Ram 1500 Outclasses Competition with the Fuel Economy, Torque, Style and
Amenities to Satisfy the Most Demanding Truck Buyers December 4, 2013, El Segundo, Calif. - Motor Trend has selected the Ram 1500 as its 2014 Truck of the Year®.
Get the Truck of the Year from Fair Oaks Motors!
The announcement was made at the Chrysler Group LLC Warren Truck Assembly
Plant in Michigan, the birthplace of Ram Trucks. A full report on Motor
Trend’s comprehensive Truck of the Year testing will be featured on
MotorTrend.com and in the February 2014 issue of Motor Trend.
Nine Truck of the Year contenders were put through an extensive battery of
testing designed to evaluate virtually every aspect of each vehicle. In
addition to the 2014 Ram 1500, the judges examined other all-new or
significantly updated trucks the industry produced this year: the
Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, Ram Heavy Duty, and Toyota Tundra
pickups; and the Ford Transit Connect, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Nissan
NV200, and Ram ProMaster vans.
To determine which truck deserved top honors, the Motor Trend judges took
the nine contenders to the Continental Tire Automotive Proving Grounds in
Uvalde, Texas. There, the judges tested each truck’s performance with the
following exercises:
1. Standard testing (without load): 0-60 mph and 1/4-mile acceleration,
60-0 mph braking, and maximum lateral grip.
2. Limit handling (without load): closed-course cornering, braking and
acceleration.
3. Tow/payload testing: 0-60 acceleration repeated with trailers attached
(pickups) or payload secured (vans), loaded to 75 percent of each truck’s
maximum rating (as equipped)
4. Road looping: Highway and real-world replication.
At Continental’s 5,000-acre proving grounds, the team utilized the
facility’s 8.5-mile high-speed oval, 15-acre dynamics pad, 1.1-mile
dry-handling road course, and multi-surfaced ride road to evaluate each
truck’s capabilities and expose strengths and weaknesses. Following the
team’s intensive, weeklong evaluation in Uvalde, the trucks were shipped
to Motor Trend headquarters in El Segundo, California, to undergo
proprietary “Intellichoice Real MPG” fuel-economy testing. Using advanced
technology including a weather station, GPS data-logger, and flow-rate and
gas analyzers, Real MPG measures exhaust samples every second during an
88-mile drive to record accurate real-world fuel economy.
Once testing was completed, the judges convened to determine which truck
would be crowned Truck of the Year. The winner is not chosen from a direct
comparison against the other contenders, but rather as a result of how
each contender measured up against the award’s six criteria: Design
Advancement, Engineering Excellence, Efficiency, Safety, Value and
Performance of Intended Function.
With the votes cast, the Ram 1500 clearly emerged as Motor Trend’s 2014
Truck of the Year. The judges were particularly impressed with the
performance of the Ram 1500’s all-new EcoDiesel V-6 engine as well as its
eight-speed TorqueFlite transmission, a combination that boasts a towing
capacity of up to 9,200 pounds. Further, Motor Trend’s Real MPG testing
supported what the team learned in Uvalde: None of the gas-powered
half-ton trucks in this year’s competition – be they V-6 or V-8, 4x2 or
4x4 – could match the EcoDiesel’s mileage. After delivering observed fuel
economy of 15 mpg under extreme testing at Continental’s proving grounds,
the EcoDiesel continued to impress during the Real MPG test loop,
returning the following frugal stats: 19/26/21 mpg city/highway/combined
for the Laramie Longhorn Crew Cab 4x4 with a 3.92 rear axle and an even
more notable 18/28/22 for the Lone Star Crew Cab 4x2 with a 3.55 rear
axle.
The Ram’s optional air suspension system also scored high marks in
Engineering Excellence, as it delivered a compliant ride and commendable
handling no matter the terrain. In terms of design, the Ram 1500 impressed
with its style, packaging, and interior ergonomics; notably, the Laramie
Longhorn’s luxury aesthetics and real wood trim. The breadth of the lineup
was another compelling factor. Whether outfitted as a basic workhorse or
optioned up to a near-luxury hauler, the Ram 1500 provides all of the
capability needed in a truck.
“For 2014 we had a large and highly competitive field of contenders for
Motor Trend's Truck of the Year," said Edward Loh, Editor-in-Chief of
Motor Trend. "At the end of the day, though, the Ram 1500 quickly rose to
the top. Not only did it withstand our rigorous testing, it thoroughly
impressed our judges with its vast array of standard and optional
equipment, and, most notable, its fuel-efficient, segment-exclusive
EcoDiesel V-6. With 420 lb-ft of torque and up to 28 ‘Real MPG’ highway,
the EcoDiesel is a true game-changer. In fact it helped make Ram 1500 the
Motor Trend 2014 Truck of the Year – and the only consecutive winner in
the history of the award.”
"Half-ton truck customers have been asking for a diesel engine and Ram is
the only truck manufacturer to answer the bell and deliver not only
best-in-class fuel economy but also 9,200 pounds of towing capability,"
said Reid Bigland, President and CEO Ram Truck Brand, Chrysler Group LLC.
"In a brutally competitive truck industry, the Ram 1500 is the only
vehicle to ever win the Motor Trend Truck of the Year award two years in a
row, reaffirming the fact that we have the best truck on the road."
Truck of the Year® is one of several coveted honors Motor Trend bestows on
automakers, including Best Driver’s Car®, Sport/Utility of the Year®, and
Car of the Year®. For more information on our 2014 Truck of the Year,
visit motortrend.com, pick up the February 2014 issue of Motor Trend, or
search the hashtags #MTTOTY on Twitter (@motortrend), Instagram
(@motortrend), Facebook.com/motortrendmag and Google+
(plus.google.com/+motortrend).
Check the out the Ram 2014 Truck of the Year inventory at Fair Oaks Motors - Ram Inventory