Ram Truck Brand Introduces Sportsmen to the New Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty Pickups

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ram Truck Brand today announced a 26-state, 50-venue Master Sportsman's Tour that's expected to give more than a million hunters and fishermen an up-close look at the all-new, redesigned 2010 Ram Heavy Duty pickup.

The Ram Truck Brand in cooperation with dealers in regions with a heavy concentration of hunting, fishing and boating participants will be setting up camp at many of America's top outdoors expositions and showing off their trophy-winning Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty pickup trucks.

"It's a fact that pickup truck owners -- especially Ram Heavy Duty pickup truck owners -- enjoy hunting, fishing and boating," said Fred Diaz, President and CEO - Ram Truck Brand, Chrysler Group LLC. "This tour gives our dealers -- who, like me, enjoy these outdoor sports -- a chance to talk with fellow sportsmen and meet tens of thousands of potential local customers at one time."

Ram Heavy Duty Truck owners are divided evenly into two groups: those that purchased their truck for work (vocational) and those that purchased their truck for recreational use. However, among those that purchased their truck for work, nearly 100 percent use their truck for recreation, as well.

Ram HD owner demographics illustrate a passion for the outdoors: 36 percent own power boats; 47 percent hunt; 57 percent fresh water fish; and 33 percent salt water fish. Amazingly, 58 percent of Ram HD owners own more than one trailer, accounting for the 37 percent of Ram HD owners that own boat trailers and the 37 percent who tow camping trailers.

Ram Heavy Duty trucks are ideally suited for sportsmens' needs, boasting legendary durability, and offering new features and refinements that stand out from the crowd. Features that include more than 40 storage spaces including hidden, in-floor bins, integrated brake controller and exhaust brake standard with diesel powertrains. And refinements like soft-touch interior surfaces and easy-riding passenger cab hydro mounts.

Ram Heavy Duty trucks also feature the two most well-known powertrains in the business, including the legendary 5.7-liter HEMI with variable valve timing and the powerful, yet durable 6.7-liter Cummins Turbo Diesel.

The Ram Truck Brand launched the new 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty pickups late in 2009 as 2010 model year trucks, and already they're earning awards.

Building on the success of their award-winning sibling the Ram 1500, the Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty have won Motor Trend's "2010 Truck of the Year," Four Wheeler magazine's Pickup Truck of the Year and Most Influential 4x4s of the Decade (2005-2010 Ram Power Wagon), MotorWeek's Driver's Choice Award Pickup Truck of the Year and the Texas Auto Writers (TAWA) "Heavy Duty Pickup Truck of Texas."

About the Ram Truck Brand

With a work-hard, play-hard attitude, the Ram Truck brand offers the boldest, most powerful and capable pickup truck lineup on the planet.

The Ram Truck brand will add to its award-winning truck lineup with the introduction of it all-new 2010 Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty trucks, Motor Trend's Truck of the Year. The new heavy-duty trucks provide customers with first-time innovations and features along with new standards of strength, utility and driveability, building on the Ram's leadership in the heavy-duty pickup segment.

Introduced in 2008, the Ram 1500 is a game changer in terms of its ability to "outsmart" and "out-tough" the competition with its bold exterior design, crafted and refined interior, engineering excellence, superb innovation and best-in-class features and amenities. The Ram 1500 also ranks at the top of Strategic Vision Inc.'s (SVI) 2009 Total Quality Index™ (TQI) in the full-size truck segment. According to the survey, the Ram 1500 leads the way with the highest Total Quality score of any truck in the 15-year history of the study. Customers specifically noted that the Ram has the best added storage capability along with the best truck interior ever rated by customers.

The Ram Truck brand will further enhance its commercial vehicle presence with the introduction of a "new crew" of commercial-grade work trucks: the new 2011 Ram 3500, 4500 and 5500 Chassis Cabs. Led by an all-new crew cab, the new 2011 Ram Chassis Cabs are built on a proven frame and chassis, and engineered for maximum uptime, optimum performance and enhanced commercial capability.

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SOURCE Chrysler Group LLC