Even in our increasingly globalized automotive landscape, one segment has remained most uniquely American – the full-size pickup truck. For decades, the big pickup remained hidebound, devoid of technical or design innovation. In the absence of notable competition, Ford’s F-series led the way in sales, followed by GM with Dodge in a far distant third. But then 20 years ago, tired of being the third-wheel to its cross-town rivals, Chrysler under the leadership of one Bob Lutz, decided to shake things up and the truck market has never been the same. Trucks like the 2015 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn EcoDiesel are a prime example of the goodness that can come from real competitive pressure.
Diversity is always a good thing for any ecosystem and transportation is no exception. After decades of dominance from Ford, Chevrolet and GMC, the 1994 Dodge Ram dramatically expanded the gene pool came to market with a new look and some new interior design ideas that led its sales to skyrocket almost instantly. The big, bold grille and dropped fenders inspired by long-haul 18-wheelers set the new Ram apart from the competition. New ideas in the cab that were meant to appeal to customers that used their trucks as a mobile office inspired a wholesale change in the way designers thought about the pickup. Where once the three-person bench seat was the norm, the Ram brought a deep compartment, large enough to store the laptop computers that contractors increasingly relied on.
Two decades later, certain functional requirements still dictate the fundamental form factor of a pickup but otherwise, a surprising amount of design distinctness has been incorporated among the big three and their upstart competitors from Nissan and Toyota. Now separated from Dodge, the latest Ram 1500 still bears the essential design language that debuted in 1994 but now with some more sharply creased sheetmetal and more complex detailing than was possible to produce affordably back then.
Perhaps more importantly than design, the trucks from Ford, GM and the now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) have taken some divergent technological paths. In many respects, the current GM trucks remain the most traditional although they are now using 8-speed automatic transmissions and the latest iterations of the 60-year-old small-block V8 architecture now have variable valve timing, cylinder deactivation and direct fuel injection. Ford opted to go a completely different route with its redesigned 2015 trucks, using an aluminum cab and bed in place of the traditional steel and dropping as much as 700 pounds of weight. The downsized gasoline, turbocharged, direct-injected V6 is now the predominant engine in place of the classic V8.
When the current-generation Ram debuted in 2009, the engineers recognized that these trucks were frequently driven without a full-payload, so they replaced the old-school leaf springs with coils for better ride quality. In 2012 they added a higher fuel efficiency version that paired the new 3.6-liter V6 with an eight-speed automatic transmission and automatic stop start. 2013 saw the introduction of the first diesel engine in a full-size light-duty truck with the availability of a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 produced by VM Motori in Italy. In the latter years of the last decade, Ford, GM and Chrysler all had plans to launch light-duty diesels that were ultimately shelved during the financial melt-down. The original plan was to use the Cummins 5.0-liter V8 in the Ram, with the change to the Italian V6 coming after Fiat took the reigns in Auburn Hills. The Cummins diesel will finally arrive this fall under the hood of Nissan’s second-generation Titan.
One of the more interesting phenomena of the past decade is the rise of the luxury pickup truck. Manufacturers have found that there is a surprisingly large market for chrome-laden pickups with high-end leather and wood interiors and all the amenities you would traditionally find in a high-dollar German sedan. Trucks like the Ford F-150 King Ranch and Platinum add big bucks to the bottom line in Dearborn so GM and FCA have followed suit.
My test truck was a Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn which currently ranks second from the top of the Ram lineup behind the Limited. 20 years ago, trucks were filled with hard plastic surfaces and vinyl seat coverings. While you can still get the basic work trucks with those materials, the high-end trucks like this Longhorn get rich leather upholstery and real wood trim. The surprisingly thick rim of the steering wheel was wrapped in leather about three-quarters away around with the top section finished in wood. The steering wheel and the seats are heated for cold winter days while the front seats also offer cooling for summer days. Unfortunately the steering wheel is only adjustable for rake, but not reach.
Last year Chrysler replaced the traditional shift lever with a rotary knob like the one used in the 200 sedan. An 8.4-inch touch screen with Chrysler’s UConnect system is standard on the Longhorn. The interface is fairly responsive and stable but if you want to use any smartphone apps, you have to do it through the UConnect app on your phone and those are limited to Pandora, Aha Radio, iHeartRadio and Slacker. The system included in the Longhorn has a WiFi hotspot built in but the cellular radio only has 3G connectivity. It’s funny how not that long ago, using 3G on phone seemed crazy fast, but now after a few years of 4G LTE, it seems impossibly slow. It will work fine for pulling up OpenTable to make a dinner reservation, but your kids won’t be streaming Netflix in the back seat.
