Head em' up! Rawhide! 2009 Dodge Ram intro plans

Word on the street in Detroit are the plans for Dodge's introduction of the new 2009 Dodge Ram. Sources say that Dodge is working with the City of Detroit to stampede a herd of cattle down Jefferson Avenue, and herd them up with the new Ram.

Chrysler LLC is no stranger to having over the top introductions at the Detroit show each year. Their biggest to date was by driving the redesigned Jeep Wrangler through the plate glass windows of Cobo Hall, ala The Blues Brothers. They also pulled a similar stunt in 1992 with the Grand Cherokee. Though they drove up the steps of Cobo Hall and then trough the window from the outside.

With Chrysler under new managment, this years Detroit show will be all the more important to impress the worlds automotive press.

Along with the Dodge Caravan, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chrysler 300, the Ram is a cornerstone in the automaker's lineup of vehicles.

Chrysler and the City of Detroit are both keeping tight liped about this one, with good reason too. This could go down as the most incredible new vehicle introduction in history... at least until 2009.

Source: Detroit Free Press

SEMA 07: Lots of cool Toyota trucks.

One thing about the SEMA show is all the cool trucks in attendance. This year Toyota is no exception with the concept trucks they brought to Las Vegas this week. Here are a few of them.

TRD Tundra concept. Very aggressive look with it's six and a half foot bed, five inch wide fenders, and redesigned front and rear fascias. Powered by a supercharged TRD 5.7 liter V8 that puts 500 horsepower to the ground and is 50 state legal. Underneath the body work is a beefed up long travel suspension set up for the front and rear. The Tundra also comes with 17 inch TRD off road wheels with giant 37 inch BF Goodrich tires.

Attached to the bed via a 5th wheel hitch is a 28 foot 10,200 lb Featherlite car hauler. The trailer, meanwhile, isn't carrying Toyota's latest racing Tundra, but rather is filled with some of TRD's current product catalogue that SEMA attendees can browse at the show. I'm sure they're more interested in the truck, but I sure could put that trailer to good use.

The Toyota FJ-Runner is a cross between the popular FJ Cruiser and the 4 Runner. Toyota describes this concept as "ruggedness personified", which we'll agree with here at AAM. Outside it is essentially a 4 Runner with a FJ front clip. Mechanicals are not mentioned in the press release so we can only assume that the engine and suspension are relatively stock. There are 20 inch off road style wheels with 33 inch Nitto Mud Grapplers for rubber. Stopping power is brought by Stoptech brakes. Inside the FJ Runner is all business. Rubber floors and water proof seats for ultimate durability, and a host of Alpine stereo, multimedia, and rear seat entertainment upgrades. I give this one a thumbs up since it pulls off the look quite well to give a bigger cruiser, without being a mammoth sized land stalker.

The Toyota FJ Cruiser Convertible also brings a unique twist to the Jeep Wrangler competitor. A removable roof had always been a part of the original Land Cruisers, though was lost in the 1980s when the cruiser grew in size. This time Toyota removed the roof and made a strong a durable, yet lightweight top frame.

Features to this truck include 17 inch KMC Endouro wheels with 35 inch Nitto Mud Grapplers(like the FJ Runner), ARB Old Man Emu suspension and ARB front and rear bumpers with high intensity driving lights. TRD exhaust system, Eclipse navigation, and lastly front and rear Warn bumper mounted winches.

Finally, after years of requests for some sort of diesel powered truck, we have the Tundra Dually Diesel concept. So not only did Toyota respond, they responded with gusto. The chassis is really nothing to write home about as 2 medium duty Tundras were utilized to make the frame. But under the hood you find a JO8E 8.0 liter in line six cylinder turbodiesel with a Magnaflow exhaust. Horsepower is right around 300 with 600 ft lbs of torque through an Eaton 5 speed manual trans. So it has no problems there. The body is a Crew Max cab with a 6.5 foot bed. And gives the look of a ready to work truck. Alcoa 22.5 inch wheels put the power to the road. The bed, and much of the exterior trim is covered with either raw diamond plate or brushed aluminum. Otherwise, the rest of the truck is mostly stock.

Source: Autoblog.com