2016 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is Crowned 2016 Canadian Truck King +VIDEO

WINDSOR, Ontario - October 14, 2015: The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel has again been crowned the overall winner of the Canadian Truck King Challenge.

The 2016 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel earned the overall title by claiming the top spot in the Full-Size Pickup Truck category and, moreover, by out-scoring the 13 other pickups, mid- and full-size vans in the competition, including new and refreshed light-duty domestic truck competitors.

Claiming the top spot at Truck King technically marks a back-to-back win for Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, as light-duty pickups last faced off in the 2014 edition of this acclaimed event. In this 2016 Canadian Truck King Challenge, Ram faced-off against the revised Chevrolet Silverado and new Ford F-150.

The ninth annual Canadian Truck King Challenge was a rigorous, multi-day, third-party event that saw today’s top light-duty pickup trucks and commercial vans tested head-to-head in an apples-to-apples series of exercises. From a base in Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, a newly expanded group of nine expert judges from across Canada put all of the entrants through intensive, real-world truck evaluations with the focus on capability, consumption and features. The testing included 2,721 kg (6,000 lbs.) of towing; 453 kg (1,000 lbs.) of heavy payload and even off-roading.

“To have the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel bring home the Canadian Truck King crown for a second time is truly rewarding,” said Reid Bigland, President and CEO, FCA Canada. “Faced this time around with a notable pair of new and refreshed competitors, Ram’s mix of power, capability and fuel economy helped it rise to the top spot. With its class-exclusive 3.0-litre EcoDiesel engine, best-in-class 420 lb-ft of torque, best-in-class fuel economy of 8.0 L/100 km and 9,200 lbs. towing capacity, Ram 1500 EcoDiesel has what it takes to stay ahead in a fiercely contested segment.”

Ram pickups are the second best-selling vehicles in the Canadian marketplace and are on pace for a record-setting year, up 9 percent through September 2015. With fuel economy now ranking as one of the top consumer purchase reasons in the half-ton truck segment, today 1-in-4 Ram 1500 customers are opting for the exclusive EcoDiesel engine. Ram 1500 offers a host of other segment-exclusive features, including Active-Level Four Corner Air Suspension, a multilink coil spring rear suspension, and the RamBox Cargo Management System, a lit, secure, durable and drainable storage system incorporated into the side rails of the truck bed.

What’s more, Ram trucks are also Canada’s longest-lasting pickups, as measured by the percentage sold in the last 27 years that are still on the road today, according to third-party data.

Said Howard Elmer, founder and director of the Canadian Truck King Challenge: “This year has been unique in the history of the Canadian Truck King Challenge. For the first time, we invited the most recent winners to return and defend their titles. We weren't sure how this experiment would turn out; however, the builders proved to be game. In the case of the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, it won the overall title in 2014. Now with new trucks available, we tested half-tons again. It won … Congratulations to Ram.”