Laramie Longhorns are only available with a crew-cab and choice of either five-foot-seven-inch or six-foot-four-inch beds and mine had the shorter bed and the optional four-wheel-drive. The body had one of the six two-tone color combinations with deep cherry red on top and white gold on the bottom that gave the whole truck a decidedly upscale appearance. Inside, the pockets on the back of the front seats get cover flaps with large brass belt-buckle closures that look decidedly western. The seats are comfortable and like all Rams since that ground-breaking model of two decades ago, there is plenty of storage space. Chevrolet still leads the way in power outlets with the Ram only getting two USB ports plus a pair of 12-volt outlets and a pair of 110-volt AC outlets in the back.
Another of the innovations introduced by Chrysler is the RamBox. Debuting in 2009, RamBox consists of a pair of surprisingly roomy lockable storage compartments built into the top of each of the bedsides. Back at the introduction when I was writing for Autoblog and a skinny gentleman named Mike Levine was still running PickupTrucks.com, we shot a little video to show just how big the RamBox was. These days, Mike probably doesn’t like to talk about such things, because he works in Dearborn but you might still enjoy the video.
My friend and former colleague Mike Levine probably wishes for the right to be forgotten when he sees this video from 2009 when he ran Pickuptrucks.com
The biggest divergence among the Detroit truck brands comes in powertrains for improved fuel efficiency. GM has upgraded its classic small-block V8s with direct injection and is now rolling out eight-speed transmissions. Ford has opted for it’s EcoBoost strategy of direct-injected and turbocharged V6 engines although they are still paired with six-speed transmissions. Ford has shown a new ten-speed that it is developing with GM in the next-generation Raptor, but that won’t be out until mid-2016. Ram was the first brand to introduce auto stop start and eight-speeds and now offers a diesel V6.
A decade ago, the only diesel Ram available was the heavy duty model with the big 6.7-liter Cummins six-cylinder. You could always tell when you were sitting next to one at red light thanks to the distinct clatter that emanated from below the hood. Thankfully contemporary diesels use common rail, high-pressure direct injection that dramatically cut the noise and improve refinement. Standing outside you still get some diesel noise, but nothing like the old days and the smoke and smell are non-existent. More importantly, if you are actually using your truck as a truck, hauling and towing, diesel fuel economy generally seems to suffer less than for some of the competing technologies.
For the first couple of days, I drove the Ram diesel around town and easily got more than 20 mpg before pulling the average up to more than 23 mpg with some highway driving, despite the fact that the truck was equipped with the optional 3.92:1 rear axle ratio. When I loaded up the truck with about 900 pounds of wooden fencing materials, and made a few trips back and forth to the big box hardware store, the average fuel economy dipped down all the way to 22 mpg! Despite a substantial load in the bed, the acceleration capability didn’t seem to suffer at all. By comparison, the 5.3-liter V8 Silverado and the 2.7-liter EcoBoost F-150 didn’t get much over 17 mpg despite the Ford being some 900 lbs lighter. While the late winter weather when I drove the Ford was much colder, I didn’t do any heavy hauling with it either. Most instrumented tests of the EcoBoost F-150 have shown that mileage drops when it’s working hard.
A comparably equipped Ram EcoDiesel typically costs about $1,000-2,000 more than the 2.7-liter F-150 but it delivers substantially better real-world fuel economy, especially when working hard. As always, this review is a snapshot in time and the competition in the full-size truck sector is tougher than ever. As I mentioned, Ford and GM will be adding 10-speed transmissions in 2010 and Nissan is launching the all-new Titan this fall. A next-generation Ram will probably arrive in the next two-to-three years and it’s reasonable to assume that FCA will be working hard on making it lighter. All of this is to the benefit of truck customers.
The Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn I drove was priced out at a very healthy $55,970, but if you just need a fuel efficient work truck the base 4×2 Tradesman model can be had for about $31,000. Whatever your truck needs might be, someone will have you covered but for me, I’d be inclined toward the Ram EcoDiesel.
Click here for 2015 Ram 1500 specifications and tow charts
