Ram Doesn’t See Value of Offering A Midsize Pickup

Ram Truck boss says Dakota replacement not in the company’s future; too pricey to compete

GM has revived the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon. Ford has brought back the Ranger to the world market.

But Ram Truck doesn’t see a future for a Dakota replacement, the company’s midsize pickup that stopped production in 2011.

According to an interview Automotive News did with Ram Truck leader Robert Hegbloom during the 2015 New York International Auto Show, the reason is simple: the numbers just don’t add up.

Hegbloom told Automotive News “that in the 1980s, the heyday of midsize pickups, customers bought pickups that had less capability than full-size pickups, but were considerably smaller, less expensive and ‘had incredible fuel economy.'”

Robert Hegbloom, Ram Truck president, introducing the 2015 Ram ProMaster City van.

Today’s midsize pickup buyers’ objectives are still the same.

“I’ve been able to develop a strategy to come up with three of the four [key midsize selling points],” Hegbloom said in the interview, “and even with what’s out there on the market today, I haven’t seen anyone who can deliver on all four.”