By Boris Ladwig
bladwig@therepublic.com
Columbus resident Mark Chapple is anxiously anticipating a call this week to let him know that he can pick up his newest pickup: A 2007 Cummins-powered Dodge Ram truck.
Chapple said he buys a new Cummins-powered Ram about every year. He already owns five.
He has a business reason for the frequent purchases: TST Products in Woodside South industrial park. The company he founded with his wife, Gina, produces enhancement products for the Cummins B-series engine.
His 33 years as a Cummins Inc. engineer and his father's career with the engine maker provide personal reasons for his Ram fixation.
"I'm still a loyal Cummins fan. We're kind of a Cummins family," Chapple said Friday, a day after he sat in a new 2007 Dodge Ram at a local dealership.
"I'm like a kid when it comes to new vehicles," he said with a chuckle.
Cummins-powered Ram owners take pride in the vehicles and typically remain with the brand, said Chapple, who has met with other Ram owners at events such as the Turbo Diesel Register, which will begin at the end of this month in Nevada.
Cummins is counting on that brand loyalty and Cummins-powered Dodge Ram mystique to help continue its successful partnership with DaimlerChrysler.
The partnership holds enormous significance for Columbus because the engines, which are optional for the 2500- and 3500-series Ram, are built exclusively at Columbus Midrange Engine Plant near Walesboro.
The company shipped a record 162,000 such engines last year, up 36 percent from 2000. About 80 percent of heavy-duty Dodge Rams feature the diesel engine, and the Ram has a market share in the heavy-duty pickup market of about 30 percent.
Stability
Cummins is marketing the new engine as the strongest, cleanest and quietest of its kind.
To meet new federal emissions standards that took effect Jan. 1, Cummins used, for the first time, cooled exhaust gas recirculation technology in its Ram engine. It previously had used EGR in its heavy-duty trucks with great success.
Coupled with other components, the EGR in the 2007 Ram met the Environmental Protection Agency requirement to reduce fine-soot emissions by 90 percent from previous models.
More impressively, the engine already meets EPA emissions requirements for 2010.
Dave J. Crompton, the company's vice president and general manager for the Midrange Engine Business, said that achievement gives the company stability for its Dodge business.
The Dodge-Cummins partnership dates to 1988, and every few years, the companies have extended their cooperation. In 2003, for example, the partners announced a "multiyear extension" of an agreement that was to run through 2007.
The new Cummins-powered Ram costs between $32,000 and about $55,000, depending on the engine and options.
"We've had quite a few orders for them," said Penny Noe, new-car sales manager at Dave Burt Motors in Columbus.
She said interest in the Cummins-powered Ram was "equal or better" in this year's first quarter compared to a year ago.
Chapple said the new model impresses due to its sound and drivability.
"Noise level is definitely quieter," he said. "Cabs are getting much more comfortable, too."
He usually buys the Rams with lots of options, such as power heated seats and leather upholstery.
The new 6.7-liter comes with 350 horsepower, but Chapple's company usually adds performance modifications that give the engine another 150 to 200 horsepower.
For now, Chapple is looking forward to taking delivery this week of a new 6.7-liter quad cab short bed with a six-speed automatic transmission.
He probably won't get to drive it a whole lot, though.
"I'm buying it for my wife," he said.