Saturday, September 09, 2006
It's all truck — with a dash of car and SUV
It's a by-gone scene. But when a bunch of 2000 Dodge Dakota Quad Cabs rolled in, sleepy Brown County (pop. 10,000) got an eyeful of the brave new automotive world.
The new wave Quad Cabs are cross-over vehicles, which may carve out a new segment if they catch on. They feature the interior comforts of a car, the capabilities of a pickup and the ruggedness of an SUV.
Daimler Chrysler hosted a Quad Cab media ride-and-drive program in Brown County. It was a sight to see those thoroughly modern vehicles cruise down the old-fashioned main street of Nashville, an Indiana artist colony.
The all-new vehicle is first and foremost a pickup, say Dodge executives. But they hope it will win converts from the car and SUV crowds.
The Quad Cab is designed to appeal to people who are not traditional truck buyers, but always wanted one, says Dodge Division Vice President Jim Julow.
"There's an expanding market of people who in the past would not consider buying a truck," says Rich Ray, Dodge general product manager for truck operations.
He adds, "People are looking for a flexible conveniently sized truck. The family car traditionally had to do everything. Today, buyers are finding that a truck may do it better."
Full-size front-hinged rear doors with full roll-down windows offer easy access for passengers and cargo alike. Extended cabs have undergone considerable refinements as well as a 30% segment growth since 1993, says Mr. Julow. Seventy percent of Dakotas currently sold are extended cabs.
"We've maximized the utility of a compact pickup by combining the power and capability of a Dodge Dakota with six-passenger seating in a full four-door configuration," says Mr. Julow.
A shorter truck bed is the tradeoff for the extra interior room. The bed is just over five feet long.
But Dodge consumer research indicates compact truck customers use the full length of a standard 9.5-foot bed less than 10% of the time. Besides, the shorter bed is better for off-roading, say Dodge designers.
Quad Cab customers who want or need the extra cargo capacity can buy Mopar bed extenders that add 18 inches of bed space with the tailgate open.
The average car Dodge is equipped with $140 in Mopar aftermarket accessories; the average truck, $350.
Dodge estimates the average Quad Cab owner will pony up $500 for Mopar accessories, says Dodge spokesman Dave Elshoff.
The top three are expected to be bedliners, side steps and those bed extenders, he says.
Quad Cab competitors are the Nissan Frontier and newly introduced Ford Explorer Sports Trac, but the Quad is bigger than both, boasts Mike Gialdini, Dodge senior marketing manager.
Dodge expects to sell about 70,000 Quad Cabs a year at first, and expects half those sales to be new business.
Dodge minivan sales remain strong, but if minivan buyers start leaving that market in large numbers, "we want to keep them in the Dodge family," says Mr. Gialdini.
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