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Ram trucks set for export to Australia, New Zealand

Looking across the Pacific at Australia's car-based utes is always a little exciting because it's a glimpse at a land where models not unlike the classic Chevrolet El Camino survive. Now, the Aussies are about to see how the US builds big trucks thanks to a deal to import the Ram 2500 and 3500 into the country. This new market entry comes about thanks to a deal between Ram and the New Zealand importer of FCA products, and once across the ocean, the trucks are converted to right-hand drive. The automaker has "worked closely with our engineers to produce a vehicle that is as close to an official factory right-hand-drive vehicle as it can be without it having actually run down the factory production line," Clyde Campbell, co-owner of Fiat Chrysler New Zealand," said to Drive. The first batch of pickups is set to go on sale to Kiwis and Aussies in October, but further details about them aren't disclosed yet, including available powertrains and price. Drive estimates the Ram 3500 to retail for over 100,000 Australian dollars ($76,000). The trucks are being aimed at those with heavy loads to haul like industrial companies or people with large horse trailers. These might not be the last two Ram models to make it Down Under, either. According to Drive, the New Zealand importer is working to strike a similar deal to bring the Ram 1500 across the Pacific in the future.

Daily Driver: 2015 Ram ProMaster Cargo

Daily Driver videos are micro-reviews of vehicles in the Autoblog press fleet, reviewed by the staffers who drive them every day. Today's Daily Driver features the 2015 Ram ProMaster Cargo, reviewed by Seyth Miersma. You can watch the video above or read a transcript below. Watch more Autoblog videos at /videos. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00:00] I'm in a vehicle that really kind of belies the name of this video series, Daily Driver. This is the 2015 Ram Promaster Cargo Van. I'm in the high roof extended length version of it. You can see that it's got an empty cargo bay behind me. It's a little strange because what I'm doing right now is commuting in it, which is definitely not what this van is made to do. The single strongest attribute of the Promaster [00:00:30:00] package that I found was its maneuverability at low speeds in and around town. That wasn't really something that I expected. I knew from driving the rest of the big vans in this segment. I've been in various Sprinters over the years, although not the brand new one, and I put a lot of miles actually on a Nissan NV. They're all meant to be more nimble than they would seem from their exterior, but the Ram just feels kind of a class above. It turns on a dime. It's really, really easy to [00:01:00:00] pull up close to a curb or another car and be able to just get in and out of a space with very little room around you. I had no problem getting up to speed with the rest of traffic. Merging and passing aren't really an issue. Sometimes you'll hear her struggle a little bit if you really put your foot in and you're trying to get around somebody, but that's just wind resistance and curb weight man, that's too be expected. Another aspect that I was really impressed with with the Promaster is the 3.6 [00:01:30:00] liter V6 engine, both in terms of its performance and its economy. It's putting out out 280 horsepower, 258 pound-feet of torque. It's a huge van. It's not quick. The cargo area back there is really nice. Not only is it tall enough that I can stand up in it. I mean, this vehicle is close to nine feet overall from the exterior dimensions. Access to the cargo area is just as easy as you would hope for too. You got a big, big sliding door over here. The rear doors open completely [00:02:00:00] flat so that it's easy to both maneuver and to get stuff in and out, obviously. The load floor is pretty low. Easily accessible. You've got the Uconnect screen with the nicer head unit.

Chrysler earns $1.7B in 2012, revises product plans for US

Hot on the heels of Ford's earnings announcement for the year that was, Chrysler today reported a 2012 net income of $1.7 billion, up substantially from the comparatively minuscule $183 million profit earned in 2011 when it repaid its US government loans.
Chrysler's good year ended with an excellent fourth quarter that saw net income rise 68 percent from $225 million in 2011 to $378 million. Where are all those extra earnings coming from? Market share, which Chrysler saw increase to 11.4% last year on sales of 1.65 million vehicles. In fact, the Auburn Hills, MI-based automaker out-paced the industry's market growth of 13 percent last year with sales up 21 percent for the year.
The company also revealed an updated product plan for its Chrysler Group and Fiat brands that looks all the way out to 2016. It's an updated version of the plan introduced in 2009 shortly after Fiat took control of the American automaker, and includes such new additions as an Alfa Romeo model, likely the 4C, to be introduced in the US this year, as well five more Alfa models by 2016. Likewise, Fiat will be growing by an additional seven models in the coming few years.