Driven: 2009 Dodge Ram 2500 Heavy Duty Bluetec - TheCarConnection.com

On quiet residential streets, the 2009 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty is about as far from subtle as you can get. and in the week we had the Ram, we actually looked down on a Suburban that was just ahead of us at the traffic light, and feared all week of sideswiping another vehicle with the huge, protruding towing mirrors. I'm a lanky six-foot-six and had to heft myself -upward- to get into the truck. And on a trip to the park, a worried-looking woman minding the grandkids on an adjacent side street actually asked politely if I would park that behemoth in front of another house, please. Perhaps she'd heard us around the block because we had just been playing with the "jake brake"—that's a big-rig-style brake that effectively increases engine braking—delivered up with a little extra clatter. The engine, which was introduced for 2008, makes 350 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque and is much, much cleaner-burning than the engine that preceded it. The Cummins engine costs $6,100 on the 2009 Ram 2500 (a 5. 7-liter Hemi V-8, making... It's not so surprising that the huge truck and huge engine were most at home on the highway, when the turbo could be kept at least at a simmer. Source: www.thecarconnection.com