I'm a Ford guy but must give Dodge (Ram) credit on thier new Heavy Duty line, they have produced a good looking truck and have vastly improved the interior that is now on par with Ford and GM heavy duty interiors. Nice attention getter with hanging it upside down.

Overall I'd say dodge is best, but I'm a ford guy like eric. If the new ford diesel is as good as people say, then Ford could finally be king in the HD segment. I'm sick of Ford being 3rd place and I think it's finally going to change. I'll be checking this site often to find out if they've released more details on the new Ford and Chevy diesels.

djg

Unless I am mistaken ford is the king of the HD segment. Most sales. Highest payload. First real HD truck line. Millions of diesels sold. Whats missing?

Cool display. However, A rebadged 2008 won't turn the segment upside down. Ford won both Car and Truck of the Year at NAIAS this year already.

Cracks me up with the Dodge talk?!?! These loyalists cannot even bring themselves to call the truck by its name: RAM.

See this is what happens when a company loses its identity. Who am I? Dodge...OR RAM??? LOL!

Ok. RAM has a nice truck. Only time will tell if it will hold up in the HD work force. We all know that FORD owns the HD segment with the SuperDuty. The 2011 SuperDuty is due out this spring...and will dwarf the RAM and put it back in perspective at the end of the line.

Nice Pics!

biz4two....

Ram is still a Dodge as Diaz said the Dodge name will appear somewhere on the truck...

Also ,where I am from if I drive my Plymouth,Dodge,Chrysler or Ram people call it a Mopar..

Also you can still call the current ram line up a Dodge as it says Dodge on the tailgate,dash and insurance title/registration..Remember 2005-2008 Did not mention Dodge at all on its trucks...

@ Tony. Rebadging a previous model is something that Ford has been doing since 2002. There is nothing on the Ram that has not been reworked. Frame is the same shape, but uses different alloys. Suspention has been retuned for smoother ride. Exterior has completely redone, something Ford hasnt done in almost a decade. Interor is now the best in class.

@ smtrthnu: The only reason Ford has the highest the heighest numbers (payload) is because they use the F450 as a non commercial pickup. If you compair the 3500 and 2500 Rams to Fords the Rams have heigher numbers. Hell even if you compair the F450 the the 4500 Ram it has heigher numbers.

The Ram is the best all around HD truck for the near future.

@West: If by near future you mean 1 year then yes you are correct. Ford and GM are both about to bring out their new HD trucks which will blow Ram out of the water. The only reason Ram has higher towing numbers is because your comparing new to old. You should compare 09 vs 09 or rams 2010 vs Fords or GMs 2011 (Ram looses). When the other players come into play the next gen HD truck market will look the same. Ford on top like usual with GM right behind and Ram bringing up the rear. There has to be a last place and Ram plays that role well.

============
Unless I am mistaken ford is the king of the HD segment. Most sales. Highest payload. First real HD truck line. Millions of diesels sold. Whats missing?
============
Not much. Maybe just the overall reliability and of the 6.0? 6.4 is not far better, as I hear...

Eye catching display. I hope they remembered to drain all of the fluids out of the truck;)
I hope that this auto show will give consumers some idea as to what direction Chysler/Fiat is heading in relation to new products, and where they plan to go with their current products.
As discussed in some other posts - Chrysler/Fiat needs to allay the fears of their loyal customers as well as any potential new ones. People like as sense of purpose, direction, and security in the future. Chrysler/Fiat has to "deliver the goods" in these areas as part of their plan to turn things around! They are in a perfect venue to start.

not sure what you all are smoking. yes ford sells the most, but then any thing with lots of flash sells in america, just look at the freakin escalade.

fact is regardless of who reviews it the trucks with the duramax engines/alison tranies get the best reviews. interiors are nice, exterior looks are nearly irrelevant if you actual use your truck. what really counts is the drive train. here ford and dodge can't compete. the dodges are ranked as poor all around and the ford is described as "sluggish" and brought doubt that it could pull it's tow rating safely. chevies/gmc have the best handling, ride, and the best power train option on the market. i'm not giving sources because every review i read gave similar results, popular mechanics, car and driver, motortrend..etc

and if your dumb enough to buy a brand new truck simply because it can haul/tow a few hundered pounds more than the next guy your probably dumb enough to assume that selling the most means you have the best. know what the most produced car on the plannet is? VW bug.

