New 2009 Dodge Ram

[AKaiser]

This "new" transmission concerns me ... it seems to me that Dodge will try to do away with a real manual transmission and replace it with some computer controled nightmare, phony-balogna, psudo-manual.



If this nonsense infects the 2500-5500 trucks and the manual trannies are done away with, then we will know that Dodge is out of the truck business, and I'll be out of a Dodge.

I think the target market for the DSG "manu-matic" or whatever you call it isn't replacing manual trannies, but coming up with a more efficient automatic transmission (i. e. getting rid of, or reducing the amount of, fluid coupling found in conventional automatics, which is a major source of inefficiency. )



Besides, there's nothing particularly nightmarish, phony-baloney about these. Race cars have been using them for years sucessfully in the "manual" mode (paddle-shifting), and they're not at all dissimilar from an agricultural/construction machinery powershift transmission, many of which automatically adjust the gears according to load at a given speed. They're just getting to the point where they're economical to mass produce with electronic automation for the consumer automotive market.



Technology, believe it or not, is a good thing. You can chose to live in the past, but don't be surprised if you get left behind. Right now, your manual choices are Dodge and Ford. GM is already out of the manual market in the ton and below diesel market.

 

[JasonCzerak]

A lot of tractor trailers have auto-magic manuals as well now a days.

 

[AKaiser]

A lot of tractor trailers have auto-magic manuals as well now a days.

Yep! First, it was just the top two gears. I have no idea what they've got now.

 

[Grizzly]

Grizzly, knowing the bean counters, I bet they used it as a reason to use thinner sheetmetal.

By law the sheet metal has to to meet a specified thickness. I'm sure Dodge ferd and chevy are already using the thinnest medal they can. I remember several years ago or longer, GM got in trouble because they were making up the minimum medal thickness with the lays of paint. As we all know, the medal on all trucks is pretty darn thin. I'm not sure about Toyota.

 

[FATCAT]

Technology, believe it or not, is a good thing. You can chose to live in the past, but don't be surprised if you get left behind. Right now, your manual choices are Dodge and Ford. GM is already out of the manual market in the ton and below diesel market.

Technology these days for the most part is a bad thing. Many things are way to complex then they need to be. Simple is always best. Technology for technology's sake is a very bad thing.



When the manuals are no longer offered in trucks, people will never again know what it is like to feel connected to the engine and drivetrane and be able to control their truck without having to stomp on the breaks all the time.

The less computers controling your car/truck the better.

 

[JasonCzerak]

Technology these days for the most part is a bad thing. Many things are way to complex then they need to be. Simple is always best. Technology for technology's sake is a very bad thing.



When the manuals are no longer offered in trucks, people will never again know what it is like to feel connected to the engine and drivetrane and be able to control their truck without having to stomp on the breaks all the time.

The less computers controling your car/truck the better.

You don't NEED a HD Tv, you can get your daily dose of media crap from a perfectly well maintained simple black and white tube tv 10" in size technically...



Deal with improvements or fall be hind and get lost in the crowd. It's a good thing and unfortunately, it's going to be a fact some day. Heck, maybe in my life time I'll see the fall of fossil fuel vehicle's, talk about a tough change there right?

 

[BTowler]

Yep, technology is coming whether you like it or not! If it wasn't for technology we wouldn't have modern turbo diesels, you wouldn't be able to plug in a Juice or load a Smarty, so sit back and enjoy the ride, you might just enjoy it.

 

[AKaiser]

Technology these days for the most part is a bad thing. Many things are way to complex then they need to be. Simple is always best. Technology for technology's sake is a very bad thing.



When the manuals are no longer offered in trucks, people will never again know what it is like to feel connected to the engine and drivetrane and be able to control their truck without having to stomp on the breaks all the time.

The less computers controling your car/truck the better.

