Ram beat everybody to a half-ton diesel pickup for the US, and their EcoDiesel V6 2WD just claimed top honors for fuel economy in the segment with 28-highway MPG and 420 lb-ft of torque.

The 4WD comes in just a hair thirstier at 19/27/22 MPG in city, highway, and combined ratings— still the highest rating available in a half-ton truck with a transfer case.

Chrysler is really trying to dig their heels into the "efficiency" title among pickups. Now that the EPA has confirmed the EcoDiesel's numbers Ram can claim first and second in half-ton fuel economy, having set the record last year with the 25 MPG-highway Pentastar 3.6 V6 that's now number two.

The EcoDiesel uses a completely new block and bedplate, made of lightweight Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI) to shed weight.

A common-rail fuel-injection system called "MultiJet 2" takes a massive degree of variance over how much fuel to inject based on how much power is needed, so I suspect you'd see dramatically different fuel economy figures depending on how an EcoDiesel truck was driven.

A TorqueFlite 8-speed automatic helps the Ram EcoDiesel maintain optimal engine speed, with special attention paid to transmission cooling to maximize efficiency.

Ram's gonna start taking orders on February 7, the truck MSRP'ing at $24,200 plus a $1,195 destination charge. The EcoDiesel/TorqueFlite combo commands a $2,850 premium over a 5.7 HEMI. That includes a transferable five-year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty covering parts and labor, plus three-year, 36,000 mile coverage for everything else.