Considering the design of the platform prostituted cars — the Caliber and Avenger — the brand's currently got, this news is nothing but good. We've already seen what Gilles was able to do with the Chrysler 300C (now long in the tooth, but we can't blame Gilles for the inability to provide cash and a platform for a redesign), the interior of the Dodge Ram and then finally, with one hand tied behind his back with the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, so we've got to believe this is great news for Dodge's non-hauling offerings.

As far as the creation of a new "Ram" brand? That seems rather silly to us, but what do we know, we're not Italian. Full press release below.

Chrysler Group LLC Announces New Appointments

Auburn Hills, Mich. , Oct 5, 2009 - Chrysler Group LLC today announces brand and commercial organization changes.

"The brand-focused strategy has been refined further with the unbundling of the Dodge Brand which now consists of the Dodge RAM Brand and the Dodge Car Brand organizations. This reorganization will allow us to protect and develop the unique nature of the product offerings within the Dodge Brand," Mr. Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive Officer, Chrysler Group LLC said.

Fred Diaz Jr. is appointed President and CEO, Dodge RAM Brand with profit and loss responsibility for the Dodge RAM product portfolio. Mr. Diaz will also be the lead executive for the Sales organization in the United States. He was previously the Director of the Denver Business Center. Mr. Diaz has been with the Company since 1989 in positions of increasing responsibility. The Company will announce Mr. Diaz's replacement with a separate announcement.

Ralph Gilles is appointed President and CEO, Dodge Car Brand with profit and loss responsibility for the Dodge Car product portfolio. Mr. Gilles will continue to lead the Product Design organization of Chrysler Group which he joined in 1992.

Olivier Francois is appointed President and CEO, Chrysler Brand, with profit and loss responsibility for the Chrysler product portfolio. Mr. Francois joins the Company from Fiat Group Automobiles where he serves as head of the Lancia Brand, a position he retains. Mr. Francois will also be the lead executive for the Marketing organization with responsibility to coordinate worldwide marketing strategies, brand development and advertising for the Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge Car and Dodge RAM brands. He will continue to lead these functions within Fiat Group Automobiles. Mr. Francois joined Fiat in 2005.

Michael Manley will continue as the President and CEO, Jeep Brand with profit and loss responsibility for the Jeep Brand product portfolio. Mr. Manley will also be the lead executive for the international activities of the Company outside of NAFTA and will be responsible for implementing the co-operation agreements for distribution of Chrysler Group products through Fiat's international distribution network. Mr. Manley has been with Chrysler since 1998.

Joseph Veltri joins the Management Team as Head of Product Planning. Mr. Veltri started with the Company in 1988. His career has included positions in product planning, marketing, business strategy, and finance. He served most recently as Product Planning Lead and Head of Truck/SUV Planning.

Peter Fong, head of the Chrysler Brand has resigned for personal reasons. Michael Accavitti, head of the Dodge Brand has resigned to pursue other interests.

About Chrysler Group LLC

Chrysler Group LLC, formed in 2009 from a global strategic alliance with Fiat Group, produces Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge, Mopar® and Global Electric Motors (GEM) brand vehicles and products. With the resources, technology and worldwide distribution network required to compete on a global scale, the alliance builds on Chrysler's culture of innovation – first established by Walter P. Chrysler in 1925 – and Fiat's complementary technology – from a company whose heritage dates back to 1899.

Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Mich., Chrysler Group LLC's product lineup features some of the world's most recognizable vehicles, including the Chrysler 300, Jeep Wrangler and Dodge Ram. Fiat will contribute world-class technology, platforms and powertrains for small- and medium-sized cars, allowing Chrysler Group to offer an expanded product line including environmentally friendly vehicles.

The new movie stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen), Chris Hemsworth (James Kirk from JJ Abrams' Star Trek) and Isabel Lucas — who we're hoping doesn't have a weird robot tail that emerges from her nether regions this time round. All those cast members sound great, but we're puzzled by the absence of the 1978 Chevrolet K-10 Cheyenne.

