Dodge Ram takes top pickup award in Canada
Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Dodge Ram
We're still trying to figure out which new-for-'09 truck took the top honors in the State of Texas, but it's clear that the Dodge Ram was chosen as "Best New Pickup in Canada." In the process of taking the award, the new Ram beat out its rival from Ford, which is also brand new for the 2009 model year. Highlights of the new Ram's design include its always-macho styling, RamBox cargo management system and its coil-spring rear suspension.
While the Dodge Boys are sure to accept any trophy for its new truck, we're sure that the sales of full-sized pickups in Canada pale in comparison to those of the United States, and Texas is the undisputed U.S. heavyweight champion when it comes to truck-lovin'. The real battle is about to begin as both Ford and Dodge go up against tough competition from Chevrolet, GMC and Toyota for the pick'em-up-truck sales crown.
Gallery: 2009 Dodge Ram
[Source: The Car Connection]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Torrent 6:06PM (10/28/2008)
Not to be mean, but they have pickups in Canada?
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Dasupersprint 6:15PM (10/28/2008)
Eh, what' your point exactly?
Trojan 10:11PM (10/28/2008)
Why the hell wouldn't we? You ever tried to drive through a corn field that has 3 feet of snow on it with a car?
Yar 6:29PM (10/28/2008)
What's Canada?
Seminole 6:33PM (10/28/2008)
Trojan,
Wouldn't a dog sled or those snow shoes that look like tennis rackets work better?
;-) J/K
John 7:03PM (10/28/2008)
A$$holes
Torrent 7:07PM (10/28/2008)
What? I said I'm not trynna be mean. I was in Canada a few months ago and didn't see one pickup truck. No lie.
Judy Zik 7:48PM (10/28/2008)
It's only a market the size of California. Not like that would matter much?
Oh and pickups are a huge part of it since there are a lot of farms and a quite a lot of resource industries. F-Series is also the top truck in Canada. Pickup sales were actually up 1.3% in September in Canada and overall vehicle sales grew 1.7%.
Oh and you can get a loan from the bank to buy a car and our banking system was rated the MOST stable in the world recently while yours are all failing. Our government has been in surplus not deficit for years in fact we are working on paying off our debt. We are also predicted to have the highest economic growth of the G8 next year while everyone else seems to be in recession. So our market continues to grow. We are a net producer of oil in fact we now supply more of your oil than anybody else.
Who's laughing now?
Yar 8:28PM (10/28/2008)
@ Judy
Oh, so it's like America's hat?
Trojan 10:14PM (10/28/2008)
@Torrent
I'm not sure where you were in Canada, but on my street there are currently 4 full sized pickups. I drove down to my hardware store and saw two Ford 250's, too.
I live in farm country though, not the city, but I see all kinds when I'm in Toronto, too.
Torrent 11:16PM (10/28/2008)
@ Trojan... Nova Scotia. Come to think of it, there weren't even a whole lot of cars.....
Graham 11:50PM (10/28/2008)
I noticed the same thing driving through the Maritimes, but I suppose it has to do with the industry there not requiring a lot of big trucks. Here in Alberta though full size pickups are abundant, not just in small towns or out in oil country, but in Edmonton and Calgary as well.
ChevyRULES 6:14PM (10/28/2008)
I hope these trucks don't break down when someone tries to tow more than 10,000 lbs.
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JJC 7:21PM (10/28/2008)
As long as the tranny doesn't blow like on the chevy it should be alright. Go check it out its on insideline.
The RAM pickup is the best light duty pickup right now that's just the truth.
Sure it doesnt have the best towing capacity, or best payload, but who in their right mind would buy a light duty pickup for heavy duty work?
Anybody who is really planning on towing more than the RAM is rated for would be foolish to not buy HD Diesel pickup. So who cares if the ford or chevy or toyota light duties are rated to a million lbs. The rating doesn't mean it will handle the load well. Or that the engine will effortlessly tug along.
whofan 6:35PM (10/28/2008)
If your going to tow 10000lbs you buy a 3/4 ton truck.
Dodge did a nice job on the new Ram.
Too bad Cerberus doesn`t sit tight and see things through with Chrysler.
Proportionally I say Chrysler is in better shape than GM.
The Luigiian 6:19PM (10/28/2008)
This is my favorite of the current five large trucks in terms of styling. It's always reminded me of the Santa Fe Super Chief train. I can just see it driving on a long highway through the desert Southwest, and that's a romantic image for me. I can also picture it going on a nice fishing trip up in a Canadian national forest, so I can see the allure up there too, along with the other nifty specs.
I used to think the Ram was the clear loser of all the three. Now, Edmunds testers say the four speed on the Silverado may be unreliable, meaning the Silverado's low price might not be so low. And the F-150 isn't very pretty at all.
I like the new suspension and the RamBox system. The only thing this truck really needs is better fuel economy. It's one of the lightest of the large trucks and I think it could do with a better base engine. 20 mpg overall--18 city, 24 highway--might be doable with this truck.
I know I've harped on this, so I'll only say it once more and shut up. If Dodge is going to merge with Chevy, it needs to take a Chevy engine and put it to good use in this truck. The Traverse's engine is FWD-designed, but if GM can redesign it for RWD without taking much time or money, it would be a good base engine for this truck. It could manage 20 mpg with the right programming. And it has more power and more torque than the Ram 3.7 V6, and it gets max torque at lower revs than the 3.7. The only downside is higher revving for max horsepower.
I dislike the upcoming GM merger--I think it's a bad idea that will have disastrous results for most everyone involved--but it would be nice if there were at least some good things to come out of it for the American consumer.
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The Luigiian 6:23PM (10/28/2008)
My comment regarding the Chevy Silverado's potential unreliability comes from here:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/LongTerm/articleId=117490
Anecdotal, but still odd.
GM786 12:20AM (10/29/2008)
You know there's a high possibility the Chevy Silverado in Edmund's Long Term Test could of been a LEMON. The Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra is a solid truck and I one of the few vehicles I would love to own sometime in the future.
Frank 6:47PM (10/28/2008)
Don't they have that one sport in Canada which is called "Iditarod" Just hop on one of those.
It looks like a freeken charger with a bed.
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FireSermon 8:14PM (10/28/2008)
Iditarod = Alaska = Not Canada