Just in: Our new Ram 1500 pickup is tons of truck

What's more fun than a celebrating a long weekend with such American icons like a pickup truck and a corndog? Both are incredibly popular American inventions. New at our track is one of the top contenders--a four-wheel-drive Ram 1500 "Big Horn" crew cab model. We already think it's tons of fun.

Of course, it's not light and lively sports car fun. (It weighs almost 5,500 lbs.!) But it packs a wallop of an engine. Ours has the 295-hp, 5.7-liter V8 that gets to breathe through a cool-looking and sweet-sounding dual exhaust system. However, the big deal for the new model year is a new eight-speed automatic. We're hoping that these extra gears improve the big beast's fuel economy; the last Hemi-powered Ram we tested delivered a measly (but competitive) 14 mpg overall.

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What sets the Ram apart from other trucks is the coil-spring rear suspension. It did wonders for improving ride comfort from our last model, transforming it from delivering a washboard-rough ride to being one of the more civilized pickup trucks, without a lively rear axle.