2005 Chicago Auto Show: Dodge to Unveil Biggest Four-door Pickup

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CHICAGO, Feb 9,2005 Ben Klayman writing for Reuters reported that DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler division on Wednesday will offer up its latest Dodge Ram pickup truck to prove the theory that bigger is indeed better.

The automaker is counting on the new 2006 Dodge Ram Mega Cab, a full-size pickup with four full-size doors and what it claims is the industry's largest passenger cabin, to help buoy demand when it debuts this fall. It has not revealed sales projections for the crew cab truck, which will be introduced at the Chicago Auto Show on Wednesday.

"There is an air of bigger is better, so now everybody will be looking at that particular body style as the new benchmark," said Michael Robinet, an analyst at CSM Worldwide, an auto consulting firm in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Ford Motor Co. currently boasts the full-size pickup with the largest passenger cabin.

Catching people's eyes will be key as the segment is expected to see sales slip almost 5 percent this year despite the addition of another model, according to J.D. Power and Associates. That comes after a decade when sales surged more than 50 percent and the number of models rose to 11 from five.

In addition, demand for Chrysler's Ram pickup, which accounts for almost one of every five Chrysler vehicles sold in the United States, slumped 5 percent last year even as overall industry sales rose.

Analysts think this new model could help spur demand.

"You have to give people a reason to pay attention to you," said Wes Brown with market research firm Iceology. Nonetheless, he said the truck's long-term popularity will depend on whether the automaker floods the market with the pickup truck.

Demand for crew cabs has grown, however, and Chrysler is counting on what they bill as the largest pickup cab ever, which can seat six adults and their gear comfortably, and includes reclining rear seats. The vehicle will be built at Chrysler's Saltillo, Mexico, plant.

"We're bringing the SUV and the car-like comfort features into the pickup truck, while at the same time providing them with towing and capability," Brad Pinter, brand manager for the Ram pickup, told Reuters.

While still appealing to the traditional, heavy-duty buyer with its utility, Chrysler hopes the larger cab lures the nontraditional buyer who needs room for the family as well as the utility of a truck, he added.

Dodge dealers hope the new truck, based on the heavy-duty Ram 2500 platform, will help lure consumers who might look to Ford, General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research) or Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research) .

"It gets people in the showroom that might not have ever considered Dodge before," said Steven Wolf, general manager of Helfman Dodge in Houston. "It gives people reason to trade other than just, 'Maybe I can better a rate or payment.'"