Ram 1500 pickup shows off award-winning charms

 Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.

Sacramento, California -- I recently polished off my old investigative skills and spent a day looking into a 2021 Ram 1500 pickup truck, with a goal of explaining how Ram has been able to win three consecutive Truck of the Year awards from MotorTrend magazine.

Turns out it didn't take a lot of investigative work.  Everything was pretty obvious.

In a nutshell, it boils down to this: Everything in the Ram 1500 is not only in its place ... It's perfectly placed.

That's everything from the storage areas, the electrical connections, the seats, the tons of safety equipment, the extensive technology and even the headlights.  And yeah, it helps that it's an exceptionally comfortable freeway cruiser.

Did I happen to mention that my tester was equipped with a 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 rated at a slight tick short of 400 horsepower?  Yeah, that helped too.

Specifically, my tester was the 2021 Ram 1500 Laramie Crew Cab 4X4, starting at $47,530 but loaded up with optional goodies that sent the bottom line on the sticker to a lofty $64,565.

For that kind of money, a pickup needs to have a lot to like.  Ram goes overboard to make those wishes come true.

On the tester, the list went on forever.  What's your pleasure?  How about pedestrian emergency braking technology, surround-view camera, adaptive cruise control, parallel/perpendicular park-assist, head-up display, wireless charge pad, leather seats, multi-function tailgate (with power release), braking enhancements, hill-descent control, a 19-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, heated second-row seats and LED lighting all around?

That's just a partial list.  Obscene, is it not?

Depends on your viewpoint, I suppose.

Again, even with all those perks and technology fireworks, the Ram does not assault you with too many buttons and confusion.  You can get on friendly terms with your Ram 1500 in quick order ... a big plus in my book.

With the big Hemi capable of dusting off freeway mortals, there is a price to pay on fuel mileage.  It's 15 miles per gallon in the city and 21 mpg on the highway.

Eye-catchers on the sticker included a max five-star overall vehicle score in federal government crash tests and a five-year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty.

So, is all this enough to turn the heads of super-loyal Ford F-Series buyers and Chevrolet Silverado devotees.

Well, it apparently was enough to turn the heads of those often-picky MotorTrend vehicle judges ... for three years running.