DETROIT — The hyper-competitive U.S. pickup truck market is getting even more hype with a new truck from Chrysler that look nicer, perform better and are packed with more features than their predecessors, according to the Associated Press.

Chrysler LLC, will unveil a new Dodge Ram at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. which was expected to run cattle down streets near the show as it pulls the tarp off a completely revamped Dodge Ram.

The pickup will debut as a 2009 model sometime in the fall. The vehicle was designed after extensive research to fix flaws in the old model, make it more efficient, and build in features that people may not even know they wanted.

For the Ram, that means an industry-first lockable storage container built into the bed rails and Dodge's first four-door crew cab, which will make Dodge a player in the fastest-growing part of the market, according the AP.

Chrysler hope the improvements will stimulate pickup sales, which took a dive in 2007 as the housing market crumbled and construction sagged. U.S. pickup sales were down 6 percent, compared to a 3 percent drop in vehicle sales industry-wide. Consumers bought 2.2 million full-size pickups, down from a peak of 2.5 million in 2004.

This year also will be tough for pickups, said Erich Merkle, vice president of auto industry forecasting for the consulting firm IRN Inc. in Grand Rapids.

"We don't really foresee a bottom in home construction until very late this year, and even when we get to a bottom, we're not going to see a slingshot back up," he said. "We could see a modest uptick in 2009, but nothing that's going to re-ignite the pickup segment."

Merkle said the down market and the growing number of competitors — Toyota Motor Corp.'s new Tundra hit the market last year — could lead to a serious pricing war. Toyota and General Motors Corp. were already piling nearly $3,000 in incentives per vehicle on their new full-size trucks in 2007, according to the auto research site Edmunds.com.

Chrysler is not yet revealing pricing on their new pickup, but is counting on them to sell regardless of economic and pricing pressures, according to the AP.

"The only remedy to any of that is good product," said Ralph Gilles, Chrysler's chief designer on the Ram. "You're still going to sell an amount of trucks in the marketplace, so hopefully you can take sales away from somebody else. That's the objective, right?"

Gilles' involvement is a measure of the Ram's importance to Chrysler. He was the principal designer of the blockbuster hit 300C sedan and was pulled off Chrysler's new minivans to work on the truck.

"It's daunting to have the best-selling vehicle in your company to work on, but at the same time it's invigorating. It's what you live for as a designer," Gilles said.

Fuel economy was at the top of the list for the trucks engineers. The Dodge Ram offers a new HEMI V-8 that the company says improves fuel economy by 4 percent. A diesel engine that will be introduced in 2009 can improve fuel economy by 30 percent, and a hybrid powertrain will be introduced in 2010. Chrysler also made dozens of design changes to significantly improve the truck's aerodynamics, Gilles said.

"Efficiency was definitely considered throughout. Everywhere you look there's aero considerations," Gilles said.

But Gilles said changes to the Ram's interior are the big story. Everything, from the heated front and back seats to the heated steering wheel to the instrument dials, was designed to be soft to the touch.

"Some of the stuff we're going to show in the truck are unbelievable world-class fit and finishes," he said.