2019 Ram 1500 Named the New England Motor Press Association's (NEMP) Official Winter Truck of New England

The 2019 Ram 1500 has just been named the New England Motor Press Association's (NEMP) Official Winter Truck of New England. This most recent win from NEMPA lends even more credibility to Ram 1500's claim of being America's most awarded half-ton pickup.

The membership of NEMPA is fully-supported by Ram. FCA and Ram host multiple product information sessions per year at NEMPA's Middleboro Massachusetts headquarters and provide ample test vehicles for the members to evaluate. As a member of NEMPA who benefits from Ram's support, I can say from first-hand testing that the Ram 1500 was a big surprise. The ride is clearly best in class and the large infotainment screen option is second only to Tesla in this regard. Ram's infotainment is first in user-friendliness (we recently tested Tesla's system and were less impressed than we expected to be).

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John Paul, NEMPA's president, AAA's Car Doctor, and frequent contributor to iSeeCars and BestRide, summed up the membership's feelings about the Ram, saying, "The 2019 Ram rides like a car, works like a truck and shows winter who is boss."

One thing that may have tipped the balance in Ram's favor is that Ram designed a custom Ram 1500 trim just for New England and other winter-intensive markets. Importantly, Ram put the North Edition 1500 into the hands of journalists to test in real-world winter conditions. And test it we did.

The results were clear. As the only truck on the market with the winter snowflake-rated winter tires, the North Edition edges out other great trucks like the iconic Ford F-150, also a favorite of the NEMPA membership.

Ram and Jeep continue to try hard to make products that are targeted directly at drivers who see serious winter snow and ice. The product managers for Ram and Jeep regularly visit the New England market, speak to private owners about their experiences in this weather, and then make real changes to improve the products they build. This win by Ram is the result of this in-person product research and development by a team that is dedicated to earning not just awards from the motor press, but also the business and respect of vehicle owners.

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Follow John Goreham at @JohnGoreham on Twitter.