buy a used duramax, put helper airbags on it and you will never be disappointed. want some fun? put some of that money you saved with your used truck into it's engine and then run some 12's and 11's in the quarter.

now time will tell, chevy use to suck at this, so ford might be onto something...but they still don't have the allison trany and that's just not acceptable, no matter which way you slice it allison makes some of the best tranies in the world and ford is a fool for not using it.

Hey Look a Urea free Diesel.

Sorry I just do not like the idea of Urea.

smtrthnu
You could argue that ford is King, But if you really know anything you know chevy's allison transmission is the strongest and the cummins is Definitely the most reliable HD engine for now. Anyone who knows anything knows that. If you know much at all about trucks you know ford comes in 3rd place when considering what really matters. Chevy and dodge HDs are more reliable than ford, that's not even debatable if you've really been around all of these trucks when they're getting worked hard. I live in a farm community and know lots of people who drive these trucks hard.
Payload has little value when considering the best truck, since they all have huge payloads and few people ever push the limit of the payload capacity. Ford may be the sales king but it's not the best truck as of right now. I'm more of a ford guy than dodge or chevy, but I know dodge and chevy are a better value right now.

Josh
as good as the "ram" is nothing is going to blow it out of the water. I think Ford may be able to outdo the ram with it's new powertrain but there's no way in hell it can blow the new ram out of the water. Really they are all good trucks. I've always been a ford guy, but for now Chevy and Dodge have more to offer.

as a side note i'm sick of the "it's not a dodge it's a ram" I'm not comfortable calling it a ram yet you know what I mean when I say dodge.

Tony means it looks the same as the Ram 1500 that was introduced in 2008. This is a nice truck but it is not turning anything "upside down."

It is a heavier duty brand of a truck that is two years old. Is it a truck that will turn the segment upside down? No. If it was, the segment would have already been turned upside down when the new Ram was first introduced. Is it a nice truck for Chrysler/Fiat brand loyalists? Yes it is and they have delivered the goods minus a new engine.

why does everyone think the allison is the best tranny ever? its a great tranny but the torqueshift that ford has is just as good. it can withstand alot of power and abuse even in heavily modified trucks, that is something the allison is lacking.

All speculation until we can drive them.

Mike's upcoming Heavy Duty shootout will tell us a lot.

I'm not a Dodge... er Ram guy at all, but if I was depending on a HD pickup for towing and I was putting the fuel in... the non urea thing is a big consideration. Now real world testing could swing that back in favor of Ford/GM if the Dodge... er Ram is lacking in power, mpg, or comfort etc... Then the urea may not seem like that big a deal.

Oh and there is no way that upside down Dodge.... er Ram has a real powertrain never mind fluids. Ridiculous thought.

For the life of me I don't remember what site it was but I swore somewhere that I read the new tranny Ford is bringing out in the new SD is based off of the Allison but it will be beefed up in strength and designed to be more efficient. With that being said I know a few farmers who are working on their 2nd and one on his 3rd Allison tranny. They might have better reliability but I don't think they are the transmission of all transmissions...

As far as the motors goes we all know the 7.3L was the king of diesels in the late 90's and early 2000's. It might not have had the most power at the last but it was a bullet proof motor. Ford said they took that motor as far as it could go and was the reason they wanted the 6.0L. Boy I bet they wish they had kept up with it and improved on it. Don't tell me it couldn't be done. The Duramax is a very good Diesel but right now the Cummins is the Diesel to beat. I hear a lot of guys who say "if only they would put a Cummins in a Ford" but Ford is on a roll as of late so maybe they will have the next Diesel to beat. Time will tell.

