Jacksonville Florida Did You Know The 2014 Ram Truck Wins Motor Trent Truck Of The Year For The Second Year In A Row?

By James Michael





Warren Truck Assembly, the Birthplace of Ram Trucks was the site of the Announcement. The report in its entirety will be featured on MotorTrend.com and in Motor Trend Magazine February 2014.



Trucks and vans from all the major manufactures were probed to determine which one would claim the crown. The Motor Trend braintrust tested the 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:Standard testing (without load): 0-60 mph and 1/4-mile acceleration, 60-0 mph braking, and maximum lateral grip. Limit handling (without load): closed-course cornering, braking, and acceleration. 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).Road looping: Highway and real-world replication.



While at Continental, the judges made use of 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 determine the individual vehicles strengths, weaknesses and capabilities. As soon as the extreme week long probing in Uvalde was concluded, the contestants were taken to Motor Trend headquarters to undergo proprietary "Intellichoice Real MPG" fuel-economy testing. Using the latest technology including a weather station, GPS data-logger, and flow-rate and gas analyzers, Real MPG measures exhaust samples every second to pinpoint real-world fuel results.



Once the competition was wrapped up, the panel of experts met to reach agreement on which truck was the 2014 winner of Motor Trend Truck of The Year. The winner is not selected from a direct competition against the other entries, but based on how each truck scored according to 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.









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