Posted by Ben Aylesworth on February 19, 1999 at 17:40:24:
In Reply to: New Power wagon posted by Bob Bill on February 19, 1999 at 16:46:19:
The new Power Wagon is only a concept vehicle. It is projected to be available in 2004, but you know how concept vehicles go. The reason for such a far of date is mainly the fuel. It is designed to meet very stringent emmision standards, and as such runs on a nat. gas version of diesel fuel. The engine is a modified 7.2 litre I-6 Caterpillar 3126 diesel. The horsepower is supposed to be in the 240-260 range, with 780 ft/lbs of torque. Price is around (projected) 40 grand. The vehicle is targeting the yuppie demographic, as why would you have a monster engine on a 1/2 or 3/4 ton chassie? The people who could use a vehicle like this would undoubtedly want high hauling/towing capacity, and a dually would be far better suited than a single wheel rear axel. Suposed features on this creature will include an electric tailgate, leather interior, drawers instead of the centre console in the current Ram, and probably a few more goodies they havn't invented yet.
I got a chance to see the truck at the Chicago auto show. It was mounted on a turntable, and looked sleek and futeristic, as if that's worth anything. It looks sort of like a hybrid between the Ram and new VW beetle, with a pickup bed attached. The designers did incorporate some of the hallmark features of the original, like the fenders and running boards, but the pugnaciously ugly charm and beauty of the original is gone.
There are picture of it in most of the auto and truck mags online (Motortrend springs to mind). I know there were some photos on the last forum.
Hope that helped!
Ben