In case anyone's forgotten how utterly spectacular the original film was (to our minds, Patrick Swayze's finest role), here's the original trailer. [via RedDawn2010]

Although Chrysler doesn't have a comment, Cummins director of public relations, Mark Land, claims it's not a surprise. Sure, for you. For diesel loving light-duty hauling buffs, they're simply crushed. But, the expectation is Chrysler wants to resurrect the engine plan under the new Chrysler LLC with new terms. Mmm, cheaper pricing. More over at PickupTrucks.com!

You didn't think we'd leave the Mopar-maniacs out of the fun did you? Say what you will about the Dodge Ram or other Chrysler products the HEMI V8 goes into, but the 5.7 liter unit in the Ram is quite a nice piece. It's got a 10:1 compression ratio, variable valve timing, coil-on-plug ignition, aluminum cylinder heads an active intake manifold which changes the intake runner length, to vary torque delivery through the rev range. 380 HP and 404 lb-ft of torque doesn't hurt either.

Click here to return to the Top Five Pieces Of Hot Engine Porn At SAE

Apparently Scouting families are not for want and prefer American, as the cheapest in the pack starts around $28k and there's one foreign-badged car in the crowd. Should you be a scouting parent and interested in their recommendations, below, in no particular order, are the 2009 Scouting Magazine picks for hauling your troop to a secluded camp far from the prying eyes of the general public:

• Chevy Tahoe Hybrid/GMC Yukon Hybrid — Base price: around $51,500
• 2009 Dodge Ram Crew Cab — Base price: around $32,500
• Chevy Traverse — Base price: around $29,000
• Honda Pilot — Base price: around $28,000
• Ford Flex — Base price: around $29,000

You can check out the full cover, of which Ford is proud to have snagged, HERE and head over to Scouting Magazine to read through their reasoning for each choice but beware, one of the categories is "Coolest Optional Equipment." [Scouting Magazine]

Product: 2009 Dodge Ram
TV Show / Movie: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Episode / Scene Name: Automatic for the People
Plot: Driving up to the nuclear power plant, the 2009 Dodge Ram is sure looking clean and shiny, isn't it? Wethinks perhaps a work truck should NEVER look this clean. Especially when it's being driven by the uncle of the future leader of the resistance.

Welcome to Adventures In Automotive Product Placement — our irregular series where we highlight the pay-for-play car stars of the silver and small screens. Spot a blatant automotive product placement on the airwaves? Send it to us at tips-at-jalopnik-dot-com.

The heavy-duty Ram 2500 and 3500 are currently available (and evidently will continue to be) with a 6.7-liter straight-six Cummins diesel; the new five-liter mill should be for light-duty Rams, to go up against GM's 4.5-liter Duramax diesel, Ford's 4.4-liter diesel, and maybe even a diesel V8 from Toyota. Whether or not Chrysler will be sharing this engine with Nissan as they are with the Hemi remains to be seen. Let the diesel muscle truck wars begin!
[PickupTrucks.com]

For us, a truck has always been about work. If it can't do what it was designed to do, there's something deeply flawed. With that in mind, let's take a look at the six-foot bed on the Laramie we tested. Dropping the tailgate, even sitting on 20" wheels, it rests right about thigh height; perfect for getting things off the ground yet not so high it's a problem for lift-over. The cargo box comes from the factory naked, without a bed mat or spray-in liner. The new Ram's bed walls have lost the normal wheel well bumps in favor of vertical walls, giving them space for one of the Ram's newest features. It's called the Rambox, a lockable, weather-sealed set of little trunks on either side of the bed. It's a pretty great idea from the perspective of utility. You can toss power tools, backpacks full of gear, a couple bags of groceries, ice with tasty beverages (and then drain the water, there are rubber drain plugs) — really, whatever you want in there and not have it rolling around in the cab. Our only beef with it is caused by the Federal government. Since it's an enclosed, latching space, they had to build in a fluorescent t-bar pull handle to release the lid in case, you know, a kid somehow manages to wedge themselves in the Rambox. Somehow.

