RAM Trucks roll out

The rollout of RAM Trucks under American Special Vehicles has begun, with the first example of the re-engineered, right-hand-drive models recently delivered to a customer in Queensland.

Brent McDonald (pictured, right, with Dealer Principal Glen Stallard) purchased the RAM 2500 Laramie through Blue Ribbon RAM in Yamanto, near Ipswich. McDonald, standing at six feet four inches tall, said he appreciates the RAM's generous dimensions.

"I like the size of the truck and the size of the truck inside; there's plenty of room to stretch out," he said.

McDonald has a rural property and confessed he was already very familiar with RAM Trucks, hiring one on many occasions on business trips to the US.

The new RAM owner said he'd held off buying one here previously because he wasn't happy with the quality of the available grey import conversions, but said he jumped at the chance to purchase an ASV model.

American Special Vehicles is a joint venture between independent importer Ateco Automotive and Walkinshaw Automotive Group. ASV imports RAM Trucks models in a left-hand-drive format direct from the factory, the vehicles then converted by Walkinshaw's expert technicians on a dedicated production line in Clayton, Melbourne.

The re-engineered RAM models have full Australian Design Rule compliance, with ASV the only importer of RAM Trucks covered by that approval.

ASV brings the RAM 2500 and RAM 3500 to Australia, both in top-spec Laramie dual-cab form. The RAM 2500 Laramie is priced at $139,500 plus on-roads, while that climbs to $146,500 plus on-roads for the 3500.

Both are powered by a Cummins 6.7-litre in-line six-cylinder engine producing 276kW and 1084Nm, with the power fed to the rear wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission.

Payloads run from 913 kilograms for the 2500 to 1713 kilograms for the 3500, with hefty towing limits of 6989 and 6170 kilograms respectively.