Photo: Ram
Also known as the L200 and Strada, the Triton is also sold as the Ram 1200 in the United Arab Emirates. But Ram won’t base its North American mid-size pickup on the Triton. According to Sergio Marchionne and Mike Manley, the newcomer is a global product that will ride on a new platform.
Autoblog reports: “Trucks for the North American market will likely be built in Mexico on the old Ram Heavy Duty production line. The upcoming Ram HD — set to debut at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show — will be built in the U.S.” And yes, the mid-size truck will act as the successor of the Ram Dakota (discontinued in 2011).
Coincidence or not, the Dakota went away in the same year Ford pulled the plug on the Ranger. But the Ranger is back in the United States for the 2019 model year, with production scheduled to start later this year at the Michigan Assembly Plant. Based on the T6 Ranger introduced in 2011, the U.S.-spec Ranger is offered with the Mustang’s 2.3-liter EcoBoost and 10-speed 10R80 automatic transmission.
In all likelihood, Ram could base the new Dakota on a modified 1500 platform. The Jeep Scrambler features 1500 suspension components out back, so why wouldn’t Ram pull a similar trick - on a larger scale - with the mid-size pickup? This course of action makes sense in more than one way, especially when you consider the costs of designing an all-new platform.
On the other hand, Autoblog doesn’t expect the truck to be tailored “too heavily to U.S. tastes like the Toyota Tacoma or Chevrolet Colorado.” The core business of Ram is full-size trucks, but looking at the bigger picture, the mid-size segment is gaining ground.
Sales of smaller pickups rose 21 percent during the first quarter of this year compared to the same period a year ago. The Tacoma and Colorado are the most popular trucks of their kind, selling 53,779 and 28,859 examples, respectively.
Coincidence or not, the Dakota went away in the same year Ford pulled the plug on the Ranger. But the Ranger is back in the United States for the 2019 model year, with production scheduled to start later this year at the Michigan Assembly Plant. Based on the T6 Ranger introduced in 2011, the U.S.-spec Ranger is offered with the Mustang’s 2.3-liter EcoBoost and 10-speed 10R80 automatic transmission.
In all likelihood, Ram could base the new Dakota on a modified 1500 platform. The Jeep Scrambler features 1500 suspension components out back, so why wouldn’t Ram pull a similar trick - on a larger scale - with the mid-size pickup? This course of action makes sense in more than one way, especially when you consider the costs of designing an all-new platform.
On the other hand, Autoblog doesn’t expect the truck to be tailored “too heavily to U.S. tastes like the Toyota Tacoma or Chevrolet Colorado.” The core business of Ram is full-size trucks, but looking at the bigger picture, the mid-size segment is gaining ground.
Sales of smaller pickups rose 21 percent during the first quarter of this year compared to the same period a year ago. The Tacoma and Colorado are the most popular trucks of their kind, selling 53,779 and 28,859 examples, respectively.
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