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AUTO REVIEW

For as long as I can remember the list of the top 10 selling new both numbers close to the corresponding Ford or Chevy compet-
vehicles in the U.S. has looked like this: 1) Ford F-series pickup, ing trucks.
2) Chevrolet Silverado, 3 - 10) various other vehicles. The Dodge The Ram’s exterior design is standard pickup fare without much
Ram pickup, now just called the Ram, hasn’t really registered until to distinguish it from the pack except for a big “RAM” spelled
recently. In 2000 the numbers were, 1) Ford F-series 876,716, 2) out in the center of the grille. It’s worth noting that, despite the
Chevy Silverado 645,150, 10) Jeep Grand Cherokee 271,723, and fact that the 1993 Ram revolutionized pickup styling with its novel
Dodge Ram somewhere out of the top 10. Kenworth-like grille, the 2019 Rams look positively mainstream.
Things have changed, as they say, and the Ram is now seriously They’re good looking trucks, but they don’t stand out visually the
competitive. In 2018 the top three selling vehicles in this country way their predecessors did.
were, 1) Ford F-series 909,303, 2) Chevy Silverado 585,581, and As a non-truck guy who follows the automotive industry closely,
3) Ram 536,980. And according to Automotive News, the Ram it seems to me that Ram has caught up with Chevy by equaling
has outsold the Silverado 9 out of the last 10 months, so there the benchmark F-150 on capability and looks, and then (just) best-
will likely be a switch at number two this year. ing it in interior quality. Then FCA relied on superior advertising
Two possible reasons for the Silverado’s sales swoon are its new (think – the epic 2013 super bowl ad, “So God made a farmer”)
controversial design and base four-cylinder engine, but I think it and PR (think – sponsoring the PBR and other rodeos) to connect
makes more sense to look at the Ram and the intense effort FCA with their customers.
(Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) have been making to improve their With that, I’d like to say a few words about Sergio Marchionne,
full-size pickup in order to sell more of them. That effort has FCA’s great CEO who died about a year ago and who made Ram
been paying off, and the 2019 version is all new. and Jeep what they are today. He quarterbacked the renaissance
Perhaps the biggest improvement in the Ram has been in the of those two brands, which together are now keeping FCA afloat,
Ram. The interior is much better than it was even a few years ago and he did it by making competitive vehicles and backing them
and is now better than the ones in the F-150 and Silverado. The up with emotional — and very effective — advertising (YouTube
Ram has the latest version of FCA’s UConnect infotainment sys- “Chrysler Eminem commercial”, “Dodge Paul Harvey commer-
tem with either an 8.4-inch or optional 12.0-inch touchscreen, a cial”, and “Jeep 75 years commercial” to see Sergio’s three best
19-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, and standard Apple ads, and you’ll see what I mean). If GM had done the same with
CarPlay or Android Auto. My tester came with the smaller screen, the Silverado I doubt Ram would be passing them now. Sergio
and despite that I had no trouble connecting my phone, listening wasn’t perfect — if he were alive he’d currently be fighting alle-
to podcasts, or doing anything else. It’s very intuitive. gations of bribery and emissions cheating, among other challenges
While the Ram’s ergonomics are excellent, it’s the materials that — but he saved Chrysler as surely as Lee Iacocca did, and he did
I noticed the most. They’re best in class, and I suspect the Ram’s so with almost as much flair.
interior is what will ultimately sell customers who schlep from The Ram 1500 pickup is an excellent truck that combines Ford
dealer to dealer kicking tires. F-150-like utility and looks with an outstanding interior. It’s no
The Ram offers two engines: a 305HP V6 (with standard wonder Ram is overtaking the Chevy Silverado in the U.S. sales
eTorque mild hybrid technology) or a 396HP Hemi V8 (eTorque race. Somewhere up there Sergio Marchionne is smiling.
is a $1450 option), and all Ram 1500s come with an 8-speed au- To get your best deal on a new Tesla, call Phil Hornbeak at
tomatic transmission. The V6 gets 19 MPG city/24 highway and BCMS at 210-301-4367.
the Hemi’s numbers are 17 city/23 highway. While not yet on sale,
I’m told a new diesel V6 will return soon with towing and fuel Stephen Schutz, MD, is a board-certified gastroen-
economy numbers in line with the just-released F-150 diesel. terologist who lived in San Antonio in the 1990s when
As far as capability goes, there’s not much to differentiate the he was stationed here in the U.S. Air Force. He has
three aforementioned pickup trucks. The Ram’s payload is a max- been writing auto reviews for San Antonio Medicine since
imum of 2,300lbs and towing capability is as much as 12,750 lbs, 1995.

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