New Midsize Ram Pickup May Be Coming If CEO Gets His Way

New Midsize Ram Pickup May Be Coming If CEO Gets His Way​

Story by Collin Woodard
• 2 min read




Ram 1500 Tungsten badge© Photo: Ram


Trucks are big business in the U.S., and we’re not just talking full-size pickups such as the F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado. Midsize trucks have also been popular enough that Chevrolet brought back the Colorado and Ford revived the Ranger. For some reason, though, Ram still has yet to give us a new midsize pickup truck of its own. Ask Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis, though, and he’ll tell you that needs to change.

Speaking to Motor1, Kuniskis said, “I want a mid-size truck so bad. Everything is more expensive. Trucks are way more expensive — bread goes up, you still got to eat, right? Trucks go up, you start looking for alternatives. I used to have a price point alternative with the Ram Classic. I don’t have that anymore.”

Unfortunately for those of you hungry for a new Dakota, Kuniskis didn’t have much to say about a possible midsize truck other than that. When pressed for more details, Kuniskis reportedly responded, “Wouldn’t it be great if I had a mid-size that was an awesome, capable [truck] to fill in that gap? Yeah, I’d love to have one.”

If Ram were to start developing a new Dakota from scratch, we likely wouldn’t see it before 2029 or so. After all, it takes a long time to bring a new vehicle to market. Don’t forget that work had already started on the XT4 when Johan De Nysschen joined Cadillac, and when he left the company, it still wasn’t on sale yet. That said, it wouldn’t surprise us in the least if Ram introduced a new midsize truck much sooner than 2029.

We can’t guarantee anything, of course, but Kuniskis’s answer sounds like the kind of thing an executive with media training says when a new vehicle is already in the works. Plus, the deal the UAW struck with Stellantis included plans to build a midsize truck in the U.S. at some point. Oh, and, you know, there are all the other automakers making money in the midsize segment. At some point, Stellantis has to get back into the game, right? Might as well do it before trucks all go electric.



https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/aut...S&cvid=b8620dc8d2b0430486fa53ba3290f6db&ei=90

 

[Yardbird]

That would be a decent looking truck if the rear wheels were moved back some. I can't get into the rear wheels being right against the cab.

 

[HarryN]

I am not sure how a smaller / midsize truck offering will have any benefit over the 130 wb promaster.

They probably would gain more market by offering an AWD van with some clearance than what they would gain from another truck offering.

 

[Docwagon1776]

I am not sure how a smaller / midsize truck offering will have any benefit over the 130 wb promaster.

They probably would gain more market by offering an AWD van with some clearance than what they would gain from another truck offering.

The market is comparatively tiny and most of the promaster sales are fleets. Note how few companies even bother to compete in that space, and even with few alternatives sales of the promaster aren't 1/4 of what the Tacoma moves yearly.

 

[HarryN]

The market is comparatively tiny and most of the promaster sales are fleets. Note how few companies even bother to compete in that space, and even with few alternatives sales of the promaster aren't 1/4 of what the Tacoma moves yearly.

You are probably right. I am mostly from the van conversion world, where people build them into DIY class Bs. They buy cargo vans and fix them up, so I have no idea - nor does ram - of how many are converted.

The numbers are certainly lower than they could have been, as there has been a drought of van availability from all of the mfgs for multiple years.

The promasters are viewed as the "low budget" option starting point, because they lack a lot of features that people with a bit more money buy ( transits and sprinters )

The main attraction of the promaster is the box shape makes it easier to build inside.

The clearance is a major turn off, as well as the weak drive train.

The other uses for these vans is for delivery vehicles, and again, the front wheel drive only is a big problem on hills when even slightly wet. Lack of spare parts is another - I have seen small business owners shut down because they couldn't buy brake pads and rotors.

The promaster city import was starting to sell more but that was shut down when it became clear that they were just faking their way through the build / import process.

I would not even be looking at a truck if there was a van with a strong enough drive train and some clearance on the market.

____________

I guess coming back to the question of a small truck - a mini / medium size truck - I think of them as soccer mom SUVs, so not sure how many would be sold as "trucks". Are we talking about honda ridgeline type stuff with that tiny bed with no depth ?

 

[Docwagon1776]

I guess coming back to the question of a small truck - a mini / medium size truck - I think of them as soccer mom SUVs, so not sure how many would be sold as "trucks". Are we talking about honda ridgeline type stuff with that tiny bed with no depth ?

It looks like it'll be a unibody, so probably. Lower cost and meets the needs of an increasingly urban society, it's a growing market. Ford's Maverick has been a big hit for them. Not everybody needs or wants today's bloated 1500s (today's Ranger has the same foot print as a 1970/80s F-150), and many who do can't or won't pay today's prices.