 Ram's ProMaster City will look a lot like this Fiat Doblo passenger van. More than two years ago, we first confirmed that Ram planned to augment its lineup with a smaller, Fiat Doblo–based commercial vehicle intended to take on the likes of Ford's Transit Connect and Nissan's NV200. But aside from uncovering the van's likely name—ProMaster City—last year, we've heard squat about the compact van since. But new information has come to light, courtesy of Ram's new CEO Reid Bigland. Bigland told us the ProMaster City, which will join the full-size, also-Fiat-based ProMaster van on our shores, is roughly 18–24 months away from hitting the U.S. market. One of the big reasons for the wait has to do with Ram's focus on launching the larger ProMaster, a diesel Ram 1500 pickup, and the newest-generation Ram heavy-duty models. Like the Ford Transit Connect, the ProMaster City will be built overseas and shipped to the U.S. in passenger-friendly wagon guise. Upon making port, the ProMaster will be stripped of its rear seats and possibly its rear windows to transform it into a cargo van. This extra effort, of course, is to avoid the 25-percent "chicken tax" levied on imported trucks. Bigland did reveal that Ram will offer a passenger version of the ProMaster City, if only because the company is shipping them to the U.S. anyway. The CEO did not comment on whether Ram plans to market the ProMaster City wagon to fleets like taxi operators or airport shuttle companies, but the option makes sense. That said, Bigland predicts that most ProMaster City sales will consist of the cargo version. So while we wait for the latest Euro-based small van—awesome!—to hit our shores, expect Ram to introduce the ProMaster this summer and the 1500 EcoDiesel truck this fall.
. . . What About a Mid-Size Ram Pickup? During our sit-down with Bigland, the topic of a mid-size Ram pickup of course came up. Since Ford yanked its ancient Ranger from the market, Toyota has been cleaning up in the necrotic segment with the Tacoma. GM is bringing a new Chevy Colorado and possibly a GMC Canyon twin to consumers soon, but Ram has stayed pretty silent on the subject. According to Bigland, the "theory" behind mid-size pickups "is good." Without directly ruling out a mid-size Ram, the CEO goes on to explain how building a modern mid-size truck, complete with all of the safety gear required and enough of a fuel-economy improvement relative to full-size rigs, and to price it below $22,000, is extremely difficult. Mix in the fact that Ram doesn't readily have access to a small- or mid-size pickup platform—at least not one that's U.S.-friendly—and the company won't be fielding such a vehicle anytime soon.  from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com | |||
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