Mini Test Road Test
The market for big American-branded SUVs is clearly booming. There are the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban (and their GMC counterparts), the Ford Expedition and Excursion, the Lincoln Navigator, and the Cadillac Escalade.
All Ford and GM brands. DaimlerChrysler is MIA, without a large SUV to sell.
`Correct? Well, yes and no.
No, because there is not an oversized SUV made by Dodge or Jeep for the U.S. Several years ago, Dodge axed the full-size sport-ute destined to compete with the big Suburban, citing a lack of sales potential. The seemingly sudden craze for monster sport-utes may have DaimlerChrysler gnashing its teeth because the closest products it has are the Dodge Durango and the M-class Mercedes.
But Dodge is closer to entering that big sport-utility market than you might think--as close as, oh, the Mexican border.
A little history: In March 1974, the Dodge Ramcharger became Chrysler's first sport-utility vehicle. Although the sport-ute craze was still far off, the three-door vehicle sold reasonably well. In 1985, production was moved to Mexico to create space for the assembling of the new Dodge Dakota pickup truck. The Mexican-built SUV was exported to the U.S. through 1993; sales had dropped off significantly, and after that it was sold only in Mexico. Finally, the Ramcharger was discontinued in Mexico in mid-1996.
The timing couldn't have been worse. A year earlier, Chevy had shown up in the Mexican market with an SUV of its own. It was based on the GMC Yukon and called the Silverado. (In Mexico, the equivalent to the Silverado pickup is called the Cheyenne). This Chevy sport-ute quickly outsold the Ramcharger.
With the departure of the Ramcharger in '96, Chevy had this market segment all to itself and quickly became a success. A replacement Ramcharger was urgently needed, but since Chrysler did not have such a vehicle in the cards, the Mexican division was forced to develop a new Ramcharger based on the current Dodge Ram truck.
A shoestring budget of $3 million helped headquarters give the project a quick green light. The development of the truck took 24 months.
But why a three-door SUV? A DaimlerChrysler de Mexico insider mentions that the new Ramcharger was patterned after the previous-generation model because owners of that vehicle requested an exact replacement of their trucks.
The Ramcharger is targeted at customers who are younger than the Durango buyer, which means that many of them are less affluent or might be buying the vehicle for work.
When asked if a five-door version can be made, our contact said the truck would have to be redesigned completely. Since the new Ram truck is already being developed, probably for 2002, a five-door Ramcharger based on the present-generation truck is unlikely.
