Description: Full-Size Light-Duty Pickup Truck
Base MSRP: $20,900 - $51,810
Invoice Price: $18,554 - $45,602
Where built: USA

Dodge's light-duty 1500 (half-ton) pickups show a two-door Regular Cab or four-door Quad Cab, and both come in two-wheel-drive (2WD) and four-wheel-drive (4WD) traction. Entry issue is called ST, but there's also Sport, SLT and deluxe Laramie. The series scores a revised structure for 2006, with new suspension and body mounts added to improve the ride quality and handling.

A 3.7-liter V6 rated at 215 hp is the standard engine on 2WD Ram Regular Cab and 2WD Quad Cab coupled to a Getrag six-speed manual shifter. The Getrag six-speed also works with Ram's 4.7-liter Magnum V8, which produces 235 hp. Ram's new engine option for 2006 is 5.7-liter HEMI Magnum V8 racked to 345 hp but working with a multi-displacement system (MDS) which switches to fuel-saving four-cylinder mode when all of that power is not needed for romping.

Quad Cab Ram now offers a DVD entertainment system.