2022 Ram 1500 Sport on 2040-cars

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2019 Ram 1500 V8 First Drive Review | New pickup has more of everything

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – There's a lot going on with the 2019 Ram 1500: inside, outside, out back, and under the hood. New engine options — two of which feature 48-volt eTorque assistance for extra grunt — and lots of attitude-heavy trims. But our first experience with the '19 Ram is focused on the totality of the truck experience — taking a step back, a deep breath of desert air, and soaking it all in. Ram is staking out a fascinating niche in an incredibly competitive segment. More than anything, this is a very comfortable truck, and that's exactly what it needs to be. Remember, Ram ditched leaf springs for coil springs 10 years ago, figuring a smoother ride outweighed the cost. That didn't make it less truckish, since capabilities also increased. And the same goes here: The suspension geometry is tweaked even further, giving it better control over speed bumps in the Phoenix suburbs as well as the desert washes, guarded by saguaro sentinels. Lest you think this means the 1500 gives up anything on its predecessor, properly equipped the '19 can tow up to 12,700 pounds. Yes, with the 1500 ... not a dual-axle, heavier-grade 3500 or something. Maximum payload is up to 2,320 pounds, too — although that rating is only for a 3.6L 4x2 with a 3.55 rear end. There's got to be a tradeoff, right? Maybe Ram pinched the interior to save weight. Nope — both the Quad and Crew cabs are bigger. The Crew Cab grows more, though, with 4 extra inches of extra wheelbase finding its way into the massive space behind the front seats — there's 45.2 inches of legroom back there, which is about 5 inches more than before. This process of critically assessing the Ram, looking for clues that something was worse or amiss, simply came up empty. The only area the 1500 seems to show weakness is in pricing — generally it's more expensive across the board, by a few hundred dollars, although some of that is offset by favorable options packaging or additional content. And, of course, with increased complexity there's the potential for higher running costs down the road — something we can't evaluate until these trucks have been on the road for years. Back to the present: The conclusion we came to is that Ram simply invested in multiple areas in this truck. A bit of the cost is passed onto the buyer, but not as much as you'd think. To translate from beancounter: Pay a little bit more, get a lot more.

Fiat Chrysler's profit boosted by Ram and Jeep in North America

MILAN/DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler took the market by surprise by sticking to its full-year profit guidance on Wednesday after a strong performance from its Ram pickup truck in North America helped it defy an industry slowdown. Chief Executive Mike Manley, in FCA's first earnings release since a failed attempt to merge with France's Renault, also left the door open to that or other deals. "We are open to opportunity," Manley said on a call with analysts. "I have no doubt why there still would be interest in it," he added, when pressed on what it would take to revive talks with Renault. Manley declined to comment further. FCA last month abandoned its $35 billion merger offer for Renault, blaming French politics for scuttling what would have been a landmark deal to create the world's third-biggest automaker. Manley said a merger was not a must-have and Fiat Chrysler's business plan was strong. The company said it remained confident its adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) would top last year's 6.7 billion euros ($7.5 billion). Given disappointing forecasts from other automakers this earnings season, FCA's confirmation of the outlook sent Milan-listed shares in the Italian-American automaker, whose other brands include Jeep, up over 4%. A broad-based auto sales downturn has rattled the sector, forcing FCA's competitors — including Renault, Daimler and Aston Martin — to cut their sales forecasts after second-quarter results, while U.S. carmaker Ford gave a weaker-than-expected 2019 profit outlook. Japan's Nissan, a long-term partner of Renault, said it would cut 12,500 jobs by 2023 after its earnings collapsed. In the second quarter FCA's adjusted EBIT totaled 1.52 billion euros, versus analysts' expectations of 1.43 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll. FCA's U.S. shipments were down 12% in the second quarter but the group said that the successful performance of its Ram brand resulted in an enhanced share of the large pickup truck market of 27.9%, up 7 percentage points from last year. Adjusted EBIT margin in North America rose to 8.9% from 6.5% in the first quarter, thanks to strong demand for the heavy-duty Ram and the new Jeep Gladiator pickup. Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer also said FCA expected to report up to 10% margins in the region in both the third and fourth quarters.

EV cost burden pushing automakers to their limits, says Stellantis' CEO Tavares

DETROIT — Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said external pressure on automakers to quickly shift to electric vehicles potentially threatens jobs and vehicle quality as producers struggle with EVs' higher costs. Governments and investors want car manufacturers to speed up the transition to electric vehicles, but the costs are "beyond the limits" of what the auto industry can sustain, Tavares said in an interview at the Reuters Next conference released Wednesday. "What has been decided is to impose on the automotive industry electrification that brings 50% additional costs against a conventional vehicle," he said. "There is no way we can transfer 50% of additional costs to the final consumer because most parts of the middle class will not be able to pay." Automakers could charge higher prices and sell fewer cars, or accept lower profit margins, Tavares said. Those paths both lead to cutbacks. Union leaders in Europe and North America have warned tens of thousands of jobs could be lost. Automakers need time for testing and ensuring that new technology will work, Tavares said. Pushing to speed that process up "is just going to be counter productive. It will lead to quality problems. It will lead to all sorts of problems," he said. Tavares said Stellantis is aiming to avoid cuts by boosting productivity at a pace far faster than industry norm. "Over the next five years we have to digest 10% productivity a year ... in an industry which is used to delivering 2 to 3% productivity" improvement, he said. "The future will tell us who is going to be able to digest this, and who will fail," Tavares said. "We are putting the industry on the limits." Electric vehicle costs are expected to fall, and analysts project that battery electric vehicles and combustion vehicles could reach cost parity during the second half of this decade. Like other automakers that earn profits from combustion vehicles, Stellantis is under pressure from both establishment automakers such as GM, Ford, VW and Hyundai, as well as start-ups such as Tesla and Rivian. The latter electric vehicle companies are far smaller in terms of vehicle sales and employment. But investors have given Tesla and Rivian higher market valuations than the owner of the highly profitable Jeep and Ram brands. That investor pressure is compounded by government policies aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The European Union, California and other jurisdictions have set goals to end sales of combustion vehicles by 2035.