Chrysler Looking At Unibody Pickup

The small pickup market may be dwindling, but Chrysler may be looking at getting back in to the segment – though their next small or mid-size pickup won't be a body-on-frame vehicle like the now-cancelled Dakota. Speaking to the Detroit Free Press, Chrysler's Joe Veltri said that "The trucks today, they are big, they are fuel-inefficient…the formula, in my opinion, doesn't meet the needs of the market." Citing the strength of the small/mid-size truck market in previous years, Veltri said that their undoing was the narrow price gap between them and their full-size companions. Veltri feels like younger buyers, who enjoy outdoor activities like mountain biking, as well as older buyers looking to downsize, would be interested in a truck with a smaller footprint and better fuel economy. While sales of the Toyota Tacoma are up 27 percent year over year, sales of the Nissan Frontier and Honda Ridgeline are down. The next Chevrolet Colorado will be a body-on-frame vehicle, though no firm timetable has been given for the truck's re-introduction. The new small pickup would be branded as a RAM truck, but there's no indication of whether it would use a front-drive unibody platform similar to upcoming Jeeps, or if it would be rear-drive based. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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