Ram 1500 Lone Star celebrates ten years in Texas
Deep in the heart
Texas is big. Everyone pretty much knows that. But few living outside of it truly understand just how big the state really is. If you travel from Beaumont in the east to El Paso in the west and you’ll cover almost 840 miles. That’s further than Salt Lake City to Los Angeles and, if you were in Europe, only 50 miles less than driving from Rome, Italy to Paris, France. And remember, the whole time you’re covering what is, for the most part, flat, featureless prairie; you’re traveling within the confines of just one state!
Texas is also big into oil drilling, oil refining, cattle ranching, farming and construction. Knowing that, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist (although if it did there are plenty of those to be found at the Johnson Space Center south of Houston) to see why most pickup owners in Texas are serious about their trucks. Residents of the Lone Star State are so big on trucks, in fact, that they’ve made their state the biggest single market for pick-em-ups in the U.S. of A.
Ram 1500 Lone Star
Recognizing that fact a decade ago, what is now the Ram Truck brand became the first manufacturer to offer an exclusive edition just for Texans and, in 2002, offered the Ram Lone Star edition exclusively through Dodge new car dealers in Texas.
Since that inaugural edition, Lone Star models of what is now the Ram 1500 have constituted between 30 and 40 percent of the company’s half ton sales in the Texas market. To date, Chrysler’s truck division has sold more than 80,000 of the Texas-only models.
"The Ram 1500 Lone Star was the first pickup truck designed by Texans and built specifically for Texans," said Fred Diaz, President and CEO, Ram Truck Brand and Chrysler de Mexico, a San Antonio native. "Native Texans are very proud to be from the Lone Star State. For the last 10 years, this truck has given us the authentic opportunity to proudly connect Ram with Texas' very proud state motto. It's by far our best-selling Ram truck in Texas."
10th anniversary edition
To mark the marque’s tenth anniversary, the newest version will be the recipient of a number of, shall we say, enhancements – not the least of which will be “new, larger "Lone Star" badges with the prominent red, white and blue Texas state emblem on its front doors and tailgate. The new badges are part of an exclusive appearance package and replace the "Ram 1500" badging that accents most other Ram models.”
On the inside, Katzkin-covered seats will feature “stylized Texas/Lone Star logos” with additional bling coming in the form of the aforesaid logo emblazoned on the glove box with floor mats embroidered with the Lone Star name.
Available only in a Crew Cab configuration with front buckets, paint choices will include black, silver, white, gray, blue and two hues of red – cherry and flame.
The lone engine for the Lone Star will be a 5.7-liter HEMI with fuel-saver technology, delivering 390 horsepower and 407 lb. ft. of torque mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission.
Buyers deep in the heart will also get a 115V auxiliary power outlet, 20-inch alloys, Class IV hitch, 10-way power driver's seat, fog lamps, halogen headlamps, leather-wrapped steering wheel, rear 60/40 split folding seats and steering-wheel-mounted controls for the audio system.
New car prices
The package price is $1,500, with Lone Star new car prices starting at $36,440 and will make its appearance at Texas Ram dealers towards the end of June this year.
