You can call this a good news/bad news sort of thing. The bad news is that Chrysler’s two-mode hybrid joint development program has been disbanded, and the good news is that the hybrid Ram pickup is coming in 2010.

The joint development program, which was a very big deal for a while, was created several years ago between Chrysler, General Motors, Daimler, and BMW to work out a two-mode hybrid system for light duty vehicles, is now effectively over. The four automakers involved have either launched or are about to introduce versions of the two-mode hybrid system, so the program is being wound down and the engineering office will be closed by the end of this year.

But the Ram pickup hybrid should be in dealerships by 2010.

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Not to be outdone by Toyota, who unveiled their 2010 Tundra last week, Chrysler LLC unveiled a new line of commercial versions of its Dodge Ram truck–the 2500 and 3500 heavy-duty trucks and the 3500, 4500 and 5500 Chassis Cabs–at the Chicago Auto Show.

The most notable thing about these new trucks is that for the first time, Chrysler is making them available with large crew cabs. Now you can take the whole crew out to a job, because the trucks can carry 5-6 passengers without cramming them in there.

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