Come to a bad time

The 2009 model year version of the Ram looks like a Charger. And that makes the Ram look more aggressive. The body and the rear of the 2009 Ram is unchanged. But since production of the 2009 Ram is still far off, it is possible that there will also be changes made to the rear and body of the Dodge Ram. With General Motors and Toyota both having new full-size pickups in showrooms, Ford is understandably keen to push up the development cycle of its pivotal Ford F-150, likely due as a 2009 model.

The ford and Chrysler came to sudden fall and at horrible time as they get ready to bring their new updated pickups to the market, the full-sized pickup segment. At 1.65 billion the segment is expected to fall about 500,000 units this year to an all-time-low.

The Ford’s best-selling vehicle is the Ford F-Series and the Dodge Ram is no less for Chrysler. Before the market gets any worse both companies were counting heavily on the two updated models but are now scrambling to get rid of their 2008 inventories. With the $4 a gallon average aside, even devoted large-pickup can’t afford to buy a new model since the trade-in values are decreasing significantly as demand weakens. For the past three months sales in the pickup segment have been falling. Ford’s F-Series, the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. lost its number one spot last month to the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and the Toyota Camry.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally says, “The most important thing is to just bring down the production but also have a very successful launch,” “Later on, we’ll figure out what is the right (production) footprint for the long term.”