2024 Ram 5500hd Tradesman on 2040-cars

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A plea for Ram to build the Hellcat-powered Rebel TRX concept

The Rebel TRX Concept is a high-performance off-roader with a supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V8 that's capable of traveling at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour on rough terrain. There's only one other road-legal machine that has the same off-roading capabilities as the concept – ahem, the Ford F-150 Raptor – and if there's ever been a vehicle that Ram needs to build, it's this one. The market is saturated with pickup trucks of various sizes. Ram itself offers options for consumers looking to tow massive cargo or go off-roading with the Power Wagon and Rebel. But there's also a clear market for the hardcore off-roader, and the Raptor has gone unchallenged for too long. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Ford proved that the market could handle a fast off-road truck with the 2010 SVT Raptor. Demand for the vehicle skyrocketed and after a few years, Ford had to up production from three to five trucks per hour at its Dearborn Truck Plant in 2013. The original V8 model immediately gained stardom for being a purpose-built machine capable of tackling rough terrain at high speeds. The latest 2017 Raptor is shaping up to be a brute in its own right. Gone is the 6.2-liter V8, which has been replaced with a modern twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6. Despite having a much smaller engine than its predecessor, the upcoming Raptor boasts better performance at 450 horsepower and 510 pound feet of torque – up from the V8's output of 411 horsepower and 434 pound feet of torque. With Fox lending a hand with some high-performance shocks and the pickup truck getting various off-roading modes, including one called "Baja," few road-legal machines will be able to match 2017 Raptor when asphalt runs out. Even still, the Rebel TRX concept looks and sounds like it's in a different league. The Rebel TRX concept's design is the perfect combination of speed and looks, which makes it hard to believe that Ram built the concept in just three months, according to an engineer. A higher-up within FCA sent in the demand, and the Ram team obliged with a fully functioning prototype. The Rebel, which Ram has always said is not a Raptor-fighter, can be fitted with the 5.7-liter Hemi V8, while the larger Power Wagon is equipped with the 6.4-liter V8. The supercharged 6.2-liter V8 (the Hellcat engine), as an engineer points out, makes sense in the concept.

Ram establishes new commercial truck division

To better go after the work truck market that its rivals Ford and General Motors have dominated for some time, the Ram Truck brand of Chrysler is starting a new sub-line of work vehicles called Ram Commercial. Rather than carrying the full Ram Commercial name, each model in the new lineup would wear the Tradesman trim level, which means that the Ram 1500 Tradesman is disappearing for retail buyers only and will still be available for commercial or fleet buyers.
The Ram Commercial lineup will consist of current products like the Ram 1500 Tradesman, Ram Heavy Duty Tradesman pickups and chassis cab trucks, and the Ram C/V Tradesman cargo van, but it will also be adding a new full-size van called the 2014 Ram ProMaster Tradesman based off the Fiat Ducato. It also looks like Ram Commercial will be getting a smaller van from the Fiat Professional brand to go up against small cargo-friendly vehicles like the Ford Transit Connect and Mini Clubvan, but we can't tell if this new model is based on the Fiat Scudo, Doblo and Florino.
Ram Commercial buyers will also benefit from the BusinessLink and "On The Job" programs. Both programs make it easier for businesses to purchase and maintain their fleets.

Only in Japan: Dodge van one-make racing series is a thing

Japan seems willing to embrace a level of automotive insanity that many other places lack. Whether it's 1,200-horsepower Nissan GT-Rs blasting through tight, tree-lined mountain roads or advertisements with dances for the Toyota Prius Plug-in, the country definitely has a unique way of expressing a love for autos. The D-Van Grand Prix might be one of our favorite examples yet of crazy Japanese car culture, because the annual, one-make race at the Ebisu Circuit is exclusively for heavily customized Dodge vans. Like many great things, this wonderfully crazy idea came from a little rule breaking. D-Van Grand Prix organizer Takuro Abe was at a track event for a motorcycle racing school, and vans were used to haul the bikes around. During lunch someone came up with the idea for a race. Ignoring that the big machines weren't actually allowed on the circuit, the drivers headed out. The popularity has just grown since then. These days, the racing vans absolutely aren't the stock machines from the event's inspiration. In addition to stripped interiors and track rubber that you might expect, the list of mods for them is a mile long. For every possible advantage, the racers fit them with things like Brembo brakes, cross-drilled rotors, heavy-duty transmissions, and much more. Seeing vans lumbering around the track is very weird at first, but the racers take the competition very seriously. These folks even employ all sorts of little tricks to coax the most from the machines. This is a fascinating motorsports story, but be sure to turn on the subtitles to understand the interviews with the competitors.