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"         With fuel prices so high, it&amp;#039;s not exactly a great time to be launching a new full-size pickup. But that&amp;#039;s exactly what Dodge is doing with an all-new Ram that starts rolling into dealerships in September.   And you know what? Maybe it is a good time to do so; after all, the Ram \u2014 the best-selling Chrysler vehicle \u2014 was the oldest pickup of the Big Three, and this new one is a marked step up in refinement. What&amp;#039;s more, its 5.7-liter Hemi is 4-percent more efficient than before (thanks in part to more frequent cylinder deactivation) while putting out a class-leading 390 bhp and 407 lb.-ft. of torque.   But the big story is beneath that new sleeker body, whose grille cants forward a bit and is no longer attached to the hood. There resides an all-new ladder-frame chassis that&amp;#039;s more robust than before and eschews the traditional leaf-spring arrangement in favor of an all-new 5-link rear axle on coil springs. The new design saves about 40 lb. says Mike Cairns, the chief engineer, who claims that the ride quality and handling, especially when the bed is unloaded \u2014 is vastly improved over the previous truck. And load capacity, says Cairns, has not been sacrificed, the new Ram having a payload of 1850 lb. and a towing capacity of up to 9100 lb.   Three engines are offered. A 3.7-liter V-6, set way back in the chassis, is the base powerplant, putting out 215 bhp and a 235 lb.-ft. of torque. A 4.7-liter V-8, with 310 bhp and 330 lb.-ft. of torque, is considerably more powerful. But the best engine is the 390-bhp 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 \u2014 which has increased compression, revised ports, an active intake manifold \u2014 a bigger, more relaxed engine that&amp;#039;s just as fuel efficient as the 4.7, thanks to the active MDS cylinder deactivation.   Three cabs are offered. The Regular Cab mates to either a 6-ft. 3-in. or 8-ft. bed. The 4-door Quad Cab, expected to make up most of the sales volume, is available exclusively with a 6-ft. 4-in. bed. And last, there&amp;#039;s the Crew Cab, which is roomy but quite not as large as last year&amp;#039;s Power Wagon, which the public considered too large. The new Crew Cab comes exclusively with a 5-ft. 7-in. cargo box.   The biggest bed news regarding the bed of the new 2009 Ram pickup, however, is the debut of the Ram Box system, which features lockable storage bins in both sides of the bed while still providing 49 in. of width between the fenders. The illuminated bins are both lockable and drainable, and they hold the combined volume of a 55-gallon drum...or 120 12-oz. cans of soda, with ice. This handy (and I expect popular) option has a steel bed with glass composite lids, and its standard bed divider doubles as a bed extender.   On the outside, the new Ram still looks like a Ram, more aero than before but still unmistakably a Dodge and riding on 20-in. wheels that don&amp;#039;t look that big. On the inside \u2014 particularly on upmarket models such as the Laramie \u2014 the Ram is handsome, rivaling some luxurious SUVs in quality and appearance, and fitted with standard side curtain airbags that should please folks who use their pickup as a multi-talented everyday vehicle.   Without doubt, the new 2009 Dodge Ram is significantly improved, a truck that will need to be driven to be appreciated. And sometime in 2009, look for a light-duty Cummins diesel to appear in this Ram, providing EPA highway fuel economy in the high 20s. Can&amp;#039;t wait for that truck. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/news/a14161/2009-dodge-ram/>