Inside, the Ram gets things done just as Rams have been doing since they revolutionized the truck market in the ‘90s — with smart design and good ergonomics. Our Lariat was equipped with a column shifter and an origami folding bench seat — the center arm rest opens for a decent-sized, flat storage area, but it also folds up to create a seat and then the center seat bottom also folds up and reveals a second storage area underneath. It's even got bins under the floor in the back underneath the carpets — not really designed to carry contraband, but useful nonetheless. The Ram has more cubbyholes and storage doodads than an IKEA megastore. The back seats are quite comfortable as well, with a DVD player in the back to keep your annoying friends, small children or our Editor-in-Chief quiet and a 60/40 split seat which folds up to allow a flatish load floor. The rear seat doesn't fold as easily as GM's twin GMT-900 pickups, but it's a commendable effort. The wood and chrome trim a decent synthetic wood and induces no complaints (other than it looks better on the doors than on the dash), fit and finish are quite good and all the gadgetry mechanisms feel like they'll stand up to years of abuse.

But that interior stuff is for the birds when your talkin' work, right? What about the powertrain? Our test truck was equipped with a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 good for 380 HP and 404 lb-ft of torque, no slouch to say the least, with a five-speed automatic transmission sending the power to the part-time four wheel drive system, complete with a 4.10 final drive. Turn off the traction control and it'll roast the tires with little complaint, but what about with a trailer?

Loaded down with a 6500 LB trailer, and set for "Tow/Haul" mode, which changes the shift points higher up the rev range; the truck pulls off on the drag strip without a whiff of burden. Heck, even up a massive 7.2% grade on a local automakers test facility, the Dodge pulls like a freight train. The going gets slow after about 55 mph on a grade like that, but unless you're drag racing with your boat up to the continental divide, you shouldn't have a problem.

To top off the testing we ventured into the realm of the ridiculous but ridiculously entertaining — autocrossing this full-sized pickup truck. Yes, we tossed it into a course containing a high-speed slalom, tight corners, staggered surface conditions, moose-avoidance test, and some devious chicanery. The Ram, with its coil springs in the rear, proved quite tossable. In the slalom, it managed acceptable speeds but would understeer mightily if pushed too far, with traction control turned off; the throttle could be used to manage the slalom a bit better. Panic braking was delivered confidently and the ABS feedback was smooth. Sweeping corners where met with a planted feel but the chassis could be upset with a bit of sawing on the wheel. We noticed some reluctance from the throttle when coming out of particularly nasty corners, but when the traction control was disabled, tail-out fun was only a pedal tap away. When not being tossed about violently, the Ram had a markedly smooth road character, lacking the bouncy feel trucks have been known for. The steering has a pretty average turning ratio and manages to be firm yet invisible. It's certainly not sporty but for a vehicle of this size, it'll get the heartbeat racing if you're silly enough to go racing in it.

Despite the recent downturn in full-sized truck sales it's hard to argue against the utility of the pickup, especially in crew cab configuration, it's a vehicle with unparalleled capabilities and flexibility. Try hauling the whole family, a week's worth of groceries, and a cubic yard of fill dirt in your Accord. Then do it uphill, while towing a trailer. Good luck. Especially with today's deals on pricing, the Ram offers a strong option for those looking for the latest and greatest with a HEMI badge on the side, but more than that it offers solid storage innovation and a comfortable, quiet cabin with plenty of room for four, even six in a pinch. It has the sort of the paired-down luxury plus high capability that truck buyers have come to expect, along with new features they'll be happy to adopt.

Photo Credit: Exterior - Alex C. Conley, Interior - Dodge

"After driving several Ram models in a variety of scenarios, we're still as enthusiastic about the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 as we were when it was first reveled at the Detroit auto show. Most half-ton truck buyers don't need three-quarter-ton towing and hauling capability in their pickups, and we think most people will find the improved ride comfort a more-than-fair tradeoff for trailering and payload ratings that equal what the Ram could do in 2008."

Sounds to us like Dodge is making a laser-light-like move directly at the half-ton market — maybe the remaining engineers over at Chrysler have the right idea after all. Head on over to PickupTrucks.com to read all about it — and take a run through the gallery below to see it.

[PickupTrucks.com]