AUBURN HILLS -- The polished chrome shined so bright in the morning sun it looked wet.

Parked outside of the Walter P. Chrysler Museum, the 2009 Dodge Ram looked stunning. The two-tone paint, the wraparound chrome bumpers and sculpted lines drew admiring stares from all angles from the flock of poorly dressed media.

"This is the best Ram Dodge has ever built," Dodge's director Mike Accavitti said Thursday.

He's right. Its delicious Hemi rumble, the canted chrome mesh grille, the dual exhaust pipes integrated into the bumper and an interior light years ahead of the previous generation. Let the accolades commence.

But is it enough? Can a great truck haul Chrysler through these tough times? Stiffer competition, $100 fill-ups, a broken housing market and governmental meddling have all contributed to an economic malaise that has shifted the U.S. truck market into reverse.

Last year Dodge boosted its share in the large truck market to 16.6 percent even though Ram sales dropped 1.6 percent, according to Autodata Corp. Through April of this year, however, sales of the Ram have plummeted 24 percent and Dodge's market share in the segment has fallen back to 16.2 percent.

"This is not the best time to launch a truck," Accavitti told me, "but we believe we can gain market share this year and when the good times return, we can build on that."

Indeed. The importance of the Ram cannot be overstated.

The redesigned pickup is Chrysler LLC's bread and butter. Profitable trucks pay the bills at the struggling carmaker, and the company's future rests on the Ram's coil-spring suspension, overhauled interior and potential 20 percent increase in gas mileage from powertrain and design changes.

And there's never a wrong time to introduce a great truck, said Stephanie Brinley, an industry analyst at AutoPacific Inc.

"Dodge can misstep on a midsize sedan and recover," she said. "If they misstep on the Ram, they can't."

Dodge readily admits what everyone knows. The suburban truckers -- those truck customers who have nothing to tow and only haul the kids to school -- are quickly becoming extinct. People are opting for crossovers or cars.

But there are still many more people in the United States who need a truck. Pickups are their livelihood, as much as a hammer is to a carpenter's.

"The segment is never going to go away," said Tim Longnecker, the automotive industry executive at Acxiom, a marketing and research firm that analyzes consumer trends. But, he noted, "It's not the best time to be coming out with a flagship vehicle."

A recent study by Acxiom shows that the silver lining in the storm cloud hovering over Detroit is this: pickup owners remain exceptionally loyal to their brand.

"These consumers come to the purchase decision with brand loyalty first," Longnecker said.

Accavitti said Dodge breaks down customers into five categories, ranging from strictly work truck owners to the equivalent of truck poseurs. The poseurs can't afford the fill-ups, but others can't afford to not to have a truck.

"The truck segment is still huge," he said. "We're very bullish on it."

One of the big additions Dodge brings with the new Ram is the first true Crew Cab. Dodge did offer the gargantuan Mega Cab but that vehicle was perhaps too big.

"Fifty percent of the truck market wants a crew cab," Accavitti said.

The new Ram, which will roll into dealerships this fall, also includes an improved 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 that has become more powerful and more efficient, said Mike Cairns, the Ram's chief engineer. Pricing has not been announced.

The new engine, which produces 380 horsepower and 404-pound-feet of torque, has become about 5 percent more efficient, he said, and will use a cylinder deactivation system to shut off four cylinders when cruising on the highway. There's even a light on the six-gauge instrument panel that tells the driver how long the vehicle is using just half of its engine. Other mileage gains were credited to significant work to make the Ram more aerodynamic and by cutting 80 pounds from the truck's overall weight.

The two-wheel drive 2008 Ram Quad Cab Laramie with a 5.7-liter Hemi gets 15 mpg in the city and 19 mpg on the highway. Raising the mileage to 23 mpg on the highway would make it one of the most efficient full-size pickups on the road.

Dodge also will offer the Ram Box on 2009 models. It's an ingenious system that uses the dead space in the rear fenders as lockable, dry storage. Combined, the two storage spaces offer 7.9 cubic feet of space. It's the kind feature that may win over a few customers, Accavitti said.