Set to bow at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show, Ram trucks has released details on a new luxury package called the Laramie Limited.

The Laramie Limited will be one of two top of the line packages available for Ram trucks and alongside the Laramie Longhorn edition will offer the same luxury but without the niche market that the Longhorn caters to with its specific south-western cowboy like theme.

The Laramie Limited will come with a body colored front fascia, fog lamps, a chrome grill, 20-inch forged aluminum wheels complete with Ram logo in the center, and will remove all HEMI, Cummins, and Ram badges to be replaced by a small italicized Limited badge. The interior is, as expected, completely adorned with leather from the seats to the center console, all complete with medium greystone piping along the edges. The center stack is trimmed in piano black high gloss finish and adorned with bright chrome vent rings and and liquid graphite side bezels.

The Limited package will also include all the typical comforts we have come to expect from a luxury automobile such as heated seats, navigational radio, remote start, back up camera, heated steering wheel, adjustable pedals and even front ventilated seats meant for cooling you down.

“The launch of the Ram Laramie Longhorn edition gave us a boost in the ultra-premium pickup segment and exceeded our expectations,” said Fred Diaz, President and CEO of the Ram Truck Brand. “Ram Laramie Limited offers customers an even wider selection of luxury models. We expect a lot of interest in the Laramie Limited.”

GALLERY: RAM Laramie Limited

10. Chevrolet Cruze: 231,732

The sales have been tallied and the numbers are finally in. The list of the Top 10 best selling vehicles in the U.S. has now been released  lots of familiar faces and a few surprises – starting with number 10, the Chevrolet Cruze. Sales for the new compact sedan total 231,732 units for the first full year on sale, with the Cruze launching late in 2010 and amassing just 24,495 sales in a short period of time then.

Since Fiat restored Chrysler after its humbling bankruptcy, the third American automaker has been reinvigorated, and boasts industry leading statistics in growth.

Chrysler Group ended 2011 with U.S. sales in December amounting to 138,019 units, an increase of 37 percent over the same period last year. What’s more, December also marks Chrysler’s 21st consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains and the seventh consecutive month of sales increases of at least 20 percent. Plainly speaking, the incredible December results are the automaker’s best performing monthly sales since May 2008, indicating extremely positive signals of Chrysler’s recovery.

According to President and CEO of the Dodge Brand and the Head of U.S. Sales Reid Bigland, “Chrysler Group finished a year of growth on a strong note with our December retail sales soaring 45 percent to our highest dealer retail sales in four years. Looking back, we were the fastest growing automaker in the country, increasing our market share 1.3 percentage points during 2011.”

Chrysler Group owes much of its success to the strong sales of the Chrysler 300 and 200, Dodge Charger and Avenger, Ram pickup, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, and Compass. Without a weak link in the company,  sub-brands Dodge, Jeep, and Ram Truck have all earned double-digit percentage sales gains.

Going forward, Chrysler will introduce the 2013 Dodge Dart with high expectations for the upcoming product to carry Chrysler’s momentum into the future.

GALLERY: 2011 Chrysler 300

The Detroit Red Wings, one of the most decorated hockey teams and the winner of the most Stanley Cup Championships ever, announced that the Ram 1500 Express 4X4 Crew Cab is named the “Official Truck of the Red Wings.”

In partnership with the Great Lakes Business Center and local Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram dealers, the Red Wings Ram will featured Red Wings logged front-seat headrests, optional Red Wings embroidered leather seats, “Detroit Red Wings Edition” graphics on the tailgate and rear ed sides and will come in red, white, or black. Red Wing Rams will only be available in limited amounts at local Ram dealers.

Director of the Great Lakes Business Center, John Plecha, says, “The Red Wings and the Ram share the same values of hard work, toughness, and the determination to win. It is this passion that the brand captures in new creative elements produced specifically for our partnership and built off of Ram’s successful Guts Glory campaign.”

This partnership will not only materialize in a special edition truck, but a whole marketing front that includes television and radio spots, billboards, and newspaper print ads, and a new in-arena chant, “HEMI! POWERED! HOCKEY!” to get the people going.

