Dodge Ram 1500: the pickup as Prozac

The complaints in Ram's past were all related to drift and neglect, an ongoing starvation of investment in engineering, design and materials. Complacency, in other words. The interiors looked and felt cheap, the cabins were loud and booming, and the structural rigidity was substandard, which you could tell because the cargo box shook like a wet dog when you went over rough roads. The Ram's lameness -- a beautiful word, so summary in its judgment -- seemed all the more acute given the steadily improving quality of the Ford, Chevy, Toyota and Nissan full-sizers.

The 2009 Dodge Ram answers with a well-fitted interior stitched together from premium materials; touches of tasteful bright-work; smart, legible electronic readouts; beefier switches and knobs; sculpted seats; and cubbies and storage bins galore.

Up-budget buyers can tick boxes for 10-speaker sound system, Sirius satellite radio, built-in Wi-Fi and a rear seat entertainment system. Among the tricks this pony can do: With the remote start feature, you can fire the truck up on a cold day and it will automatically turn on the heated seats and heated steering wheel. People have been elected governor of Minnesota for less.

The rear-seat in-floor storage bin, one Dodge engineer said, is large enough to hold 10 12-ounce beverages with ice. In other words, beer. This seems like a highly inappropriate metric, and I approve.

The 1500 Ram comes in five trim levels (from base ST to Laramie) and three cab configurations (regular, quad and crew); two bed lengths (6-foot-4 and 8-foot); a choice of engines -- a 3.7-liter, 210-horsepower V6; a 4.7-liter, 310-hp V8 and the heavy-breathing 5.7-liter, 390-hp "Hemi" -- rear-wheel drive; and four-wheel drive.

The base ST with the V6 and four-speed automatic costs $22,420. The Crew Cab Laramie starts at $41,520. If you load it to the gills you can get to $50,000, but that's before the crazy employee pricing, local discounts and cash incentives for credit union and military personnel. By my calculation, our $48,555 test truck would enjoy an $8,479 discount in California.

Truck makers are vying to see which can come up with the coolest storage options for the cargo bed. Ram's entry in this competition is the RamBox storage system, which comprises large and lockable storage compartments built into the side of the cargo box. These are terrific.