Ram‘s new Laramie Limited luxury package pickup bowed yesterday at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show in true American fashion: with a pretty girl smiling at its’ side.

“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.”

The Laramie Limited is to be one of two high-end packages available from Dodge subsidiary, Ram. It offers customers the luxury found in their Longhorn version, but without the cattle rancher theme that might scare people away who don’t wear ten gallon hats.

Style-wise,  you get a body colored front fascia, fog lamps, a chrome grill and 20-inch forged aluminum wheels. All HEMI, Cummins, and Ram badges are also replaced by small “Limited” badges. Climb into the cab and you’ll find the interior dressed in leather and lined with greystone piping. The center stack wears a piano black high gloss and gets chrome vent rings with liquid graphite side bezels.

Luxury features are also abound here, including a remote start system, backup camera, a heated steering wheel, adjustable pedals and front vented seats to keep you cool on those hot summer days at the job site. Don’t worry, we won’t tell the guys you’re using them.

GALLERY: RAM Laramie Limited

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

While the majority of candidates on the campaign trail for the Republican presidential nomination are traveling in giant buses, Rick Santorum has decided to take a down-to-earth American approach, crisscrossing the state of Iowa in his Dodge Ram 1500 pickup.

The “Chuck Truck” as it has become nicknamed, after Santorum’s campaign aide Chuck Laudner, has become the center of attention as Santorum campaigned across Iowa’s 99 counties. The four-door pickup was originally purchased in 2006 and has over 178,000-miles on it. Santorum has also admitted to owning a second Ram, that one with more than 300,000-miles on it.

Whether or not it was intentional, the Dodge Ram has become a symbol for Santorum to prove that he’s hardworking and has spent the time to travel across the state.

This isn’t the first time a truck has garnered attention for a candidate as Fred Thompson, former US Tennessee senator got plenty of attention from his red pickup as did Janet Reno when running for Florida’s governor position.

Santorum came runner up to Rick Perry in last night’s Iowa caucuses vote.

[Source: Bloomberg]

The upcoming 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 refresh will also be getting some new tweaks to its suspension, employing the services of Jeep‘s Grand Cherokee.

The new truck will be getting the air suspension setup found in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, giving the truck a whole new level of riding comfort. The 2013 Ram 1500 will be getting plenty of new goodies with Dodge looking to enhance the trucks’ luxury department as well as some new tech toys. It’ll be making its debut at the 2012 New York Auto Show.

[Source: Auto Evolution]

Even as General Motors readies their new Chevrolet Colorado mid-size pickup, Ford and Chrysler are hedging their bets that consumers won’t return to the floundering small truck market, and continue to opt for full-size pickups instead.

General Motors has claimed that the new Colorado will do most of what a full-size truck can do with substantially reduced running costs. GM’s strategy appears to hinge on rising gas prices and a general trend towards more fuel-efficient vehicles. On the opposite end, Ford is killing off its Ranger pickup entirely, and will offer a replacement in world markets, but not North America. Thailand will be a big market for the Ranger (it’s the world’s largest mid-size pickup nation) and much of the Colorado’s development work was done there.

Studies have shown that the current mid-size truck entries are actually costlier to own once depreciation is factored in. Fuel economy advances in the full-size segment, along with the macho image of a full-size truck have helped contribute to the demise of the mid-size pickup.

Chrysler, which recently killed off their Dakota mid-size pickup, is still exploring whether to bring a new smaller truck to market, with spokesman Dave Elshoff telling Automotive News “We believe there is still a substantial market for small pickups,.. “We’re studying the demographics and business case for a small Ram pickup
.
[Source: Automotive News]

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

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