Since it’s the holidays and assuredly better to give than receive, the magazines, net sites, newsgroups and others are handing out their awards.
Dedicated off-road magazine Four Wheeler handed its “Pickup Truck of the Year” hardware to the 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 Power Wagon, giving a needed morale boost to Chrysler as well.
The P-wagon beat out a field that included four new pickup trucks, the Ram 2500 Heavy Duty Power Wagon, the Ram 2500 Heavy Duty with a Cummins™ diesel, the Ford SVT F-150 Raptor and the Toyota Tundra. To qualify, a vehicle must have been entirely new or have substantial mechanical revisions from a previous model year.
The all-new Ram 2500/3500 Heavy Duty lineup includes 5 trim models: ST, SLT, TRX, Power Wagon and Laramie.
The production ready P-Wagon comes equipped with electric-locking front and rear differentials, electronic disconnecting sway bar, Bilstein shocks, 32-inch BFGoodrich off-road tires, underbody skid plate protection, 4.56 axle ratio for hill climbing and a custom-built Warn® 12,000 pound winch.
“It’s an honor to have Four Wheeler magazine recognize our all-new 2010 Ram 2500 Power Wagon with this significant award,” said Fred Diaz, President and Chief Executive Officer – Ram Truck Brand, Chrysler Group LLC. “This award speaks loudly about the Ram Power Wagon; it’s the most capable factory-equipped off-road-ready pickup truck on the road.”
“The new Power Wagon is quite nearly the best of all worlds,” said Douglas McColloch, Editor – Four Wheeler.
“Its tall stance and body-on-frame architecture don’t get in the way of delivering a pleasant and relatively quiet highway ride. Its work-truck ethic is belied by its eight-lug axles and 10,000-pound tow rating. And once off the pavement, deep in the dirt, the Power Wagon can simply go places, and do things, that no other full-size truck on the planet can. Locking differentials, a disconnecting front swaybar, and a 12,000-pound winch delivered straight from the factory will do that for you. All in all, the Power Wagon is a very worthy winner of our Pickup Truck of the Year competition.”
Improved suspension tuning and new C-pillar hydra mounts were added to the 2010 Ram Heavy Duty models to improve damping through the frame-bending mode frequency in order to better manage shake and after-shake response. The result is reduced shake, which means an improved ride for the customer.
The new 2010 Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups offer the only standard exhaust brake in the segment (diesel-equipped models). This feature reduces brake fade, prolongs brake life and provides confidence and safety when hauling heavy loads on downhill grades. Large front (360 mm) and rear (358 mm) brakes with integrated Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) increase brake life and braking stability.
An available integrated trailer brake control provides better driver control in towing situations. Trailer brake control information is conveniently displayed in the Electronic Vehicle Information Center (EVIC), which is standard on all Ram heavy-duty models equipped with a diesel engine and available on gas SLT, TRX and Laramie models.
In addition, new 2010 Ram transmissions include Electronic Range Select, which enables the driver to manually limit the highest available transmission gear, allowing manual upshifts and downshifts based on road speed and engine speed. A tow/haul mode switch enhances tow capability while towing. Tow/haul mode is available on both five-speed and six-speed automatic transmissions.
Customers in the heavy-duty segment have a range of needs, and most of them involve high levels of capability. The new 2010 Ram 2500 and 3500 are designed to deliver a total package:
Increased Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) on 2500 4×4 crew cab diesel models to 9,600 pounds from 9,000 pounds
Increased Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) on 3500 dually models with diesel, auto transmission and 4.10 rear axle to 24,500 pounds from 24,000 pounds. With the Max Tow Package, GCWR increases to 25,400 pounds (late availability)
Increased GCWR on 3500 4×2 models to 24,000 pounds from 23,000 pounds
Increased front Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) on several models:
To 5,500 pounds from 5,200 pounds on diesel 4×4 pickups
To 5,000 pounds from 4,700 pounds on diesel 4×2 pickups
Other towing features include improved trailer-tow mirrors with integrated turn signals, memory function and puddle lamps. The larger 7-in. x 11-in. trailer-tow mirrors offer improved visibility with larger convex glass surfaces. Mirrors flip up and out in a vertical configuration for improved visibility around wide trailers. Trailer-tow mirrors are now standard on 3500. As an added convenience, a Class IV receiver is now standard on all Ram 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty pickups.
Ram Heavy Duty towing, payload and axle capacity have all been increased for 2010. Suspension upgrades and larger front-axle U-joints, combined with increased front GAWR, result in increased front-weight carrying capability — a must for larger snowplows.
The Ram Power Wagon also returns for the 2010 model year, equipped with electric-locking front and rear differentials, electronic disconnecting sway bar, Bilstein shocks, 32-inch BFGoodrich off-road tires, underbody skid plate protection, 4.56 axle ratio for hill climbing and a custom-built Warn® 12,000-pound winch that is accessible through the front bumper. The 2010 Dodge Ram Power Wagon features new exterior graphics and a lower two-tone paint scheme.
Ram Heavy Duty Powertrains Include 6.7-liter Cummins Turbo Diesel and 5.7-liter HEMI® V-8
Powertrain choices include the legendary 6.7-liter Cummins Turbo Diesel engine, which produces 350 horsepower (261 kW) at 3,000 rpm and 650 lb.-ft. of torque (881 N•m) at only 1,500 rpm.
The most durable and reliable engine in its class, the 6.7-liter Cummins Turbo Diesel features standard oil-change intervals of 7,500 miles. It also has major-overhaul intervals of 350,000 miles, providing more than a 100,000-mile advantage over the competition.
The Cummins 6.7-liter Turbo Diesel engine uses a diesel particulate filter (DPF) to virtually eliminate particulate matter emissions and an adsorber catalyst to reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOx) by as much as 90 percent, in order to meet stringent 2010.5 diesel emissions requirements.
The 2010 Ram Heavy Duty comes standard with the 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 gasoline engine, delivering 383 horsepower (286 kW) at 5,600 rpm and 400 lb.-ft. of torque (542 N•m) at 4,000 rpm. The 5.7-liter HEMI was redesigned for 2009, with several new and improved technologies including Variable-valve Timing (VVT), increased compression ratio, active intake manifold with long runners for low-end torque and short runners for high-rpm power, improved cylinder head port flow efficiency and reduced-restriction exhaust and induction systems.
A Dodge 1951 Power Wagon
2010 Ram Heavy Duty Pricing
The all-new 2010 Ram Heavy Duty is available with a starting U.S. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $28,165 for regular cab models, $31,415 for crew cab models and $36,865 for Mega Cab models. All prices include $950 for destination. The all-new 2010 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty arrives in dealerships in late 2009 calendar year.
About Four Wheeler
Now in its 48th year, Four Wheeler is published monthly by Source Interlink Media LLC and reaches over 236,000 subscribers monthly with an approximate readership of three million off-road enthusiasts.
1946 Dodge DX Power Wagon Wrecker
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One Response to “2010 Ram Power Wagon drives home “Four Wheeler Pickup Truck of the Year””
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[...] Power Wagon Sounds like its quite the offroad truck. I dont go offroad much, but Id rock this. 2010 Ram Power Wagon drives home “Four Wheeler Pickup Truck of the Year”|autoinsane __________________ 2002 Ram 1500 4.7~5spd [...]