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Ram Rebel TRX concept is a Hellcat-powered Raptor-fighter

Ford has proven that fast off-road trucks are awesome. Dodge has proven that ridiculously powerful supercharged V8s are awesome. Combining the two would theoretically be even more awesome. The Ram Rebel TRX, which was unveiled at the Texas State Fair, proves that theory. As you may have guessed from the intro, the Rebel TRX uses a supercharged V8. A version of the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 from the Hellcat twins (and, we suspect, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk). Because of some new calibrations to make the engine more suited for off-road driving, it doesn't make the full 707 horsepower of the Charger and Challenger. But the TRX engine still cranks out 575 horsepower, which is a full 125 more than the new SVT Raptor. That's enough to propel the mega-sized truck to 100 mph in its off road terrain mode. Power is transferred through an 8-speed automatic transmission to all four wheels. At the back, the Rebel TRX has an electronic locking differential. The TRX also gets an updated version of the Ram's 4x4 Performance Control System featuring Normal, Wet/Snow, Off-road and - best of all - Baja modes. The latter mode is the one that will do triple digits through the desert. Of course a sweet powertrain needs chassis and tire upgrades to round out the package, and the Rebel TRX has plenty of improvements. The standard Ram 1500 frame is unchanged, but bolted to it are custom front control arms, internal bypass shocks at each corner and new springs. The changes bring suspension travel to a full 13 inches all around. It also provides enough space to fit massive 37 x 13.5-inch tires. Ram also added six-piston calipers with 15-inch discs at the front and 14-inch discs at the back. Finally, Ram gave all this heavy duty equipment a big, burly wrapper. The body is a full six-inches wider than the standard 1500 with large composite fenders to cover the aforementioned tires. The truck also has a vented and scooped hood based on the Ram HD. This was necessary to help cool the engine and provide vertical clearance for the supercharger. A large sport bar was added to the back and has provisions for carrying a pair of spare tires, plus an LED light bar on top. The truck also has a big steel skid plate up front, and a sweet integrated side-exit exhaust behind the doors. Inside, the truck gets plenty of leather, suede and carbon fiber. The front seats also have racing harnesses attached to a harness bar that spans the B-pillars.

Why 2015 is going to be a huge year for trucks

Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn took center stage to introduce the 2016 Titan last week at the Detroit Auto Show. He spoke of the truck's new features, impressive Cummins V8 diesel engine and the extensive amount of time and money required to build a modern, competitive pickup truck. "We have done all of this because we see opportunity – an opportunity in the unmet needs of today's American truck customers," Ghosn said. He was speaking about the Titan, but his thoughts echo the industry's mindset: When it comes to trucks, find an opportunity and attack. Even with CAFE regulations looming and fickle consumer preferences, investing in trucks is a no-brainer for automakers. Some consumers will always need a truck for their job or lifestyle. And some people will always want one, whether they need it or not. With that in mind, here are four reasons why the pickup-truck sector is more important than ever and poised for growth in 2015. View 24 Photos The Nissan Titan Is Back Okay, it never left, but the Titan hadn't been redesigned since its launch in 2003, and Nissan sold more NV200s than Titans in 2014. It's an understatement to say the truck was languishing. That all changes with the 2016 model. The Titan will come in two variants, a traditional fullsize competitor and the Titan XD. The XD will lead the market launch, and it arrives late this year. It's pitched as a "whitespace" offering, Nissan sales and marketing vice president Fred Diaz said. The idea is to offer something in the general size and price range of a fullsize truck, but also have some of the capability of a heavy-duty truck. The XD uses a fully boxed ladder frame, the chassis design from Nissan's commercial division, and the wheelbase is about 20 inches longer than other Titan models. The XD, which Nissan is calling the flagship of the line, will be the only model with the 5.0-liter Cummins turbodiesel V8. It produces 310 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque, while being able to tow 12,000 pounds. V6 and V8 gasoline models will also be offered on the Titan XD and the standard, non-XD model. When production ramps up, the Titan will be sold with several cabs, beds and trims. New features include trailer sway control, an integrated trailer brake controller, more storage options in the cabin and even laminated front and rear side glass to reduce outside noise. All of this has given Nissan fresh confidence in an area where it admittedly has been lacking. "We can compete," Diaz told Autoblog.

Kia leads J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study for 2022

For the first year ever, Kia leads J.D. Power's annual Vehicle Dependability Study with a score of 145 problems per 100 vehicles. Buick (147) and Hyundai (148) round out the top three. The highest premium brand on the list is Genesis, with a score of 148. It's common for so-called "mass market" brands to lead this particular study, according to J.D. Power, as "premium" brands "typically incorporate more technology in their vehicles, which increases the likelihood for problems to occur" and aren't necessarily built to a higher standard that less-expensive brands. The highest-rated single nameplate is the Porsche 911. It's the third time out of the past four years and the second year in a row that Porsche's quintessential sports car has taken top honors. Porsche as a brand sits in seventh place (162) just behind Lexus (159) and ahead of Dodge (166). At the very bottom of the list is Land Rover with a dismal score of 284; the SUV specialist held the same unfortunate distinction on last year's list. Ram (266), Volvo (256), Alfa Romeo (245) and Acura (244) also performed poorly. The overall industry average score sits at 192 — mass market brands average a score of 190 while premium brands sit 14 points lower at 204. While Tesla is unofficially included in some of J.D. Power's results, the agency says the sample size it has access to for this study is too small to include. As has been the case for the past several years, infotainment systems dominate the list of problems reported by owners. Popular (or unpopular, depending on your point of view) complaints include built-in voice recognition (8.3 PP100), Android Auto/Apple CarPlay connectivity (5.4 PP100), built-in Bluetooth system (4.5 PP100), not enough power plugs/USB ports (4.2 PP100), navigation systems difficult to understand/use (3.7 PP100), touchscreen/display screen (3.6 PP100), and navigation system inaccurate/outdated map (3.6 PP100). While problems with the car's infotainment and technology packages are indeed bothersome, it's important to remember that such issues aren't usually leaving owners stranded with an immovable vehicle like a broken transmission or blown engine would. Culling infotainment complaints from the results would reduce the average problem-per-100-vehicle score by a staggering 51.9 points. The vehicles included in this study are from the 2019 model year. That means owners have had three years to get to know their cars and trucks. It's the 33rd year that J.D.