@ Josh: Do a little more reseach before you post. Ford has already stated that the numbers for the 2011 HDs will only be a few hundred lbs. more then the outgoing model, and this year the 3500 Ram beats the F-350 by almost a ton. Chevy needs to boost its numbers by almost 2 tons to equal the Ram.

@ atlas: the Duramax has good power numbers but I have yet to see any on the road with over 400,000 miles, and with alluminum heads it will rearly get that high. There is thousands of Cummins that have hit that high, hell even hundres of them have hit the 1,000,000 mile mark. (poor all around and Cummins do not go together.)

The Allison does not stand out as much as you think it does. Both Rams in house 68RFE and Fords torqueshift equal its relyability, and NONE of them can handle much more added HP and torque then advertised.

Also, the interior has a Huge part to do with dirver comfert, which is one of the most important aspects to towing. You dont want a person towing 15000+ lbs. and not concentrating on the road.

By the way, how is IFS holding up after 100,000 miles. GM will alway be in last place when it comes to HDs untill this gets replaced.

"Anyone who knows anything knows that."

Hell of an argument, the debate is over. You must be Aaron Sorkin.

Despite your powerful words however I cant say I have come across any tangible evidence or data that suggests the Superduty is any less capable than what is being produced by the other manufacturers. I do know that my tax money did not go to keep Ford afloat. So unless you can explain WITH DOCUMENTATION why Ford continues outsell and win awards using inferior products and why those who work in industry and agriculture continue to buy them (go take a look outside you own community for once), I will be unconvinced by your Kennedyesque like aura.

BTW I will be doing shots for every mention of fleet sales, F-950, Chevy plus GMC combined sales, rebates, isolated recalls from five years ago, death panels, maverick, Ford owning Cummins, and the Subaru Brat. Because trust me it never gets old.

The 7.3 played second fittle to the Cummins. It has always been #1 in terms of relyability.

Dodge Ram Hd is for sure the best looking and best diesel out there.
@ biz4two... calling the Dodge Ram is correct name. Go down to the dealership and look at the truck, it has dodge on the tailgate, Dodge on the dash and Dodge stamped on the cummins engine in big Red letters. At least they have a new body, new suspension, new interior. All Ford does is replace the terrible diesel engine all the time and puts on a new grill. Ram is selling like hotcakes here in Canada where Ranching ,Mining,Logging is huge business and Ram hd is leading the way with no urea fluid. Leather wrapped dash and the nicest interior of all trucks , it is a beast of a truck, go take a look.

@Power Kid - Quote "Oh and there is no way that upside down Dodge.... er Ram has a real powertrain never mind fluids. Ridiculous thought."

That was a joke, hence the smiley face;)
It is no joke that Ram needs to improve PR around their products, reliability, direction, future etc.

Will it turn the market upsidedown? Probably not, but it has made such an impact that ford accellerated its introduction of the upcoming new sd by a full year. The cummins isnt "New" because it was 2 years ahead of everyone else and didnt need to rework it. Cummins know what they are doing as they have for years. Whatever make is your favorite I think everyone can agree the new ram hd is for now the one to beat. As for the previous statement on towing the ram now holds the top honors according to the specs listed here on PUT.com.

@Pen - I don't know about that, well yea the Cummins is pretty much bulletproof to but that 7.3L was one hell of a motor. If anything it equaled the Cummins from that time period on reliability. I know of a few 7.3L around me that are up in the 400K, 500K + miles and still going strong. The big difference there is the Fords they are in are still going strong where most of the Dodges are long gone and scrapped, at least where I live. If anything thats been the real problem with the Cummins all along, it outlast the Ram by a long shot.

@ atlas, your right the Duramax is a great truck, I have one and it is very capable of towing huge loads, very reliable 206,000 miles and never let me down once. in saying that though, my next truck will be that awesome looking Ram Heavy Duty, looked at one the other day and can't stop thinking about it. The big bonus is cummins has a great emission system with no urea fluid. Hope to get one soon. Ford may have another new diesel coming out but with all the emission stuff on it and the extra cooling system with two water pumps and the use of urea, i will let others be the guinea pigs on that one as the other ford diesels are a huge dissapointment and suck fuel back like crazy.

