2024 Ram 5500 Tradesman on 2040-cars

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Chevy ramping Silverado incentives after Ram beats it in March

General Motors isn't losing the pickup war without a fight. With the Silverado narrowly falling to third place in the truck segment in March, Chevrolet has announced that it is going to continue its Truck Month pricing through the end of April. In addition to those incentives, some Chevy pickups are going to see even deeper discounts, according to Automotive News.
General Motors Sales Reporting spokesperson Jim Cain says the reason for extending the sale is simple. "It worked," he said. The Silverado's sales were up 6.8 percent for March, which is a big win for a truck with sales down 7.6 percent for the year so far. "Last month we handily beat expectations," he said. Cain attributed the success to having "a simple, straightforward message." He also claimed that the pickup was also able to see growth with lower incentives than competitors. With the weather warming and the economy improving, he thinks the Silverado has the momentum to improve further.
The Truck Month incentives knock as much as $7,541 off some Silverado models, and Chevy is planning even more incentives on top of that in April. "Okay - time to take the gloves off and go back and take back what rightfully belongs to every one of you ... Silverado truck sales," said an email sent to dealers from GM's district manager in the Northeast, received by Automotive News, announcing lower lease rates.

Ram recalling over 43k Promaster and C/V Tradesman vans for separate issues

Ram has announced that it will be recalling over 43,000 vehicles as part of a pair of campaigns targeting its two main cargo haulers, the ProMaster and C/V Tradesman.
In the case of its newer offering, the 2014 ProMaster, 21,470 vehicles are being recalled so that Ram dealers can replace the head restraints. The current restraints apparently leave too large of a gap between it and the occupant's head. Of the over 21,000 vans being recalled, nearly 19,000 are in the United States while the remaining 2,500 are in the barren tundra we call Canada.
For the old C/V Tradesman, meanwhile, its recall has been prompted by an investigation into the side-curtain and thorax airbag sensors. It was found that on vehicles lacking rear climate and audio systems in the back, a gap where these components should be could "generate a resonance" that could affect the sensors' operations. 22,115 vehicles are affected, covering model years 2013 through 2015. As with the ProMaster, the vast majority of vehicles are found in the United States, while just under 4,000 are in Canada.

Ram/Jeep Ecodiesel engine has Maserati roots

The 3.0L turbodiesel V6 in the 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel earned a slot on Ward's Automotive 2014 10 Best Engines for its power, fuel economy and refinement. In a piece looking at how Fiat subsidiary VM Motor developed the engine, Ward's also makes note of the fact that the same lump goes in diesel versions of the Maserati Quattroporte and Ghibli. They're tuned a bit differently, naturally, with the QP putting out 275 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque, the smaller, lighter Ghibli making do with the same number of horses but a lower torque output of 420 lb-ft.
The 240 horsepower and 420 pound-feet put out by the oil-burning six-cylinder in the Ram was tamed with a host of advances, but it appears that Ram hasn't tamed demand: the initial allocation of 8,000 engines was spoken for within three days of the truck going on sale. Head over to Ward's to read the story of how Ram worked out the equation light-duty-pickup + diesel = success.