2014 Ram 2500 4wd Mega Cab Lone Star-edition on 2040-cars

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Tesla Model 3: Finding perspective

The reveal of the Tesla Model 3 this week was one of the biggest automotive events of the year. The car attracted 180,000 pre-orders in just 24 hours, gave the company's stock a jolt, and set Tesla on a more ambitious growth path for the rest of the decade. It's a staggering feat considering the Model 3 is one car, from one company that's just 13 years old. It begs the question: Is all of this attention warranted? Barclays analyst Brian Johnson urged investors to "take a deep breath," and be mindful that the Model 3 won't likely arrive in "significant volume" until possibly 2019. Though Tesla promises the car will launch in 2017, Johnson points to the slow rollouts of the Model S sedan and Model X crossover as cautionary notes. The potential extended wait didn't temper the enthusiasm of Tesla's faithful, and many put down deposits before they had even seen the car. Johnson compared the hype to a "Black Friday atmosphere," saying the social media buzz went from "insane mode to ludicrous mode," in a riff on Tesla's driving features. Still, the Barclays analyst was admittedly "curmudgeonly" when it came to Tesla's stock price. In comparison, Morgan Stanley called Tesla's shares undervalued, and expects the Model 3 to be the start of cataclysmic changes in the industry. "We have said for some time that, despite its many worthy accomplishments, Tesla had not yet truly disrupted the auto industry," according to a report led by Adam Jonas. "We are now getting a feeling that this may be starting to change." The Model 3 offers a range of 215 miles on a single charge, can sprint to 60 miles per hour in less than six seconds, and has room for five. It will also be capable of charging on Tesla's supercharging network and features the company's autonomous technology. With a starting price of $35,000 before incentives, it's arguably the most futuristic car that's attainable for a wide swatch of American buyers, though the Chevy Bolt EV is comparable (200-plus-mile range, $37,500 MSRP before incentives) in many ways. The Model 3's attainability is what partially drove the hype. It was like Elon was whispering: Y ou can own the future. The question is now: Can Tesla deliver? If it does, this early fanfare will be richly deserved. News & Analysis News: Top Gear appears to be in turmoil as Chris Evans works four hours a day. Analysis: Is this a soap opera or a car show?

Toy, hauler | 2017 Ram Power Wagon Video Review

When you're bouncing along in a 2017 Ram 2500 Power wagon over the washboard silt roads of the Valley of Fire, just outside of Las Vegas, it's a bit of a shock to realize how comfortable you are. We'd driven a convoy of brand new Ram Power Wagons out from a city improbably emerging from the scrub into a land of red rocks and sand. Inhospitable territory full of thrill-seekers in Jeeps and four-seat ATVs, flinging sand and bouncing their tall signal flags about. The varied terrain, transitioning from hard-packed silt to rocky paths to deep sand at any point, provided the perfect environment to see if the Power Wagon can live up to its billing – check out the video above to see how it handled the gnarly stuff. Back in 1945, the Power Wagon and comfort were not really thought of together. Like the Jeep, these thoroughly mil-spec trucks were heading home from overseas, where they'd served as weapon carriers and utility rigs. The all-business truck was a bit like a heavy-duty Willys Jeep with a bed, and instead of the convertible military cab, Dodge bolted on a pre-war civilian cab. They had more amenities than a tractor (windows! A roof!), but no one would call 'em coddling. The advertising of the day shows them digging ditches, plowing fields, erecting utility poles. You could use the rear power take-off to run a portable sawmill – pure denim and dust work. The brief has clearly evolved a bit – the PTOs disappeared as the truck evolved from a dedicated platform for serious work to more of a heavy-duty trim on Ram's conventional pickups, and then disappeared for a quarter-century until reemerging in 2005. To put it succinctly, the latest 2500 Power Wagon has off-road chops that pass the laugh test, and real working payload and towing capabilities, all in one package. We didn't tow or haul with the Power Wagon on this trip, but we really didn't have to. The Power Wagon is mostly standard 2500 fare: solid axles front and rear, taking power from the familiar truck-spec 6.4-liter Hemi V8. It'll haul up to 1,510 pounds in the bed, and tow up to 10,030 pounds. We know these trucks; they do this kind of work easily and without complaint. What's surprising is how well it does the work without much compromise. As you can see in the video above, the ride's as stiff as on a normal 2500 pickup, maybe a hair stiffer, but plenty tolerable for a long haul on the interstate.

Current Ram 1500 sticking around into 2019

Ram is preparing a big redesign of its 1500 pickup truck for 2018, but for fans of the current truck, don't feel like you need to rush out to grab one – it's sticking around until 2019. That's according to Automotive News, whose sources spoke on condition of anonymity. The move allows Ram to take a two-prong approach to truck sales, offering the current model as a low-cost option for fleet users while pushing retail consumers toward the new pickup. The factories that build the 1500 today – Warren, MI, and Saltillo, Mexico – will assemble around 200,000 trucks in 2018 and 65,000 in 2019 before Ram phases out the older model. Meanwhile, FCA's Sterling Heights, MI, plant will screw together 325,000 redesigned 1500s starting in 2018, with production to increase to over 400,000 units in 2019. While Ram refused to comment when AN reached out, FCA CFO Richard Palmer hinted at the move during a conference call last week, saying "having more pickup capacity will allow us also to satisfy the fleet customers' demand on pickup, which we struggle to do today because we favor retail in the U.S. and Canadian volume, which have higher margins." "As we realign our capacity, we're going to be able to continue to work on improving our fleet mix," Palmer said. Beyond making a play for fleet buyers, continuing to build the current 1500 guarantees dealerships maintain a solid inventory as Ram ramps up production of the new truck. You can check out leaked images of the redesigned Ram here. According to Automotive News, the new truck won't use aluminum, like the Ford F-150, relying on steel instead. FCA's 3.6-liter V6 will provide thrust along with turbocharged options, although there's no mention of the venerable 5.7-liter Hemi V8. Don't read too much into that, of course – we'll eat our shoe if the 1500 ditches the popular eight-cylinder. It's still too early to predict when the 2019 Ram 1500 will debut, but it will likely happen in 2018 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit or perhaps at a non-auto show event. Related Video: