Editor-in-Chief Ed Loh explains why the brand new 2014 Ram 1500 has been named Motor Pattern Truck of the 12 months for 2014.

Learn the total story right here: http://www.motortrend.com/oftheyear/truck/1402_2014_ram_1500_is_motor_trend_2014_truck_of_the_year/

9 Truck of the 12 months contenders have been put by way of an in depth battery of testing designed to judge nearly each side of every car. Along with the 2014 Ram 1500, the judges examined different all-new or considerably up to date vehicles the trade produced this 12 months: the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, Ram Heavy Responsibility, and Toyota Tundra pickups; and the Ford Transit Join, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Nissan NV200, and Ram ProMaster vans.

To find out which truck deserved high honors, the Motor Pattern judges took the 9 contenders to the Continental Tire Automotive Proving Grounds in Uvalde, Texas. There, the judges examined every truck’s perfor mance with the next workout routines:

1. Commonplace testing (with out load): 0-60 mph and 1/4-mile acceleration, 60-0 mph braking, and most lateral grip.
2. Restrict dealing with (with out load): closed-course cornering, braking, and acceleration.
3. Tow/payload testing: 0-60 acceleration repeated with trailers connected (pickups) or payload secured (vans), loaded to 75 % of every truck’s most score (as outfitted).
4. Highway looping: Freeway and real-world replication.

At Continental’s 5000-acre proving grounds, the workforce utilized the power’s 8.5-mile high-speed oval, 15-acre dynamics pad, 1.1-mile dry-handling street course, and multi-surfaced trip street to judge every truck’s capabilities and expose strengths and weaknesses. Following the workforce’s intensive, weeklong analysis in Uvalde, the vehicles have been shipped to Motor Pattern headquarters in El Segundo, California, to endure proprietary “Intellichoice Actual MPG” fuel-economy testing. Utilizing superior know-how together with a climate station, GPS data-logger, and flow-rate and fuel analyzers, Actual MPG measures exhaust samples each second throughout an 88-mile drive to file correct real-world gas financial system.

As soon as testing was accomplished, the judges convened to find out which truck can be topped Truck of the 12 months. The winner is just not chosen from a direct comparability towards the opposite contenders, however quite on account of how every contender measured up towards the award’s six standards: Design Development, Engineering Excellence, Effectivity, Security, Worth, and Efficiency of Supposed Operate.

With the votes solid, the Ram 1500 clearly emerged as Motor Pattern’s 2014 Truck of the 12 months. The judges have been significantly impressed with the efficiency of the Ram 1500’s all-new EcoDiesel V-6 engine in addition to its eight-speed TorqueFlite transmission, a mixture that boasts a towing capability of as much as 9,200 kilos. Additional, Motor Pattern’s Actual MPG testing supported what the workforce discovered in Uvalde: Not one of the gas-powered half-ton vehicles on this 12 months’s competitors — be they V-6 or V-8, 4×2 or 4×4 — may match the EcoDiesel’s mileage. After delivering noticed gas financial system of 15 mpg below excessive testing at Continental’s proving grounds, the EcoDiesel continued to impress throughout the Actual MPG take a look at loop, returning the next frugal stats: 19/26/21 mpg metropolis/freeway/mixed for the Laramie Longhorn Crew Cab 4×4 with a 3.92 rear axle and an much more notable 18/28/22 for the Lone Star Crew Cab 4×2 with a 3.55 rear axle.

The Ram’s non-obligatory air suspension system additionally scored excessive marks in Engineering Excellence, because it delivered a compliant trip and commendable dealing with irrespective of the terrain. When it comes to design, the Ram 1500 impressed with its model, packaging, and inside ergonomics; notably, the Laramie Longhorn’s luxurious aesthetics and actual wooden trim. The breadth of the lineup was one other compelling issue. Whether or not outfitted as a primary workhorse or optioned as much as a near-luxury hauler, the Ram 1500 gives all the functionality wanted in a truck.

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