First, that's your subjective analysis, so I'll take it for what it's worth. The truth of the matter is that technology helps remove the operator from the equation, and that's not always a bad thing. Ever heard of operator error? I have one, but I don't need a gear shifter and a clutch on the floor to have a feeling of connectedness to my engine and drivetrain.



I'll put it to you like this. I was fortunate to hear the story of Apollo XIII as told by the Mission Flight Director and the Mission Commander, in person. They were telling the story and got to the part where they had to manually position the aircraft. It was kinda like using a gunsite. It's a very difficult and precise procedure that would've been handled by the ground control and computer, but it was not working, since the telemetry was down. They had to fire the rocket motors by manual entry into the computer, using a watch, and alignment with the stars and the earth or something like old time ship navigation, IIRC. Anyway, the slightest error one way or the other could've caused the spacecraft to burn up on re-entry. Had they been able to use the computers, it wouldn't have been an issue. That was in 1970. How much more powerful are our computers now? And all we're asking them to do is keep an engine running smoothly, efficiently, and with low emmissions, and make the transmission shift smoothly at the right times. Not exactly life or death.



Eugene F. Kranz - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jim Lovell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia





Amazon.com: Failure is not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond: Books: Gene Kranz

 

[JEstes]

Had they been able to use the computers, it wouldn't have been an issue. That was in 1970. How much more powerful are our computers now? And all we're asking them to do is keep an engine running smoothly, efficiently, and with low emmissions, and make the transmission shift smoothly at the right times. Not exactly life or death.

True! Did you know our trucks have more computing power than the computer on the Command Module? Imagine going to the moon in a CTD truck. Those guys had some cahonies!

 

[FATCAT]

You don't NEED a HD Tv, you can get your daily dose of media crap from a perfectly well maintained simple black and white tube tv 10" in size technically...



Deal with improvements or fall be hind and get lost in the crowd. It's a good thing and unfortunately, it's going to be a fact some day. Heck, maybe in my life time I'll see the fall of fossil fuel vehicle's, talk about a tough change there right?

I got rid of my TV December 2004 and don't miss it. A good adage to live by is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

 

[AKaiser]

True! Did you know our trucks have more computing power than the computer on the Command Module? Imagine going to the moon in a CTD truck. Those guys had some cahonies!

I think our trucks probably have more than the original shuttle. As I understand it, they could replace all the computer systems on an STS with a Pentium (586) laptop. Well, actually, 5 of them, given the redunancy of the systems. Statistical Software Engineering Of course, they wouldn't use MS anything (or Apple for that matter). The STS computers are the same computers used on some military aircraft designed in the late 60s and early 70s.

 

[AKaiser]

I got rid of my TV December 2004 and don't miss it. A good adage to live by is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

If'n I followed your "sage" advice, I'd be Amish. :-laf

 

[klenger]

The computers in the shuttle may be old, but I'll bet they don't Ctrl-Alt-Del three times in 8 hours to keep them working.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Looks like they don't have a flat roof anymore. Got the ridges in there now. Might hold up better to hail.

I'm hoping the roof is less curved/humped like it is now so the roofline doesn't look funny with a cab-high canopy. I also wish the truck bodies wouldn't be stretched as much vertically, the 3rd Gen is noticeably taller measured from rocker panels to rooftop than the 2nd Gen. And lastly it would be nice if the bedrails aren't so tall like Ford did with the F150.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Here's a few more spy shots



VWvortex Forums: Spied: 2009 Dodge Ram



Spied: 2009 Dodge Ram prototype

 

[AKaiser]

The computers in the shuttle may be old, but I'll bet they don't Ctrl-Alt-Del three times in 8 hours to keep them working.

That's because they don't use MS DOS/Windows/XP/Vista, etc. Run the same computer you have at home on UNIX and it won't often jam up. Our previous Field Artillery fire control computers used SCO Unix OS and the program was written in Ada. It was fairly bulletproof compared to any MS product I've ever used. The current systems use a Linux variant OS and run on a Sun Ultra SpARC unit (actually a compact version of it, I think).

