RAM Trucks & Vans

It's rare that a new brand can make credible headway into the U.S. market. And if you don't believe it, try and find a showroom for Bricklin, DeLorean, Yugo or, more recently, Fisker or Scion. With that, know Chrysler, now organized as FCA, has done it, succeeding where few others do with the breakout of its Ram Truck brand from the Dodge umbrella in 2010. With an improved lineup of trucks in both 1/2-ton and 3/4-ton variants, along with diesels supplied by FCA partner VM (providing the light duty EcoDiesels) and Cummins (heavy duty), Ram has most of the bases occupied by Ford and GM covered, along with a tough truck image that would typically take decades to build rather than years. Going forward, FCA provides Ram with an opportunity to provide a contemporary commercial van, the ProMaster, and the potential to provide compact, unibody pickups now sold in other global markets.

On today's Ram showroom you'll see any number of variations of the Ram 1500 (the brand's most popular), 2500 and 3500, along with various heavy duty chassis cabs. And beyond the day-to-day commute is the 'get out and don't come back', epitomized by the Ram 2500 Power Wagon and offroad-oriented Rebel. And while the midsize Dakota has been discontinued, the success of GM's Colorado and Canyon, along with the continued sales success of Toyota's Tacoma, bodes well for the reintroduction of something midsize from the FCA's Ram factories.