MotorTrend has named the Ram 1500 TRX its 2021 Truck of the Year®. As voted on by the editors of the automotive publication, the Ram 1500 TRX’s win is the third in as many years for the brand with the Ram 1500 earning the 2019 title and Ram Heavy Duty taking top honors for 2020.
Since becoming a standalone brand more than a decade ago, Ram Truck has captured MotorTrend’s Truck of the Year title six times: 2010, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 and 2021. In the publication’s 71-year history, there has never been a Truck of the Year® winner from the same automaker for three consecutive years.
MotorTrend’s “Of the Year” award recognizes the best vehicles representing exceptional value, superiority in their classes and impact on the automotive scene. This accolade is one of the most coveted automotive industry awards and represents the pinnacle of an extremely competitive segment.
“The all-new 2021 Ram 1500 TRX sets the benchmark for extreme performance pickup trucks and clearly telegraphs the Ram Truck brand’s leadership in the segment,” said Mike Koval Jr., Head of Ram Brand. “In a brutally competitive truck market, earning MotorTrend’s Truck of the Year title for three consecutive years is not only incredibly humbling, but it reaffirms the fact that we have the best light- and heavy-duty trucks on the road today.”
MotorTrend’s “Of The Year” program is open to any all-new or substantially upgraded 2021 model-year vehicles. Contending vehicles are first put through MotorTrend’s full battery of performance tests to evaluate virtually every aspect of each vehicle. All competitors are then evaluated on three separate courses at a professional automotive test center before finalists are selected.
“Never before has a brand won Car, Truck, or SUV of the Year in three consecutive years,” said MotorTrend Editor-in-Chief Mark Rechtin. “Winning this three-peat speaks to the excellence of the Ram pickup truck platform and the lengths their engineers and designers go to make it so dominant.”
After weeks of testing conclude, the judges determine which vehicles will be given “Of the Year” titles. The winners are not chosen from a direct comparison against other finalists, but instead a result of how each contender measured against the award’s six criteria: design advancement, engineering excellence, efficiency, safety, value and performance of intended function.
A full report on MotorTrend’s comprehensive testing will be featured on MotorTrend.com and in the February 2021 issue of MotorTrend.
