Bob Mills, a sales and leasing consultant at Charapp Dodge, stands alongside a Dodge Ram on Wednesday in the dealership's showroom in Natrona Heights. The 2009 Ram has been named a best buy in its category by Consumer Guide.

Dodge continues to have a hit on its hands with the Dodge Ram pickup truck.

Not only do Butler County dealers sing the praises of the 2009 newly redesign pickup, but so do national car and truck experts.

One of the 2009 Ram's multiple awards, said Jim Matthes, general sales manager for Charapp Dodge in Natrona Heights, is Consumer Guide's Best Buy for 2009 in the Large Pickup category.

The Ram's redesign is one reason for the award, including a comfortable cab and luxury style, Matthes said, but with good gas mileage at 18 miles per gallon city and 20 miles per gallon highway.

Jobie Glessner, general manager of the Cranberry Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge dealership on Route 19 in Cranberry Township, added the Dodge Ram's new independent rear suspension — the first-in-segment coil-spring, five-link rear suspension fitted to a solid rear axle — means a "smoother ride on Pennsylvania's pot-holed roads."

Glessner also said customers like the 390 Hemi engine and the large crew cab the truck features.

The 2009 Dodge Ram includes the truck industry's first-and-only RamBox cargo system that includes weatherproof, lockable, lighted, drainable storage bins, bed dividers, and a cargo rail system.

The Ram 1500 Crew Cab recently earned 5-star ratings for driver and front-passenger protection in a frontal crash, the highest ratings in the U.S. government's safety crash test program.

In addition to winning Consumer Guide's award, the Dodge Ram has picked up 10 other awards, including: Cars.com — Work Truck of the Year; Truckin' magazine — Truck of the Year; Ward's AutoWorld — Ward's 10 Best Engines of 2009, and Automobile Journalists Association of Canada — Best New Pickup.