Chrysler accepted last week the award for “Interior of the Year” for the Dodge Ram pickup truck from Ward's. The Ram beat out competitors such as the Ford F-150, Toyota Tundra and Chevrolet Silverado in the popular-priced truck category for the award.

“The Dodge Ram is important for us as a company because it really stands for a new generation of vehicles, and a new generation of interiors,” Klaus Busse, Director - Interior Design & Strategy for Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, told the Chrysler blog after accepting the award. Busse (pictured above) said that the award validates Chrysler's new Advance Interior Design Studio, which was created to improve the quality, fit and finish and craftsmanship on all future Chrysler LLC vehicles.

The Ram is the first full product from the studio, to be followed up shortly with the all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Busse said that working closely with parts suppliers, and bringing them early in the process, is key for a quality interior. “Our supplier partners were instrumental in coming forward very early in coming up with good ideas on how to make a premium interior but at an affordable cost. What is interesting is that the interior of the 2006 Dodge Ram and the 2009 Dodge Ram are not that much different in cost."

“When you bring in a partner late in the program it doesn’t allow you to innovate anymore because you just have to focus on executing. So if you want to do something new, innovate in terms in terms of finding a new process that keeps the cost of the program down, you’ve got to start early in the program, otherwise it becomes too much of a gamble,” he said.

Hopefully, this will be the start for many future interior awards for Chrysler Jeep and Dodge vehicles.