Chrysler pins hopes on new pickup truck even as gas prices economy drive buyers away

CHELSEA, Mich. June 26, 2008; Tom Krisher writing for the AP reported that gas prices are above $4 per gallon. Full-size pickup truck sales are down more than 21 percent through May. The U.S. auto market is in a downward funk. Great time to introduce a new pickup truck, right?

Strange as it may seem, that's what Chrysler LLC executives are thinking when it comes to the new 2009 Dodge Ram, due in showrooms by September or October.

"We're actually pretty optimistic about it," said Deborah Wahl Meyer, Chrysler's marketing chief, who adds that despite a downturn, pickups remain the largest segment of the market. "There's a large group of core people who need trucks."

In an interview Thursday at Chrysler's annual new model media event at the company's proving grounds near Chelsea west of Detroit, Wahl Meyer agreed with General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. executives that the U.S. auto market has made a...

Last Update on : June 27, 2008   

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