Thinking Caps On: Before Buyers Get Their Hands on It, Ram's Midsize Pickup First Needs a Platform

The Tacoma will remain the best-selling midsizer, as it has been for decades past. There was a reason why Ford, GM and RAM capitulated and each folded up their midsize tent: They couldn't match Tacoma sales, clearly a better, long-lasting product that real-world buyers actually wanted to pay real money for.

"All should have a V8 option too, even if not Hemis." --- Why? At over 300 horses, I'm quite happy with a V6. It can certainly get out of its own way and pretty much anybody else's.

@highdesertcat "There was a reason why Ford, GM and RAM capitulated and each folded up their midsize tent: They couldn’t match Tacoma sales,..." --- Ford believed the mid-sized market was effectively dead and that is why they chose to abandon it. Even Nissan and Toyota were surviving--if you want to call it that--on six- to eight-year-old platforms and the overall market was seeing a slowdown, with none of them realizing that it was the older platforms that were causing the slowdown. With GM jumping back in and Toyota finally doing a proper refresh, the mid-sized market picked up again and held steady, forcing Ford to 'rush' their global model back in. On the other hand, Ford has already stated they will re-introduce a true 'compact' pickup somewhere around '23.

@Vulpine That's why V8s are "optional". Not everyone is YOU. Great you haul a load of tables to the Annual Church Picnic, the rest of the time, maybe some mulch and whatnot? Awesome, but some owners use most or all of a midsize truck's approx 12K lbs GCWR and weigh close to 5K, just with passengers and gear. If they frequently gotta have the gas pedal to the floor, you betcha they're cursing, wishing they had a V8, even a small one. At that point, they would benefit from better fuel economy with a V8, with virtually no penalty any other time. In case you don't know, V8 midsize pickups/SUVs are highly coveted.

@DenverMike You know, DM, you really need to learn when to stop with the snark; it only shows how juvenile you are. You were almost fine until the, "Annual Church Picnic." But no, not all, not even most, use the full capabilities of their oversized, overpowered Road Whales™. Some few make part-time use if they have a 10000#-plus travel trailer and even fewer, almost all professionals, make use of the 20,000#-plus capabilities of the ¾-ton and 1-ton trucks. Those few need the horses but they should be reserved for those who actually use the power for what it was made. It wasn't all that long ago that 350 horses out of anything smaller than a V8 was considered impossible; now V6s are doing it regularly and even some I-4s have that capability. The V8 is little more than a status symbol any more. I haven't owned a V8 since '92 and that V8 had fewer horses than the '96 V6 Camaro I bought new in '96. What's more, the people who saw me driving that Camaro swore it had to have a V8 under the hood because it consistently left their V8s in the dust--factory stock. Honestly, I'm still getting used to the power my my Colorado's V6. And it's certainly strong enough to pull any travel trailer my wife and I will ever want. "In case you don’t know, V8 midsize pickups/SUVs are highly coveted." --- Coveted, but not available. Except, maybe, in older models where they don't put out any more horses--factory stock--than the modern V6.

@highdesertcat OMG, enough with this crap. It isnt any more true now than the first 87 times you've said it.

@JT: What isn't?

@Vulpine If only everyone bought only what they needed and not what they wanted. Mitsubishi Mirage would be the best selling car and everyone would live sad, dull lives.

@Vulpine, If the last V8 you owned had less power than a 1996 3800 V6, then I respectfully submit that you should experience a modern V8 before you denigrate them as status symbols only.

@Vulpine - An old-school V8 with just 200 HP can easily out-pull, out-tow, out-do a modern 300 HP V6 or I4 turbo engine. There's a lot more to this than you'll ever understand simply comparing engine (peak) specs. There simply hasn't been a better gas engine invented yet, all things considered, than the V8. Anyone with a cheap stripper, V8 optioned pickup wouldn't call a V8 "status". It's just the right tool for the job. Yeah no doubt there aren't any recent "midsize" V8 pickups or SUVs, but they did happen. It was just a natural progression as midsizers got much heavier with dramatically increased payload/towing. Call it political "correctness" brought on by folks that don't know any better.

Vulpine, "on six- to eight-year-old platforms" If an automaker doesn't have competition, they are NOT going to put the BIG BUCKS in updating or refreshing that specific product line. So I am all about choice, the more the merrier. I say to ALL automakers, "Bring it on, provide some competition, let the market shake itself out!" The buyers will decide. Tacoma remained upright. Ford, GM, and RAM midsizers croaked. Now they, the D3, are trying once again to displace Tacoma, and that's a good thing because it will FORCE Toyota to upgrade, update and refine the future Tacoma. The buyers will decide.

@Vulpine "The V8 is little more than a status symbol any more." Dakotas and V8s are like peanut butter and jelly. Besides, I don't think offering a "status symbol" engine on a new mid-size truck would be a bad thing. The Ram is going to need a USP against some stiff competition.

@HDC: GM may have been first out of the three, but they were also first back and with a significantly better truck. Nissan's still on their '04 platform and Toyota is only marginally better despite their most recent update. I'm no fan of running a 6-speed tranny and a split-cycle engine when the one can't take advantage of the engine's torque and the other sacrifices that torque in the name of economy. When it comes to ride and performance, I'm very happy with my Colorado but I am not in the least happy with the way they cluttered up the floor of the extended cab with a permanent plinth for the part-time seating.

@jack4x: 302c.i.d. Windsor, rated at 175 horses, albeit good torque that allowed the car to pull a 5000# travel trailer. Replaced that with a 351c.i.d. Windsor that upped the horses significantly but methodically destroyed every attached accessory on the block, from water pumps to AC compressors to power steering pumps. Engine never let go but couldn't keep anything mounted to it for more than a few months. At its best, it might have tied the V6 Camaro on the strip but even that was questionable. Sure, I know the modern V8 is strong but as I said, it's simply not needed by anyone who isn't a professional hauler.