I just returned from a media introduction for the Ram 4500 and 550 Chassis Cabs (“in showrooms now”) with an assortment of magazines, many of which included an article I’d contributed. And when I opened one and read about the new GM two-mode hybrid SUV, I started thinking about missed opportunities.

Of course I’d been thinking about at least one missed opportunity all the way from the Ram 45/55 event: more GCWR. TDR members know I’m not anti-Dodge, and when I feel the need to point out something that could be better I am usually not alone, have the objective numbers to back it up, or both, but part of me thinks Dodge may have missed an opportunity with the Ram 4500/5500 by not increasing GCWR over the pickups more than they did.

True, GVWR is up to 16,500 and 19,500 pounds, respectively, these values almost dictated by the class. But Gross Combined is up by “only” 2500 pounds over a big Ram pickup, to 26,000 pounds, and since these “medium-duty heavy-dutys” appear hefty, real towing capacity doesn’t seem much improved over the biggest Ram pickups.

Many Ram commercial buyers will find the tow rating more than adequate for their welding rig, cow tipper, generator or whatever, yet I know more than a few TDR members that need something more in tow capacity. And I think with Ford and GM both offering GCWR in the 30-33K range for their Class 5s, Dodge had better be working on the brakes, cooling, rear ends, gearboxes, or whatever else is a limiting factor in that 26,000 value.

On the other front I’ve heard that GM will eat some of the cost of the hybrid system on their full-size SUVs, but the story I saw today mentions some of the ways they “reduced mass” in these SUVs. These included aluminum hood, tailgate, bumper beams, driveshafts, and wheels, plus taking “almost 10 pounds” out of each seat.

I’d like to know how much more the aluminum bits cost relative the standard steel parts and standard aluminum wheels.  And, why didn’t they do all this in the first place? If you can engineer 10 pounds out of each seat without sacrificing anything, surely the manufacturing costs couldn’t be more than what you spent on engineering seats for a new vehicle and then reengineering the same seats a year or two later.

Do you think all that weight saving on a Tahoe/Yukon hybrid should be standard on every Tahoe, and do you think the Ram 4500/5500 needs a boost in GCWR?

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