Wednesday, November 5, 2008

SEMA 2008: Dodge Rams its new truck down our throats

four Dodge Ram concept trucks

We noticed that the Chrysler Group is pretty excited about the Challenger after visiting the Mopar Underground display at SEMA this year. We are too, but it's not just Challengers on display in Vegas. There are also a handful of custom '09 Dodge Ram pickups here, as well. We previewed these four Ram truck concepts recently, all tuned by the automaker's in-house Mopar Underground division. Seeing the trucks in person gave us a better understanding and appreciation of each. Where we previously only had sketches and descriptions, now we have live shots and a sense of these pickups' grandeur.



The bright yellow Dodge Ram TRXtreme looks a little less aggressive than the official sketch, but more than capable of tackling the artificial dirt mound set up in the booth. The blue-with-black-stripes Dodge Ram R/T is based on the '09 Ram Sport and looks like a good hauler for a race-spec Challenger. Actually, it looks like it could keep up with a Challenger. The Ram Sportsman, meanwhile, was the one with the "blowing leaves" camouflage paint job, which was so effective that we couldn't find it anywhere in Dodge's display. Last, but definitely not least is the Dodge Ram Mopar Street Package (above). It features a special Mopar Underground body kit with side sill extensions and a chin spoiler, a slight drop in ride height, 22-inch Mopar wheels and a dual-snorkel hood. This 4-door street machine is the one we'd most like to park outside our garage.