Worst-kept secret: Ram trucks get right-hand drive treatment for NZ

It has been the motoring industry’s worst-kept secret for the past 10 months. This is what I wrote viagra on June 13 last year: “Right-hand-drive variants of the all-American Ram pick-up trucks are expected to be available at official Fiat Chrysler dealerships in New Zealand and pharmacy Australia from next year. The trucks will be shipped from the US factory as left-hand drives and converted in either New Zealand or Australia.” Yesterday, Fiat Chrysler NZ (FCNZ) confirmed it had been appointed by its parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as the official importer of the Ram truck range for NZ and Australia. The trucks will be converted to right-hand drive in NZ before being officially certified for sale in both countries. FCNZ said in a statement: “This level of certification sets FCNZ above and beyond all other Ram converters and places Ram trucks from FCNZ on a par with all other vehicles sold in Australia and NZ.” The range is expected to include Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 models. They will go on sale in September, when prices and specifications will be revealed. FCNZ didn’t say which NZ company was doing the conversions, but it did viagra say the vehicles would be available in “unlimited numbers.” FCNZ and its contractor have been converting the Ram trucks for some time. Right-hook models have been regularly spotted near the FCNZ main office in Penrose, Auckland.

FCNZ is a joint venture company owned by Australian businessman Clyde Campbell and expat Kiwi Neville Crichton. Said Campbell: “Clearly there is a demand for this type of vehicle in Australia and New Zealand in both the private and commercial markets, with only availability restricting sales. “Our vehicles are being developed with the full blessing of FCA’s Ram division. They have worked closely with our engineers to produce a vehicle that is as close to an official factory right-hand drive vehicle as it can be without have actually run down homemade viagra watermelon the factory production line.” In America, the Ram 1500 double-cab is priced between $US24,620 and $38,775 and offers the only light-duty diesel truck on the viagra generic North American market. It runs a 3.0-litre V6 Ecodiesel oil-burner that generates 560Nm of torque and claimed highway fuel use of 7.7 litres/100km. Maximum braked towing capacity for the Ecodiesel is just over 4 tonne; maximum payload is 736kg. The two petrol engine options in the 1500 are a 3.6-litre V6 and the 5.7-litre V8 Hemi. The 5.7-litre Hemi is also available in the heavy-duty 2500 and 3500, along with a 6.4-litre V8 Hemi and a 6.7-litre Cummings diesel. The heavy-hitting 6.7-litre unit mated to a six-speed automatic Aisin transmission in the 3500 Tradesman variant generates 242kW/1005Nm. Its maximum payload is just under 3 tonne; braked towing capacity is 13.6 tonne.