Ram is celebrating its 10th birthday as a standalone brand.
Prior to 2009 it was a division of Dodge and the large American pickups were marketed as Dodge Ram.
In fact, the current Ram’s head badge is the old Dodge badge (Ram got to keep it and Dodge got a new one after the split).
Prior to the 1970s, Dodge maintained a separate marque called, Fargo Trucks, primarily for use outside the United States.
The Ram Trucks brand was created following Chrysler’s acquisition by Italian automaker Fiat.
Under the new regime Dodge switched to a car-based lineup with all pickup and future heavy-duty trucks to be sold under the Ram brand.
This changeover happened in October, 2009.
At the same time the Fiat Ducato van was adopted and sold as the Ram ProMaster in North American markets, to fill the gap created when Daimler ceased production of the Dodge Sprinter in 2008.
In Australia distribution of the trucks is handled by Ram Trucks Australia, a subsidiary of Ateco Automotive, which converts or “re-manufactures” the vehicles to right-hand drive with the help of Walkinshaw Automotive in a purpose-built factory in Melbourne.
Some vehicles are also imported privately by other companies for conversion, but Ateco is the official importer.
Fiat-Chrysler Australia plays no role in the proceedings.
It does not bring in Ram, nor any Dodge models from the United States — not anymore.
In terms of American models it markets the Chrysler 300 and various Jeeps — the rest of the lineup consists of Fiat and Alfa Romeo models.
Ram “Classic” pickups are made at the Warren Truck Plant in Warren, Michigan and at the Saltillo plant in Saltillo, Mexico.
More recent models are produced at Sterling Heights Assembly in Michigan.
Before closing, we should mention the Martin Luther King Jr speech that the ignorant advertising types twisted into a Super Bowl advert for Ram Trucks.
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