Ram has been rumored to be preparing a very small pickup truck based on the Fiat Strada platform, and they've done exactly that. Here's the Ram 700; an economy-car based front-wheel-drive utility vehicle with a 1,500 pound payload capacity.
Single and extended-cab versions of the 700 will be sold in Mexico, where it will compete with the Chevrolet Tornado and Volkswagen Saveiro. Ram 700s will come out of the same Brazilian factory where the Fiat Strada is made.
The stripped working-man's model starts at $14,000, with the cladded-up "adventure version" starting closer to $18,000. Both are front-wheel-drive only, running a 115 horsepower 1.6 engine that Allpar.com says is derived from the old Neon powerplant.
Allpar also has some "in person" pictures that give you a better idea of what the short-cab looks like, and are worth checking out.
The extended "adventure" version has an optional locking differential and an a digital inclinometer if you're brave enough to take it off-road.
Here's the system in action:
The name "750" was initially rumored to be the badging (because "half a 1500") but they ended up going with "700" to identify a payload capacity of 705 kilograms, or around 1,500 pounds. Not bad for something that looks like it could fit in the bed of what we call a "mid-sized" truck in America.
Ram is tightlipped on plans for expanding the market of this tiny hauler, but I wouldn't count on it coming to America until we have an unfathomably brutal gas crisis or something changes about the Chicken Tax.
Images: Ram