2013 Ram 1500 Slt on 2040-cars

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Chrysler recalling 280k Dodge Ram 1500 pickups over axle seizures

Following a June investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will be recalling 280,000 Dodge Ram pickups from model year 2005. The issue, NHTSA told The Detroit News, centered on a loose pinion nut, which could cause the rear axle to seize and, potentially, the driveshaft to detach. The affected vehicles were built between January of 2004 and August of 2005, while of the 280,000 trucks, only 257,000 were sold in the US market. According to The News, the recall will begin on February 13, and will see owners report to dealerships to have "a retention feature" added to the pinion nut.

Sunday Drive: Taking a gaze into the automotive crystal ball

Mankind has long been fascinated by the future. So it makes sense that this past week's top stories were all about cars, trucks, and SUVs that won't be hitting the market until the 2019 model year. And right at the top of the list is the Ram 1500. We've come to know Ram as the truck maker that styles its pickups with cues cribbed from big rigs, but that look has slowly evolved over time into something uniquely its own. The next Ram 1500 continues this trend, with a newly refined look that we can't wait to see in person. Up next is the 2019 Chevy Silverado. Pickup trucks have been, continue to be, and will remain the best-selling vehicles in America. And General Motors is a leader in the field, with two distinct offerings with which to entice buyers, one from the bread-and-butter Chevrolet brand and one wearing the slightly more upscale GMC badge. The Chevy looks to get LED lighting elements for 2019, which ought to keep the truck from looking dated when compared to the Ford F-150 and the previously mentioned Ram 1500. From there we move past pickup trucks and into SUVs and sedans. The 2019 Jeep Cherokee looks to get toned down a bit with its next refresh, and the '19 BMW 3 Series continues its slow evolutionary journey at the top of its aspirational sales pedestal. Finally, spy shots give way to official production reveals for the 2019 Audi A7 and Polestar 1. This pair of European luxury cars won't compete with one another – one is a rakish hatchback and the other a sports coupe – any further than for the eyeballs of our readers, but both proved popular enough to merit inclusion in our weekly roundup. As always, tune in to Autoblog next week for a front-row seat to all the happenings worth following in the automotive industry. 2019 Ram 1500 spotted without the classic crosshairs 2019 Chevy Silverado spied with new LED accents 2019 Jeep Cherokee reveals a much more normal face 2019 BMW 3 Series spy shots reveal production lights, new interior details 2019 Audi A7 revealed: More torque, refined styling Polestar 1 First Look | The 600 horsepower hybrid Scandinavian Green Audi BMW Chevrolet Jeep RAM Volvo Truck Hatchback SUV Future Vehicles Hybrid Luxury Performance Sedan sunday drive polestar 1

AEV Ram Prospector First Drive

Honestly, the trails that rise above Southern California's Rowher Flats aren't much of a challenge. You can still get yourself hurt if you do something stupid, but the trails are mostly hard-packed dirt with some rocks strewn about. No boulder crawling or river forging here. It's a place that's almost beneath the mighty abilities of the AEV Prospector Ram trucks I'm here to drive. American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) has long been in the business of building seriously capable Jeep Wranglers. Wranglers built for crossing Australia or crawling across the Moab. Wranglers converted into pickups and Wranglers done up in fancy Filson duds. They all have the kind of rugged good looks that project positive sunshine competence vibes about the people who drive one. That's no matter how big a dork the doofus behind the wheel actually is. And now AEV has moved on to modifying and producing parts and complete packages for Ram pickups. Because, why not? Actually AEV has been twisting on Rams since at least 2013 when it produced a Ram concept truck for that year's SEMA Show in Las Vegas. And what happened in Vegas hasn't stayed in Vegas. Sitting on the dust at one of the Rowher Flats assembly areas, AEV's two 2015 Ram "Prospectors" look as if they're making the horizon itself cower. It's not like we're going to be scuba diving today, but the snorkels that snake up each truck's right A-pillar are enough to make even the most jaded off-roader slobber in naked desire. These things don't just look great, they look epic – if Homer were around he'd put aside his Iliad to write up this drive. Reaching back into Dodge truck history – when Dodge trucks were Dodges – AEV has adopted the Prospector name for its modified Rams. Back in the late 1970s and through the 1980s Prospector had been used on various Dodge trim and equipment packages fitted to pickups, vans, and the Ramcharger large SUV. Yes, there were even Prospector packages for the Mitsubishi-made D50 small pickup and the Rampage pickup based on the front-drive Omni. The shovel and pick Prospector logo on the AEV vehicles comes straight from those old Dodges. The gray Ram 2500 crew cab is riding on 37-inch tall BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/As surrounding AEV's 17-inch Salta HD wheels and is powered by Ram's latest 6.4-liter Hemi V8. Rated at 410-horsepower by the factory, the gasoline-burning 6.4 Hemi is almost a throwback to the days before every three-quarter-ton and one-ton pickup owner became obsessed with turbodiesels.