2014 Ram 1500 Tradesman/express on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Truck Giant Ram May Soon Offer Midsize Pickup | Autoblog Minute

RAM Truck Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video

GM also sheds parts from its pickups to boost payload ratings

The row between Ford and Ram over who boasts the best-in-class tow rating for heavy duty pickups has revealed a number of things. Chief among them is a report that Ford removes items like the spare tire, jack, radio and center console from its vehicles in a bid to lower its base curb weight and therefore keep the truck's gross vehicle weight rating down.
For those that need a refresher, GVWR is the vehicle's curb weight plus its maximum payload. A lower GVWR allows Ford to station its F-450 among the so-called Class III pickups, despite the fact that internally, it has the makings of a more brutish Class IV truck.
Ford explains away these deletions, saying a customer could order their vehicle in such a manner. It has also come to light that Ford is not the only automaker to engage in such practices.

A plea for Ram to build the Hellcat-powered Rebel TRX concept

The Rebel TRX Concept is a high-performance off-roader with a supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V8 that's capable of traveling at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour on rough terrain. There's only one other road-legal machine that has the same off-roading capabilities as the concept – ahem, the Ford F-150 Raptor – and if there's ever been a vehicle that Ram needs to build, it's this one. The market is saturated with pickup trucks of various sizes. Ram itself offers options for consumers looking to tow massive cargo or go off-roading with the Power Wagon and Rebel. But there's also a clear market for the hardcore off-roader, and the Raptor has gone unchallenged for too long. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Ford proved that the market could handle a fast off-road truck with the 2010 SVT Raptor. Demand for the vehicle skyrocketed and after a few years, Ford had to up production from three to five trucks per hour at its Dearborn Truck Plant in 2013. The original V8 model immediately gained stardom for being a purpose-built machine capable of tackling rough terrain at high speeds. The latest 2017 Raptor is shaping up to be a brute in its own right. Gone is the 6.2-liter V8, which has been replaced with a modern twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6. Despite having a much smaller engine than its predecessor, the upcoming Raptor boasts better performance at 450 horsepower and 510 pound feet of torque – up from the V8's output of 411 horsepower and 434 pound feet of torque. With Fox lending a hand with some high-performance shocks and the pickup truck getting various off-roading modes, including one called "Baja," few road-legal machines will be able to match 2017 Raptor when asphalt runs out. Even still, the Rebel TRX concept looks and sounds like it's in a different league. The Rebel TRX concept's design is the perfect combination of speed and looks, which makes it hard to believe that Ram built the concept in just three months, according to an engineer. A higher-up within FCA sent in the demand, and the Ram team obliged with a fully functioning prototype. The Rebel, which Ram has always said is not a Raptor-fighter, can be fitted with the 5.7-liter Hemi V8, while the larger Power Wagon is equipped with the 6.4-liter V8. The supercharged 6.2-liter V8 (the Hellcat engine), as an engineer points out, makes sense in the concept.