Ram tops all trucks in Total Quality Index study

Posted on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 4:57 PM EDT.

The all-new 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 ranked at the top of the full-size truck segment in Strategic Vision Inc.’s 2009 Total Quality Index, which was released today.

The Ram led the way with the highest total quality score of any truck in the 15-year history of the study. Customers specifically noted that the Ram had the best added storage capability along with the best truck interior ever rated by customers.

“Our all-new 2009 Dodge Ram is rated by owners as the best truck ever built,” Doug Betts, Senior Vice President – Quality, said. “It is a game-changing, class-leading truck that is second to none. This award confirms that we are making significant changes and improvements, which enhance the overall ownership experience and are being recognized by our customers.”

The all-new Ram features the industry’s first-and-only RamBox™ cargo management system that includes versatile, weatherproof, lockable, illuminated, drainable storage bins, pickup bed dividers, a two-foot bed extender and a cargo rail system with sliding adjustable cleats.

The 2009 Ram also includes the first-in-segment, coil-spring five-link rear suspension fitted to a solid rear axle that provides ride and handling not found on any other pickup truck. A new 5.7-liter HEMI® V-8 engine with fuel-saving MDS technology provides more horsepower (390 hp) and torque (407 lb.-ft.), while its best-in-class aerodynamics (.387 Cd) improve fuel economy and performance.

“For truck buyers, the Dodge Ram has reclaimed its perceived leadership in innovation, a corporate hallmark,” Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision, said. “We have tracked innovation as a critical dimension in success since 1979 and have shown that it has been the single most powerful factor in success across categories, especially among automobiles.”

The Total Quality Index asks buyers to rate all aspects of the ownership experience from buying and owning to performance and driving—much more than simply counting issues. Results from studies that measure the number of issues or the overall satisfaction of a vehicle do not measure the customers’ commitment to, advocacy for or loyalty to their vehicles accurately, according to Strategic Vision.

In addition, the Chrysler Group LLC improved 15 points compared with 2008.

The Ram 1500 regular, Quad Cab® and Crew Cab models recently earned five star ratings for driver- and front-passenger protection in a frontal crash, the highest ratings in the U.S. government’s safety crash test program. The U.S. manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) for the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 is $22,170 (including $900 destination).

In addition to winning Strategic Vision’s Total Quality Index award, the all-new Ram has earned 17 key awards since its introduction and was recently chosen by Car and Driver magazine as the best full-size pickup in a head-to-head comparison test in Texas, beating the 2009 Ford F-150.

The Total Quality Index was calculated from 20,101 buyers who bought 2008 and 2009 models from September to December 2008. Strategic Vision has presented Total Quality awards annually since 1995.

Since its founding in 1972 and incorporation in 1989, Strategic Vision has studied consumer and constituent decision-making for a wide variety of clients, including most auto manufacturers, Coca-Cola, American Airlines, Procter and Gamble, the White House, 10 Downing Street and many advertising agencies. Its unique expertise is identifying consumers’ motivational hierarchies, including the values, emotions, and images that shape perceptions and behavior.

The firm’s in-depth Discovery Interviews and ValueCentered Surveys provide comprehensive, integrated and actionable outcomes, linking behavior to attributes to consequences to values and emotions to images.

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