2014 Ram 1500 Tradesman/express on 2040-cars

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Who are Mike Manley, Louis Camilleri, and Suzanne Heywood?

MILAN – Fiat Chrysler aid on Saturday that boss Sergio Marchionne, 66, would not be returning to work because he was gravely ill. In addition to being FCA chief executive, Marchionne was also CEO and chairman of luxury sports car brand Ferrari and chairman of truck and tractor maker CNH Industrial, which were spun off from FCA in recent years. Following is a brief summary on the executives who have been appointed to replace him in the various roles: MIKE MANLEY The 54-year-old Briton picked to become the FCA's new CEO has been leading the group's top brand Jeep since 2009, first as Jeep President and CEO at Chrysler and then as FCA's Jeep head. In 2015 he was also appointed head of the Ram brand. Under his tenure, Jeep turned into a global brand becoming, together with Ram, FCA's profit engine. Jeep sold nearly 1.4 million cars last year compared with less than 338,000 in 2009. Manley had worked as DaimlerChrysler's head of network development in Britain since 2000, having earlier worked for several years in car dealership. At Chrysler, he headed product planning and all sales activities outside of North America and then became the group's chief operating officer for Asia and the lead executive for the international activities outside of NAFTA. LOUIS CAMILLERI The new Ferrari CEO was already a board member at the luxury sportscar maker before his latest appointment. He is also the chairman of Philip Morris International, where he also held the job of CEO from 2008 to 2013. Born in 1955, Camilleri had joined Altria Group, which controls Philip Morris, in 1978 holding various positions until he became chief financial officer in 1996 and then CEO in 2002. Camilleri was also chairman of Kraft Foods from 2002 to 2007. Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat wished Camilleri luck on Twitter saying he was proud to have "a bit of Malta in Ferrari" thanks to the new CEO, who was born in Egypt to Maltese parents. SUZANNE HEYWOOD The new, British-born chairwoman of CNH Industrial has been since 2016 the managing director of EXOR, the holding company through which the Agnelli family controls FCA. Heywood, 49, started her career at the British Treasury and then joined McKinsey in 1997, leading for many years the consultancy firm's global service line on organization design. She eventually became a senior partner there. Heywood sits on the board of The Economist, which is controlled by EXOR, and the board of the Royal Opera House, where she is also deputy chair.

2022 Ram 1500 Review | Still great, but is it still best?

Things have gotten interesting. The 2022 Ram 1500 remains every bit the exceptional pickup it's been since being completely redesigned three years ago. From the humble Tradesman all the way up to the indulgent Limited (with the stupefying Ram TRX on its own high-octane plane of existence), the Ram is a thoughtfully designed truck with distinctive features and a compelling lineup of build combinations. It satisfies the nuts-and-bolts capability requirements of a serious truck, while boasting shockingly refined road manners and a knock-out interior. It's a winner. The wrinkle is that this winner's league just got a whole lot harder this season. Last year's updated Ford F-150 saw the addition of a hybrid powertrain Ram can't match, plus chassis refinements that wipe out much of the Ram's previous on-road advantages. For 2022, there's an all-new Toyota Tundra that counts a rear coil-spring suspension (just like the Ram) among its multitude of improvements, while the 2022 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra see their laughable interiors get replaced by what appear to be cabins that are every bit the equal (if possibly better) than the Ram in terms of design, quality and feature content. Apart from the Ford, we have yet to spend enough time with these updated competitors to make any definitive statements about which is now the best (OK, so it's probably not the Tundra), but the Ram definitely remains in the running. Interior & technology   |   Passenger & cargo space   |   Performance & fuel economy What it's like to drive   |   Pricing & features   |   Crash ratings & safety features What's new for 2022? The new Uconnect 5 tech interface is added to the Ram 1500, starting with the Big Horn trim level. It's four times faster and has three times more memory than Uconnect 4 (which was one of the better systems out there as-is). The Trailer Tow Group adds four LED lights directly above the hitch, and a new Clean Air system is now standard, filtering out 95% of air particulates. Then there's the annual Ram tradition of new models and appearance packages, most of which are pictured in the above gallery. The new Laramie G/T and Rebel G/T (pictured above left) are fully described here. The BackCountry, which builds upon the Big Horn/Lone Star, adds a body-color grille surround, black-accented two-tone paint and various black-painted exterior parts. On the other end of the trim level spectrum, the mighty TRX gains an Ignition variant.

FCA to invest $4.5B for new Detroit plant, expanded production at current facilities

We expected some shifts in manufacturing plans as Fiat Chrysler plans to begin electrifying its Jeep brand, but this news bodes well for Michigan. FCA announced today that it would spend $4.5 billion to expand production in the state, including building a new assembly plant in Detroit and increasing capacity at five other facilities in the state. The plan, which FCA says will create nearly 6,500 new jobs, will help to meet increasing demand for Ram and Jeep products, and to electrify Jeep models. $1.6 billion will be set aside to transform the Mack Avenue Engine Complex into a site to build the next generation of Jeep Grand Cherokee, as well as an unspecified, new three-row Jeep model. FCA says this part of the plan will create 3,850 new jobs. FCA is increasing its investment in the Warren Truck plant to $1.5 billion in order to continue building the Ram 1500 Classic, as well as the new Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, creating 1,400 new jobs. FCA says that the new Ram 1500 Heavy Duty will still be built in Saltillo, Mexico. At FCA's Jefferson North facility, the automaker will invest $900 million to upgrade the plant. This site will continue to build the Dodge Durango, as well help build the next Jeep Grand Cherokee. FCA expects this to create 1,100 new jobs. As Jeep plans to electrify models in its SUV lineup, each of the above plants will produce plug-in hybrid versions of the Jeep models produced there, "with flexibility to build fully battery-electric models in the future," the company said in its announcement. "Three years ago, FCA set a course to grow our profitability based on the strength of the Jeep and Ram brands by realigning our U.S. manufacturing operations," said FCA CEO Mike Manley, referring in part to earlier investments in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan. "Today's announcement represents the next step in that strategy," Manley continued. "It allows Jeep to enter two white space segments that offer significant margin opportunities and will enable new electrified Jeep products, including at least four plug-in hybrid vehicles and the flexibility to produce fully battery-electric vehicles." Other investments include $119 million to move production of the 3.0-, 3.2- and 3.6-liter Pentastar engines from Mack I to the Dundee Engine Plant, and $400 million for increased capacity and 80 new jobs at the Sterling and Warren stamping plants. This comes at a time when FCA's U.S.