2012 Dodge Ram 3500 4x4 Lone Star Diesel Dually 24k Mi Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Auto journo learns hard way that new vehicles burn differently than old ones

Terry Box, a writer for the Dallas Morning News, was tootling down the Dallas North Tollway in a Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn pickup after work and enjoying the ride. Box thought the $53,335, option-filled press loaner had been "flawless - very serious competition for anything built by Ford or Chevy." And then, for reasons that still aren't clear, something in the engine compartment caught fire and the Ram cremated itself on the shoulder of an off-ramp.
Box tells the story and it isn't an indictment of the truck, but a cautionary tale about how new vehicles don't burn like the old ones did - and why not to go back for your gym bag. It could also be a kind reminder about what kind of safety gear everyone should keep in their cars. Click the link to read the whole piece.

The Ram Macho Power Wagon concept is totally in your face with its cool rack system

The Ram brand isn't being very subtle with this year's SEMA concept. It's called the Macho Power Wagon, and it's painted in Macho Mango. Yeah, it's for dudes. We apologize if you start hearing a Village People song in the back of your head. This bigger, badder Ram is a throwback to the Macho Power Wagon of the late 1970s. Along those lines, it bears the retro, vertical Power Wagon graphics that line the C-pillar, and it also has vintage-style eight-spoke beadlock wheels inspired by its '70s namesake. Those wheels are shod in huge 37-inch tires, which fit thanks to a four-inch suspension lift, and custom, conceptual fender flares. View 20 Photos The truck is powered by the normal Power Wagon's 6.4-liter V8, rather than the crazy TRX concept's supercharged Hemi, and it has the stock front winch. This Ram also sports quite a few concept parts besides the wheels and fender flares. Starting at the front and moving rearward, the Macho Wagon gets custom bumpers with skid plates and tow hooks, a new hood with big heat extractors, an LED light bar, a roof rack, single-piece running-boards, and five-inch exhaust tips. There's one more custom piece in back. Immediately behind the C-pillar is a sport hoop, under which hides another hoop that can slide along tracks on the bed. These hoops together are called the Ramrack, and when the second hoop is moved back along the bed, it works together with the cab's roof rack to create a long utility rack. It's a thoroughly clever way of adding practicality without sacrificing appearances. We would love to see something like this reach production, since it could be very handy on quad cab pickups with short beds, allowing them to carry long objects without having to drop the tailgate to get them to fit. Because there's nothing macho about that. Related Video:

Huge, pricey trucks haul jobs and profits for the Detroit Three

DECATUR, Texas — Mickey McMaster is on his 12th pickup truck. The 61-year old farm equipment dealer in Decatur, Texas, two weeks ago treated himself to a 2019 GMC Denali for around $69,000 — a reward for long hours at work. "For me this is the Cadillac of trucks, it's a real luxury vehicle," McMaster said. "I've worked my way up to afford a truck like this and it shows that I've earned it." McMaster is the kind of customer General Motors Co is banking on as it plans to add 1,000 jobs at a plant in Flint, Michigan that will build a new generation of its largest pickups. Demand from Texas and other heartland states for big pick-ups is providing a lifeline to many workers the No. 1 U.S. automaker is laying off at plants elsewhere. The Detroit Three automakers and thousands of their U.S. workers are counting on customers like McMaster to keep buying bigger and more luxurious pickup trucks even if overall U.S. vehicle demand weakens this year, as most analysts predict. At Flint, GM will build a new generation of its heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierras, including luxury models that are some of the most profitable vehicles on the planet. GM, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's Ram division own the segment and are each doubling down with new or redesigned models launching this year. Sales of heavy-duty pickups in the United States have grown to more than 600,000 vehicles a year, up more than 20 percent since 2013, according to industry data. Prices for luxury models can easily top $70,000. GM on Tuesday celebrated the launch of a new generation of heavy-duty GMC and Chevrolet pickups at the assembly plant in Flint, Michigan, that is now building all such trucks for the company. At the same time that GM is laying off thousands of U.S. workers and planning to shutter five North American factories, Flint is hiring. The plant runs on three daily shifts, six days a week. As the new model's assembly system ramps up, the plant's capacity will increase by more than 25 percent, plant manager Mike Perez told Reuters. The Flint plant plans to add 1,000 workers, more than half of the 1,500 factory workers who have asked to transfer from plants GM has targeted for shutdown as part of CEO Mary Barra's restructuring plan. "We're bringing in 50 to 100 people every week," said Perez. Workers last week were still finishing the job of retooling the Flint factory to build the new heavy-duty trucks as part of a $1.5 billion investment project.