Far from being the curiosity that people would need coaxing toward, the 2014 EcoDiesel has received some good press thanks to dazzling reviews, great fuel mileage numbers, and the promise of competent towing power and capacity. Is it any surprise then that the truck has received thousands of pre-orders in rapid succession?

Ram reports that between February 7-10, its initial allocation for the exclusive powertrain was filled to over 8,000 orders, making the innovative new pickup account for more than 50 percent of the total order mix. Ram points to the recent fuel efficiency findings from the EPA, which placed the truck’s average fuel consumption at 28 MPG, as the biggest motivator behind the overwhelming enthusiasm from truck buyers.

Yet what’s even more surprising is that more than double the corporate average of buyers have already paid in full the price of these 1500s, admittedly without ever having taken one for a test drive. It’s a strong show of support for an as-yet rookie motor vehicle, but the positive word-of-mouth has done some great things for Ram these past few months.

Said Reid Bigland, president and CEO of Ram Truck: “The Ram 1500 is the only half-ton truck available with a diesel, so we see this as incremental business by having the only truck that can offer best-in-class fuel economy of 28 MPG combined with 9,200 lbs. of towing capacity. It’s every truck manufacturer’s dream to have this kind of initial order demand for a product. Fuel economy is the number one request of half-ton buyers and the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel delivers without compromising capability.”

It looks like things are looking pretty bright for the truckmaker. We’ll have to see for ourselves just how well the EcoDiesel performs, but if the numbers are to be believed–240 hp, 420 lb.-ft. of torque, and 9200 lbs. towing capacity–chances are good that this truck can talk the talk and walk the walk.