2013 Ram 1500 Slt on 2040-cars

Auto blog

All hail the Hellephant, Mopar's 1,000-horsepower crate engine

It's shocking to say this, but the all-powerful Dodge Demon looks weak now that Mopar has unleashed the Hellephant. This crate motor makes 1,000 horsepower and 950 pound-feet of torque, and its name is a combination of the nickname for the old 426-cubic-inch Hemi V8 and, obviously, the Hellcat. This monster is a 426-cubic-inch version of the current third-generation Hemi V8 topped by a supercharger similar to what the Hellcat line packs. Everything is cranked up to — or perhaps, past — 11. The engine block is made of aluminum and weighs 100 pounds less than the equivalent iron block. All of the internals are forged. The stroke and bore have been increased. The supercharger produces 15 pounds of boost and displaces 3 liters; more than the 2.7-liter blower on the Demon and the 2.4-liter blower on the Hellcat. And as big and powerful as it is, it will still rev to 7,000 rpm. It's a thoroughly monstrous motor, but shockingly, it won't be that difficult to live with. For one thing, Mopar will offer a complete kit to get the engine up and running, including an engine computer, wiring harness and drive-by-wire throttle. It also runs on 93-octane pump gas. That's especially amazing considering the Demon engine "only" makes 840 horsepower, and that's on race gas with 100+ octane fuel. It also has us wondering what the Hellephant could make on racing fuel. The Mopar folks did say that there's room to add more power. Pricing wasn't announced for the Hellephant engine. The Hellcat crate engine retails at $19,350 directly from Mopar, so it's safe to assume that the Hellephant will go for more. The installation kit with the computer and harness will be an extra charge of likely over $2,000, based on the Hellcat kit. The engine and the kit will be available in the first quarter of 2019. Related Video: Featured Gallery Hellephant Crate Engine SEMA Show Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM Performance dodge demon hellephant

Ram adds 875,000 pickups to tailgate recall now totaling 2.4 million

DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler is adding more than 875,000 Ram pickup trucks worldwide to a series of recalls to fix tailgates that can open while the trucks are being driven. The expansion covers certain Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups from the 2013 through 2018 model years that have power locking tailgates. Affected 2015 through 2017 trucks have 8-foot beds, and the affected 2013, 2014 and 2018 trucks have beds of other sizes and were built before April 1, 2018. Fiat Chrysler says it's not aware of any injuries or accidents caused by the problem. The company recalled about 1.1 million trucks in the U.S. in 2018 for the same problem, and added 410,000 in May of 2019, for a total of more than 2.4 million. Most of the recalled trucks are in the U.S. and Canada. A tailgate tab can fracture and cause the tailgates to unlatch, increasing the risk of cargo spilling onto the road. Dealers will repair the tailgate latch. Owners of the latest batch of recalled trucks will get letters starting around Oct. 18 notifying them to take their trucks to a dealer for service. Fiat Chrysler says the recall expansions came because of reviews of customer data as it monitors vehicles in the field. The company says that all loose cargo in the bed should be secured before driving.

Ram 2500 Power Wagon will be ready to Rebel in 2023

In January, Mopar Insiders acquired spy shots of a couple of prototype 2023 Ram Heavy Duty pickups. One of the development trucks had been fitted with a new set of towing mirrors that were rumored to pack a ton of features. But an olive green Ram 2500 with a camouflaged hood was touted as a brand new model: A Ram 2500 Rebel. MI kept up with spy shots and speculation since, and thanks to an anonymous source who e-mailed an equipment list, received the best evidence yet that there will be an off-road-focused heavy duty Ram on the market soon. Of course, Ram already has the Power Wagon. What's interesting is that the equipment list is for the 2023 Ram 2500 Power Wagon, listing Rebel equipment among the options. The current Power Wagon only offers the 6.4-liter V8 Hemi with 410 horsepower and 429 pound-feet of torque. According to the optional equipment listed, the 2023 Power Wagon would be available with the 6.7-liter inline-six Cummins tubodiesel. The inclusion of the 68RFE six-speed automatic means this would be the lower-output Cummins with 370 hp and 850 lb-ft; the stouter diesel with 420 hp and 1,075 lb-ft is yoked to the Aisin ASC69RC six-speed transmission. With the options all listed together, we're not sure if a buyer would need to choose a Rebel package to get the diesel, or if the Power Wagon could have that, too. Other items include a Rebel-themed instrument cluster, Rebel suspension and active rear leveling, a Sports Performance Hood, and a Rebel badge for ready identification.  Crew Cab with a 6'4" box and four-wheel drive is listed as the only configuration, matching the current Power Wagon; the 1500 Rebel comes in Crew Cab with a 5'7" box and the option of two-wheel drive. The Rebel wouldn't come with the Power Wagon's locking front differential, nor a winch, it seems. However, the standard gross vehicle weight rating is also up to 10,000 pounds. The 2022 Power Wagon is rated at 8,565 pounds, meaning there could be big increases in payload capacity coming for all Power Wagon buyers.  Other included and optional goodies are expected to be available throughout the heavy duty range, like the 12-inch digital gauge cluster and the power telescoping and folding mirrors that bundle supplemental turn signals, auto dimming, blind spot detection, and puddle lights. An introduction could come later this summer when Ram announces the 2023 lineup.