Pickup sales are a popular indicator of housing-market health, but the inhabitants of the house that Walter P. Chrysler built were worrying about other measures of fiscal fitness at the time this heavy-duty Ram was introduced. Between the truck's first public appearance at the February 2009 Chicago auto show and its launch nine months later, Chrysler filed for and emerged from bankruptcy. During that same time, new housing construction hit its low inflection point.
Fortunately, things are improving: Post-bankruptcy Chrysler is now controlled by Fiat and has rehabbed most of its ailing lineup, and truck sales are rising as the housing market slowly rebounds. Our long-term Ram was a witness to the latter in more ways than one: While the truck was under our care, eight staffers used the heavy-duty hauler to move to a new dwelling, with another handful assisting friends with relocation. We should have stocked the truck's center console with U.S. Postal Service change-of-address packets.
Quieting the Skeptics with Volume
Before its arrival, some among us wondered whether such a behemoth would be too much vehicle for our needs, especially after having finished a successful 40,000-mile stint in a small-by-comparison 2009 Dodge Ram 1500.Turns out they needn't have worried: What we ended up with was-to quote ourselves-"one of the baddest-ass off-road executive limos" we'd yet encountered. The spec- and option-sheet highlights: 2010 Ram 2500 Mega Cab, electronic part-time four-wheel drive, the then-top-spec Laramie trim (since eclipsed by the Laramie Longhorn), a Cummins diesel inline-six hooked to a six-speed automatic, monochromatic black paint outside, black leather inside. A full rundown can be found in the truck's long-term introduction story, but suffice it to say that the thing was loaded. Stocked with nearly every available option, the final bill came to $54,650, or the price of a foreclosed home in a nice neighborhood.
Read more at http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/10q2/2010_dodge_ram_2500_laramie_mega_cab_4x4_diesel-long-term_road_test_wrap-up