Law enforcement gets a severe-duty upgrade beginning this month, with Chrysler’s Ram Truck brand offering their new Ram 1500 Crew Cab 4×4 Special Service package for police enforcement and emergency services support.

Combining durability, reliability, and value, president and CEO of Ram Truck Brand Fred Diaz announced, “Like the Ram Truck brand, first responders give it their all with guts and glory, and we’re proud to offer a Ram truck that gives them the reliability and durability to get to the scene quickly and safely. The Special Service package offers legendary Ram capability and a ready-to-go platform for the folks who require a truck they can depend on.”

The Special Service package includes ballistic material packed within the doors, extended cycle 100,000-mile sparkplugs, a larger oil cooler to aid the engine in stop-and-go operation, as well as a 220-amp alternator to handle high electric loads. An additional PDC, a Power Distribution Center with two separate 100-amp main fuses, plus a unique wire harness combine to provide power, ground, and fusing to siren, lighting, computer, modem, radar and camera system and devices.

Did we mention that the package also comes with a Hemi? That’s right, the truck’s 5.7 liter Hemi V8 with Fuel Saver Technology, good for 390-hp and 407 lb-ft of torque, is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Combined with a 3.92 axle ratio, the Ram truck is capable of towing 10,000 and shouldering a payload of 1,455 lbs.

GALLERY: Ram 1500 Crew Cab 4×4 Special Service package

For all the Dodge Ram enthusiasts out there, Chrysler has something for you at this year’s SEMA Show. Based on a 2011 Ram R/T, the team at Mopar Underground outfitted the Ram with a collection of modifications, enhancing performance while giving the truck some good looks. Powering the Ram 392 Quick Silver is a 392 HEMI V8 from Dodge’s SRT lineup packing 470-hp. The motor was mated to the R/T’s 4.10 gear set with a high-stall converter. Additional performance comes from Mopar’s cold-air intake kit, headers, and cat-back dual exhaust.

Braking performance has been upgraded thanks to a Brembo big brake kit, featuring 15-inch rotors and six-piston calipers. Everything on the truck besides the gloss black roof has been finished in a three-stage bright silver. Contrasting it all are anodized red wheels, grille inserts, mirrors and select interior trim components. All the exterior lighting has been smoked while a reverse deep-down aluminum hood adorns the front of the truck. Suspension modifications lowers the truck by 2-inches, further accented by a Mopar body kit.

Though the wheels on the render looks to be from HRE, the release only specifies that Mopar Underground added 22-inch pieces wrapped with 275/45/22 and 305/40/22 tires. On the inside, high-bolster SRT seats are covered in Katzkin leather with red stitching and accents to match the steering wheel, instrument panel and Laramie Longhorn inspired leather shift knob, door panels and center console trim. Kicker speakers add additional audio to the cabin while woofers in the doors add plenty of bass.

See AutoGuide’s complete 2011 SEMA Preview here

Chrysler has announced that it will expand its Ram trim levels for 2012, offering two new ones on the 2500 3/4 ton Power Wagon, plus a limited run “Mossy Oak” Edition as part of the 1500 1/2 ton lineup aimed at the hunting and fishing set.

Getting back to the Power Wagon, the two trim levels include a base ST, essentially a no frills version of the heavy-duty off road rig, that features a black painted grille and bumpers, single tone paint and available roof mounted clearance lights – a truck largely aimed primarily at the likes of mining contractors, forestry services and border security agencies (essentially fleet buyers who need some serious four-wheeling capability). Plus, Ram will also offer a luxo-lined Laramie trim (shown) that slots in above the existing Power Wagon (which will be called SLT).

Like other Laramie trimmed Ram trucks, the Power Wagon version sports all the creature comforts one could ask for, including a woodgrain dash, leather seats, dual zone air conditioning, premium sound system and on the outside, plenty of chrome gingerbread, including the grille, bumpers, exterior mirrors and door handles. The base Power Wagon ST has a MSRP of $42,620, the mid-range SLT, $46,560, while the new Laramie retails for $51,995.

