• by Karl Greenberg , March 23, 2010

Chrysler's Dodge division is gearing up to launch a new ad campaign. Make that the Dodge Ram division. Last year, shortly after emerging from bankruptcy and under the aegis of Italian auto conglomerate Fiat, the Auburn Hills, Mich. automaker hewed a separate Ram brand out of the Dodge block.

The company says the new effort will be focused on the bigger trucks under the Ram banner Ram Heavy-Duty pickup. The market for heavy-duty trucks, whose engine size is well north of the 1,500 cubic centimeters typical for standard pickups, is about 30% of the pickup market, it says.

The company on Tuesday announced pricing for the super-duty lineup of 3500, 4500 and 5500 Chassis Cab models -- starting at $28,550, $37,265 and $38,975, respectively. Dodge has been struggling to get traction versus domestic rivals Chevy Silverado and Ford F-150. Chrysler LLC delivered 30,945 Ram trucks in January and February, representing a 28% drop in sales versus the two months last year.

Ford sold 60,525 F-Series trucks in that period, representing a 23.9% increase versus 2009. GM's Chevy division sold 42,594 Silverado pickups, and its GMC division sold 13,567 Sierra pickups.

Details on the new marketing push were unavailable at post time.