The Woodward Dream Cruise brings out lots of cool car and great parties.  This year I got the chance to drive a new “09 Dodge Ram RT.  From a distance the new Ram doesn’t look crazy new, but is more of an evolutionary design.  This is fine since the Ram has the most character of all the full sizers out there.  No need to ruin that.  Major points of interest come from the leaning , “Raming” stance and the crisp lines which make the truck look as if it has been working out during the “off-season.”  I didn’t have a camera handy so here are some pics pulled from around the web.

The exterior is a nice improvement but the big jump is on the inside.  The all new interior design is the best in all of Chrysler’s lineup.  Nice materials and an attention to detail really paid off (who would have thought?).  Accent stitching on the seats and instrument panel along with embossing of the logo is a fresh aesthetic to the truck market. Storage is everywhere possible and everything is big.  Right down to the door pull handle and the steering wheel.  Big meaty surfaces for those big Texans it was designed for.

When climbing into the RT you realize just how big this truck is.  I almost ran right over a Civic.  You certainly tower over everyone.  The power is also there and sounds great.  I had a short drive so I can not really comment on the effects of the independent rear suspension which is all new for the truck market.

Overall this is a great vehicle.  Kudos to Ralph Gilles on overseeing another great design and to Scott Krueger (exterior) and Ryan Nagode (interior) foe their design work.  Hopefully this new truck can Ram push through the gas issues and be a success for Chrysler.  With Ford delaying the new F150 the new Ram should get the attention that it deserves.

PickupTrucks.com has also had a chance to drive many of the new variations of the Ram.  You can check out their review here.