New model-year vehicles usually have the benefit of redesigns, new or updated technology and add-ons, and they haven't been sitting on the lot for a year, like the model-year cars being replaced. Because of all that, new models invariably carry a heftier price tag. At least, that's the norm; Dodge, though -- while facing a sales climate in which pickup sales have dropped 34 percent this year -- has decided to price the base models for the 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 lower than the 2009 models they are replacing. A regular-cab 4x2 2500 Ram with a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engine starts at $28,165, including shipping, which is almost 2,000 bucks less than the same configuration for a 2009 model (the savings apply mainly to base models -- you can still get up into 50 grand territory if you're looking to drive away with a Cummins turbodiesel-powered 3500 Mega Cab).

Pricing on the pickups, which will be the first vehicles rolled out under Dodge's new Ram brand, is meant as an aggressive move against the trucks' competition: the Chevy Silverado HD, the Ford Super Duty and the GMC Sierra.

Dodge owns a 16 percent share of the pickup-truck market and a 23 percent share of the heavy-duty market. The company plans on expanding its commercial base starting in 2011 with crew-cab versions of Dodge Ram 3500, 4500 and 5500 chassis.