We researched a long time, over a year before buying our 1999 Ram because of the cummins. Dodge/chrysler to me was not a good start because of bad experiences, but the cummins stood head and shoulders above the competition in terms of longevity, reputation, and simplicity balanced with considerations for the power necessary.
the Ram had shortcomings... serious in our opinion... brakes that absolutely were not adequate, and a transmission that did not take advantage of the cummins power the two leading. We bought the new Ram in 03 for those reasons, and again because the cummins was still the clear choice. Even my Friends who own Ford and Chevy and who are loyal, say that the ideal is their favorite with a cummins engine.
It is clear that cummins is preparing and gathering data given their latest poles, and I would buy a ford or a chevy with a cummins.
We like the looks and some of the nicer features of the 03, but would suffer those features clearly, no contest, if they lost cummins unless:
the mercedes or the replacement (which we have clearly not researched) could match the features of the cummins.
We have no brand loyalty, no I would only drive a dodge or a ford or even just drive a cummins powered truck. They certainly aren't going to be loyal to us. We are just like the coach... we want the best 11 men on the field, or in this case the best combination available.
That is what people expect from us, that is what we expect from the products we buy in the major investment category.
Whatever happens, I think Cummins will do just fine.