Dodge Ram, Ram, They could call it Horse or Whitetail Deer it doesn't matter this 2010 Ram Heavy Duty is one awesome looking truck. With the cummins engine it is bound to be the best heavy duty truck ever. I want one of these trucks but i better get a big trailer so i can justify to my wife why i need it.

I hope there will be some information on the 2011 GM HD's, specifically the LML Duramax, new 4X4 front suspension, and the (maybe it will happen soon) 7.0L gas engine. As for the new Dodge, it looks good. Much better than the 2011 Super Duty.

if every expert in heavy duty trucks said that the ram was the better and least expensive truck and could prove it, a ford guy will still buy a ford. why? is ford paying them? at least if you are paying look at all of them. a gm guy will a least look at the ram. is ford on their forth of fifth engine in 11 years?

i'd like to see any ford or gm/chevy tow 18,000 lbs like the ram 3500 can!!!

FORD! CHEVY! DODGE! RAM! Stop wasting our time with numbers. Everyone who really knows trucks, knows that it's a trucks color that makes it the best. From now on, no more FORD! CHEVY! DODGE! RAM!

RED! BLUE! WHITE! TAN!

FYI - my Dad can beat up your Dad.

Lets wait tell the 2011 Ford superduty comes out and all things will swing fords way only reason this ram or dodge or whatever it wants to call itself won motor trend truck of the year because it was up against nothing ppl can say bulllocks to this but whatever its the truth ram is done and it will never be the best i know dodge guys will be laughing at what i say but look 10 years from now and see whats there nothing the names they are comeing up for these trucks are joke ram western sky edt ya that will sell MY NAME IS RAM MY TANK IS FULL OF ..... CRAP

I've had Ford, GMC AND RAM. Each one have some wonderful qualitys. I would love to take pieces of each and put them together. WOW, what a truck that would be. The new RAM 3500 will be a truck to have respect for. BUT, SUPER DUTY has the advantage! I am also looking forward to the little diesels for the 1/2 tons. I've seen videos on Ford and GM. Not sure about the RAM!

@Big T - good post. You hit the nail right on the head;)

What is an F-950???

Big Bob,

It could be some kind of airplaine. But who knows, I'm just as confused as you. Hahaha lol!

I'm not understanding why dodge loyalists think just because they have an amazing diesel engine, they have an amazing pickup? yes the engine is very important, but their are many areas of truck comfort, options, features, payload, etc. that Ford and GM beat dodge.....don't get me wrong, the new dodge heavy duties are great, but don't bag on older models of ford just because dodge has cummins, Ford and GM has far nicer older model trucks than Dodge

@Mike Levine
Do you know the torque rating for the new 6.4L Hemi coming out? As the article you posted on it a few months back said it was going to have 450hp. I am just curious on that torque.

Are there any news about the 6.4L Hemi going into the Ram 1500?

Also are the Rams going to get a 6 speed tranny anytime soon?

@ shane,
See 2010 RAM article above.

some of you guys, honestly.

Mopars have some of the most unreliable pieces of equipment known to mankind.

You hear people talk about GM or Ford, but when a Dodge guy comes in its like "lol... dude that guy likes mopars *laugh*"

smtrthnu
Even the engineering manager for the new ford transmission said the allison transmission was used as the BENCHMARK. Still want to argue that the old torqueshift was better? but like I said, if you really knew anything about these trucks you already new the allison was the best transmission without hearing that quote.

"Al Bruck, Ford’s 6R140 transmission engineering manager, says it’s a clean sheet design and represents the next generation beyond the 2008-10 Super Duty’s current 5R110 five-speed automatic transmission
Bruck said. “Our benchmark for the 6R140 is the current Allison 1000 transmission used in GM’s heavy-duty pickups."

