SANTA BARBARA, CALIF.–The Dodge Ram has serious fans – like the guy who ran up to me in the Starbucks parking lot to show off his Ram logo tattoo.
Like a wide-eyed kid on Christmas, he then circled the 2009 two-tone Crew Cab Ram I was driving around in.
"Man, that's pretty," he finally said.
My tattooed friend was reacting to the subtle (yet powerful) redesign of the Ram "big-rig" look – a design that first rolled out in 1994. With some rounding of the fenders and a forward-tilt to the cross-hair grille, the latest version of the truck has kept its silhouette, yet has also pulled the lights back over a new one-piece bumper, taking on a faster, rakish, slippery look.
It comes by its new profile honestly: the Ram has spent some 300 hours in wind tunnel testing alone. The result is better aerodynamics, but also the quietest Dodge cab yet. With the air flowing smoothly over and off the truck there is none of the buffeting noise of the previous generation.
Currently, it's safe to say that with this makeover (it's now in its third generation) it is reaching icon status. But the bigger story is actually inside where a completely new design shows up the old one as just plain bad.
The new interior features redesigned, bolstered seats and soft-touch material in two- and even three-colour patterns (rather than nasty hard battleship grey plastic). Elements in some of the higher end models include a new centre console, upper and lower glove boxes and a sculpted dashboard featuring chrome, leather and cloth accents, including items such as real saddle stitching across the dash.
Other available options include power adjustable pedals, double the number of previous storage spaces and for the first-time items like heated and cooled front seats; heated rear seats and even a heated steering wheel.
With this new interior, Dodge appears to be back in the same league as its chief rival, Ford's F-150.
