.

345 horsepower at 5,400 RPM (335 HP in Ram 3500)
375 pounds-feet of torque at 4,200 RPM.

ORIGINAL: cjwr
according to dodge, your info on the hemi is off.

345 horsepower at 5,400 RPM (335 HP in Ram 3500)
375 pounds-feet of torque at 4,200 RPM.



Maybe if you would read back to the beginning of this thread you would realize what was said... the concept trucks that I saw back in January had 5.7L Hemi's with the 375 Hp, we arent talking about the ones that are out right now.

its going to be interesting to see what kind of wild design dodge has planned. am going to buy a 2006 dodge ram rc v6 in may[sm=confused06.gif]or mabey i should wait until a pic of the new rams are spied. i find it hard to belive they can come up with a better looking design then the current rams.but you have seen them what do you think...

ORIGINAL: dakota rampage

its going to be interesting to see what kind of wild design dodge has planned. am going to buy a 2006 dodge ram rc v6 in may[sm=confused06.gif]or mabey i should wait until a pic of the new rams are spied. i find it hard to belive they can come up with a better looking design then the current rams.but you have seen them what do you think...


if you can wait another 2-3 years then it will be worth it, but if you cant then get one now. Like I say, I will only buy one of the current body-style if they end up making a SRT8 version with a 6.1L which is fairly unlikely so I am in my '04 for the long haul until the version I saw at the survey thing comes out. After all I got the 5yr-100K extended warranty so I am good to go...

wow it must be pretty sweet i hope they dont do away with the reg cab like they did with the dakota.[sm=icon_beat.gif] the 2007 toyota tundra looks to..to[sm=scared09.gif]..well a drunking monkey with a box of sidewalk calk could have came up with a better design then that!!![:'(] nasty!!!chevy must have a hot looking silverado i read somewhere that it will take a huge sales chunk from the f150 series. nissan titan will have a redesign pro released when the next f150 and ram debut.....thanks for the info VFS...

We need to kill the competition again. It needs more horsepower! Back in 03', we had everyone outdone, we had 50 more hp than the nearest competitor.

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any of that dna in the concepts you saw viper forsale

thats the m80. it was suppose to replace the dakota a few years back but it was given the boot.at the same time their was another concept called m81 which is now the dodge nitro

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no not even remotely resembling what I saw... I always thought that M80 looked like a funky jeep liberty with a bed. Plus all they showed were 4 door models, no single cabs were there. They were asking our opinions against the other production trucks they had on display; Titan, F150, Silverado and the Tundra(all in 4-door trim).

If my girlfriend had been able to go downtown that sunday night she could have driven around the block a few times while I sneeked up to the transport trucks or at least the doors they were driving through and maybe seen enough to have taken a "spy" photo of what they had on display... otherwise there is no parking around the backside of the Dallas Convention Center close enough to have run back to when/if security spotted me lurking around. There are also alot of wierdos and homeless dudes hanging around that area so its not the safest place to be at around 11 pm on a sunday night.

well to be frank with you i find it hard to belive they can come up with anything better looking then the current rams i just seen the refresh for the 07 durango and i must say if the next gen ram looks any thing like that in the front end then they are DOOMED!!!!![sm=helpout.gif] but i will hold true to your word that the next ram will be better in looks and in power......

ORIGINAL: dakota rampage

well to be frank with you i find it hard to belive they can come up with anything better looking then the current rams i just seen the refresh for the 07 durango and i must say if the next gen ram looks any thing like that in the front end then they are DOOMED!!!!![sm=helpout.gif] but i will hold true to your word that the next ram will be better in looks and in power......



Just sit back and relax, dont worry about it. You wont change anything anyway. Its gonna be a good truck.

how many different versions are there of one truck??

i remeber when the redesign 2002 ram came out...everybody hated it at frist!!!then you started seeing them all over the damn place!!now the 2006 refresh.which i think looks better then the 02 design.....lets just hope they dont pull a 2005 dakota stunt