 

[AKaiser]

Here's a few more spy shots



VWvortex Forums: Spied: 2009 Dodge Ram



Spied: 2009 Dodge Ram prototype

Looks like the hood will be blended into the fenders moreso than the current bulges, still giving it a characteristic, if quite a bit less dramatic, Ram appearance. I'm sure that will help aerodynamics, and perhaps increase the engine compartment accessibility. Unfortunately, it looks like the radiator area will be inaccessible, as the grille isn't attached to the hood. That was a definite advantage to the curved 94-08 hood: it could support the grille being attached to it, as it's curve added structural support that a flatter hood would not.

 

[Champane Flight]

I am fine..

Yep, technology is coming whether you like it or not! If it wasn't for technology we wouldn't have modern turbo diesels, you wouldn't be able to plug in a Juice or load a Smarty, so sit back and enjoy the ride, you might just enjoy it.

I like the fact that my old twelve valve will still be running when all the technology is in the junk yard. :-laf

 

[Dieselnut59]

I like the fact that my old twelve valve will still be running when all the technology is in the junk yard. :-laf

CF, I agree with that, but I also love my '03 Common Rail Cummins. As for transmissions, I am interested in NOTHING but a manual transmission. It has been a long-standing fact that the transmission is the weakest link on our trucks. It is simpler to replace a clutch in a manual transmission than to totally re-do an automatic. No matter how much technology they put into an automatic transmission, it can NEVER anticipate the upcoming hill you are going to have to climb or descend and BEFOREHAND adjust your gearing accordingly. I am all for a computer controlled engine, but nobody will ever convince me an automatic transmission is the way to go versus a manual. If I could have a manual transmission in place of that junky automatic in my Liberty, I would buy, order, swap, etc. it in a heartbeat!

As someone mentioned before, agriculture equipment uses automated transmissions. They are GREAT in those applications. My M9000 Kubota has the hydraulic shuttle shift, which allows direction changes at PTO RPM's. I LOVE it! It is coupled to a manual shift transmission. I am in the forklift business and many transmission types are available in forklifts. The "torque converter" (automatic) is the best for most applications because they are changing direction of travel so often. Some are available with hydrostat or manual shift. I am just glad we have CHOICES. As long as there are CHOICES, more people will be happy.

 

[Champane Flight]

How true

CF, I agree with that, but I also love my '03 Common Rail Cummins. As for transmissions, I am interested in NOTHING but a manual transmission. It has been a long-standing fact that the transmission is the weakest link on our trucks. It is simpler to replace a clutch in a manual transmission than to totally re-do an automatic. No matter how much technology they put into an automatic transmission, it can NEVER anticipate the upcoming hill you are going to have to climb or descend and BEFOREHAND adjust your gearing accordingly. I am all for a computer controlled engine, but nobody will ever convince me an automatic transmission is the way to go versus a manual. If I could have a manual transmission in place of that junky automatic in my Liberty, I would buy, order, swap, etc. it in a heartbeat!

As someone mentioned before, agriculture equipment uses automated transmissions. They are GREAT in those applications. My M9000 Kubota has the hydraulic shuttle shift, which allows direction changes at PTO RPM's. I LOVE it! It is coupled to a manual shift transmission. I am in the forklift business and many transmission types are available in forklifts. The "torque converter" (automatic) is the best for most applications because they are changing direction of travel so often. Some are available with hydrostat or manual shift. I am just glad we have CHOICES. As long as there are CHOICES, more people will be happy.

I only own one automatic, it is in my G-cherokee, the wife loves it. I like the feel of knowing what gear I am in, choosing the gear, knowing what RPM I need and so on. I was volunteered to train all the G-kids driving, they all learned on standards except one, she still does not know how to drive a standard! The girls all like the autos, and the boys standards... . One of my G-daughters asked me why I did not teach them on a auto, I simply replied "I am teaching you to drive, not point"... . :-laf