Moving on to the Mossy Oak, this truck is designed to capitalize on the success of the Outdoorsman and indeed is based on this truck, adding special “Mossy Oak Breakup Infinity” camouflage on the pickup bed trim and tailgate, plus the dash and door panel inserts.

There’s also Mossy Oak logos on the head rests and on the rear quarter panels. Retailing for $39,910, the Mossy Oak Edition will be offered in a variety of exterior colors (including Black, Bright White, Deep Cherry Red Crystal Pearl (all of these in either mono or two tone), plus Mineral Gray Metallic, Saddle Brown and Sagebrush monotone. However, it will only be offered as a crew cab rig with four-wheel drive.

According to Ram Division, the Mossy Oak Edition answers a need for a “premium” outdoor truck, since demographics supposedly indicate that 30 percent of all Ram 1500 buyers like to hunt, while 42 percent like to camp and 44 percent like to fish.

Obviously, with stats like that, the former sun belt urban cowboy buyers, who once snapped up two-tone Laramie 1500s by the bucket load, must have largely evaporated.

GALLERY: 2012 Ram Power Wagon Laramie

Given how hotly contested the full-size pickup truck market has become in recent years, those manufacturers participating are constantly looking for ways to one-up each other. Most recently, in the half-ton segment, Ram has attempted to do such a thing by going after the fleet crowd with its 2012 model year 1500 Tradesman Heavy Duty.

Although only offered as a no frills work truck, which means just two-wheel drive, a regular cab and eight foot box, the Heavy Duty Tradesman is essentially a half-ton, entry-level rig with 3/4 ton cargo and towing capacity, something the brand believes will appeal to value conscious commercial buyers during these hard, Dickensian times. Besting both Ford and GM’s current entry level work trucks in terms of loading and hauling capability doesn’t hurt either.

Ram has also been playing around with other 1500 options and features, in the Express line, for example, buyers can now opt for Quad and Crew Cab configurations, as well as a Ram box  bed in six foot, four-inch configuration.

Considering that the Express Quad starts at $28,050 and the Crew version at $30,010 (with standard 5.7-liter Hemi V8 no less) these new configurations and the HD Tradesman should be enough of an incentive for more folks to consider stopping by their local Ram showroom.

GALLERY: RAM 1500 Tradesman HD

The Fiat and Chrysler product osmosis continues. Chrysler first revealed its plan for a Fiat collaborated small commercial van for the North American market back in November 2009. Finally, here it is. Tofas Turk Otomobil Fabrikasi, Fiat’s Turkish joint venture, announced that it will supply Ram with 190,000 units of the Fiat Doblo small panel van over the course of seven years.

Launched in Europe early 2010, the Doblo is already proving to be very popular amongst businesses. But in North America, expect the upcoming Ram van to compete against the segment leader Ford Transit Connect. In the past year, Transit Connect sold 20,496 units in the United states, a 31 percent increase.

In addition, as the Ram Sprinter was discontinued in 2009, expect Fiat to fill in the gap by providing a larger commercial van for the North American market.

There has been no word yet regarding pricing.

GALLERY: Fiat Doblo

[Source: Autonews]

As Ram sales continue to increase, efforts made to keep the ball rolling result in the new for Ram “65RFE” six-speed automatic transmission that will replace the old outgoing five.

The five-speed transmission, “545RFE,” features an interesting split dual cog 2nd gear. Engagement on one cog or the other depend on whether the transmission is performing an upshift or a downshift. The 1.67 and 1.50 ratio cog are used for the upshift and downshift respectively. An electric range select is also featured in the 545RFE, allowing driver to manually limit the highest available gear, a handy device during hilly terrain or tow situations.

Now, not only will the new 2012 six-speed transmission retain all these characteristics from the outgoing five-speed, but will also possess a new torque converter said to improve the Ram’s fuel economy, although EPA ratings will stay the same.

Nonetheless, these incremental improvements are expected to increase its sales numbers still, there’s no stopping Ram! Find the new six speed standard with the 4.7 liter V-8 and 5.7 liter Hemi V-8 engines.

GALLERY: Ram 5.7 Hemi