2014 Ram 1500 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Chrysler called out over lackluster Ram Runner by racer who helped develop it

Fans of off-roading and desert blasting might recall that Chrysler offers an aftermarket conversion that can turn a Ram 1500 into a road-legal desert racer, called the Ram Runner. The kit, sold through Mopar, includes some significant suspension upgrades, body tweaks and a brawnier cat-back exhaust for the truck's 5.7-liter V8.
Considering all of this, comparisons with the almighty Ford F-150 SVT Raptor are common. Among the off-road community, that makes these two a sort of Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang for people that prefer driving on dirt. In the Race-Dezert forum, the discussion as to which truck was better was proceeding as normal - Ram fans said their piece and Ford fans said theirs. Then, a man named Kent Kroeker offered up his two cents.
See, Kroeker is a Baja racer, and the man that helped develop the Ram Runner. Despite his association with the truck, though, he had some less than kind words for Chrysler and the Ram Runner.

Ram Truck's Gear Up! hunting series teaches you how to gut a deer

Ram knows that hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts make up a key demographic of its trucks' sales, so late last year it started an Internet hunting video series called Gear Up! on YouTube hosted by a variety of attractive ladies dressed in camouflage. (Ram knows its target audience, eh?).
This series has been going since October, but it caught our eye with a recent episode that gives instructions on how to properly gut (or dress) a deer. There are no graphic images, but Megan (this episode's host) does provide detailed and frank - if slightly surreal - deer-processing tips in a cheerful tone. For example: "Begin sliding your knife up the deer's belly towards its neck" and "sever the final tubes of the rectum." Oh, and this gem: "At this point, you'll need to get a little limber and actually stick your hand and knife up through the hole that is now visible leading into the deer's throat..."
Keep in mind, this is one of the advanced videos, so if you're really trying to learn how to hunt deer, you should start from the earlier, beginner-level videos in this Hunting 101 series. Scroll down if you'd like to learn how to clean a deer carcass Ram-style, and we've even included a few of the other how-to videos (including how to choose a taxidermist!) in this somewhat bizarre lifestyle marketing series.

Ram goes all-in on SAE J2807 tow ratings [w/video]

Thanks to the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), when car shoppers look at horsepower and torque figures on vehicles, they know that all the automakers are calculating them the same way. However, that isn't the case when it comes to truck buyers and max towing capacity ratings because each company figures the value differently. That practice finally changes with the SAE's standardized J2807 system, though, and Ram Truck is the first one to apply the new test procedure to its entire light- and heavy-duty pickup range.
All models of the Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 use the new, standardized rating for the 2015 model year, but buyers might not notice too much difference. According to the company, in 99 percent of cases the max towing weights are unchanged or even improve slightly from last year. That's a strong result compared to the 2015 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra that are seeing few increases but mostly decreases under the new testing procedure.
"For too long, an uneven playing field existed and towing capacities went unchecked. We're happy to be the only pickup truck manufacturer to align with the SAE J2807 towing standard across our pickup truck lineup," said Mike Cairns, director of Ram Truck engineering, in the company's announcement of the new specs.