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2009/12/top-7-features-of-fords-6r140-six-speed-heavy-duty-transmission.html

I don't mean to put down ford. I love the 7.3 liter superduty that I drive every day. BUT you must know the 6.0 just sucked and the 6.4 isn't that great. Just cause a truck sells the most doesn't make it the best. Besides I'm not completely sure but I think when you combine GMC and CHEVROLET numbers there are more DURAMAXES on the road than POWERSTROKES.
Cummins has been the engine to beat atleast since ford stopped with the 7.3 and MOST people would say the cummins has always been the best Diesel as long as it's been available.

Ford 7.3L= most people agree a dang good motor. I have it and I agree, some argue better than cummins, but most would say cummins is better.

torqueshift transmission= most would agree it's great, but it hasn't proven nearly as much as the allison

all cummins diesels= Most people agree they're the most reliable longest lasting diesels.

ford 6.0= Most people agree had lots of problems, bad motor.

Ford 6.4= everyone seems to agree better than 6.0 but not as good as 7.3

duramax motors= honestly I don't know much but most people agree they're pretty durable, not a cummins though

allison tranmission= It seems anyone I ever talked to who knows much about trucks will say it's the best transmission.

Dodge transmission= again I don't know much but seems average, which means it's real good, but definitely doesn't have the allison reputation.

RE: BigBob's post: "What is an F-950?" Evidently someone had a keystroke error and went up to the 9 instead of down to the 3. However, Ford actually did have an F-950 back in the late 50's & early 60's. They actually called the F-850 and F-950's Super Duty Trucks. The F-100 to F-350 was considered "Light Duty", F-500 to F-600 "Medium Duty", and F+700, F-750, and F-800 "Heavy Duty".

If ford didn't build real h.d trucks in the past, then dodge , chevrolet, toyota wouldn't have anything to copy now . Ford has always led the way and the others have "tried" to follow. Look at most of the innovations in the last 20 years, who was the leader ? Ford . Who will lead into the future? Ford.

Only the Dodge is available with a manual trans in the diesel version. For my use, manual is required.

2010 rams max tow in 18 500 and payload 5,070
2008-2010 F 350 NOT 450 can to 18 700 with a
payload of 5 700, i dont no where u ram guys get your numbers but you guys still dont match ford and you got a redesign wait till the new super duty comes out itll out haul your asses loaded and unloaded bring on the 400 hp monster

@ Taylor: Read before you post. It makes yourself look much smarter.

This is taken straigh from Motortrend:
Maximum towing capacity for the Ram 3500 is 17,500 pounds, significantly higher than the F-350's 16,000 or the Silverado/Sierra 3500HD's 13,000.

It is on the top of the third page if you want to read it your self: http://www.motortrend.com/oftheyear/truck/112_1002_2010_motor_trend_truck_of_the_year_winner_ram_heavy_duty/index.html

To let you know that the Ram will be on top even next year, and this is taken right off of pickuptrucks.com about the 2011 Superduty: capability will improve by about 100 pounds.

The link if you would like to read it your self:
http://special-reports.pickuptrucks.com/2009/09/first-look-2011-ford-fseries-super-duty.html

Do you see how that works. You post stuff to back up your claim. Dont just post it and hope people will believe you.

5 wheel towing 24,600 pounds , conventional towing 16,000 payload 6,180 from fords canadain website all best in class looked it up on caranddriver.com. Everybody knows fords best in class when it comes to towing .

@ bill and taylor.... For one thing the tow and haul rating you guys are boasting about are made up by the manufacturer. They can come up with any number they feel like saying..ALL this will change when the SAE stardards come out soon. When it comes to towing it must be known that the almighty Cummins is the only mediem duty diesel available in the light duty(4500 and under) truck segment and is built to last the longest and provide the best torque curve for towing,, all diesel enthusiasts know this is Fact. The other 2 diesels are light duty diesels with a far less miles to rebuild average.

Yeah snowman they are lieing lol i don't see why ppl call down ford diesels My step dad had a 2007 harley f350 and everybody loved it he had it on the rigs and went though hell more than once i drove it over 100 mph going to calgary and it never died it was chiped out . He traded it in for a 2009 platuim f150 and i know who has it now and its still going strong so different ppl had different ways of thinking but all i have to say ford diesels are not crap and never will be!!!