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FCA names Mike Manley head of Ram brand

Sergio Marchionne seems to revel in shifting the numerous portfolios of the senior executives who work under him. Case in point: the latest round of hat-swapping announced by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Several appointments have been made at the top levels of the group, chief among them a new head of the Ram truck brand. That role will now fall to Mike Manley, who will also retain his responsibilities for the Jeep brand and as COO for the Asia-Pacific region. With his hands busy enough as it is, we'd imagine that much of the day-to-day will fall to Robert Hegbloom. He had Manley's new job until now – but will still remain head of the Ram brand for North America, where the bulk of its business is conducted. Along with the shift in leadership for the Ram brand, FCA also named Reid Bigland as head of fleet operations for North America. Bigland is also responsible for sales in the same region, and for the Alfa Romeo brand here as well. The company also named Tim Kuniskis to the Group Executive Council, charged with overseeing all the passenger-car brands in North America – including Dodge, Chrysler, and Fiat. While it was at it, FCA also named Al Gardner as head of network development for North America, and Jason Stoicevich as Bigland's deputy for US fleet and small-business sales. All these appointments take effect immediately. FCA US ANNOUNCES LEADERSHIP CHANGES October 5, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US today announced several leadership team moves in support of changes at the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) Group Executive Council (GEC) level. The moves were made to ensure proper representation of all of FCA's major brands on the GEC, the highest management level decision making body within the FCA organization. Earlier today, the following moves were announced at the GEC level. - Mike Manley is appointed Head of Ram Brand. Manley will retain his current GEC responsibilities as APAC Chief Operating Officer and Head of Jeep Brand. - Reid Bigland is appointed Head of NAFTA Fleet. Bigland will continue his current GEC responsibility for NAFTA Sales & Alfa Romeo. - Timothy Kuniskis becomes a member of the GEC and assumes responsibility for NAFTA Passenger Car Brands, consisting of Dodge and SRT, Chrysler and FIAT. In addition, the following appointments were made to the North American leadership team. - Robert Hegbloom continues as Head of Ram Brand for North America, now reporting to Manley.

Ram reveals Man of Steel-themed Superman truck [w/video]

The new Superman film Man of Steel opens in theaters next Friday, June 14th, and Ram is buddying up with the summer blockbuster for some coattail-riding co-promotions. The partnership includes a new 30-second commercial called "Action" that pairs scenes from the film with footage of Ram trucks and a voiceover that says, "Everyone has the ability to do something amazing... Some just do it on a more regular basis." It's nothing too special (we've actually seen most of the Ram footage in other commercials already), but the brand should be happy having its trucks so closely associated with the Last Son of Krypton. Accompanying the TV spot will be a neatly drawn print ad created by DC Comic artist Shane Davis that's destined for the newsprint pages of USA Today.
Lastly, Ram has created a special Man of Steel edition of its Power Wagon truck that will be on display at the movie's premier in New York City next week before traveling the country attending various events and ultimately being auctioned off for charity.
I have a history of lambasting poor attempts at Superman-themed vehicles, but this Man of Steel Power Wagon can hide from Kryptonite in my garage any time. The truck is Dark Ceramic Gray with a special vinyl wrap that adds the textured look of Superman's new suit, and the roof is done in high-gloss black, though you'd need the power of flight to see it on this tall rig. The grille, meanwhile, is finished with Anodized Red accents. The forged aluminum 17-inch black wheels are General Zod-approved and the interior is likewise tastefully upgraded with Superman-themed materials. Lastly, Kal-El's ultimate quad cab is capped with Superman logos front and rear where the traditional Ram logo would normally be.

Ram with a Hellcat V8 coming? Could be, but let's review the evidence

While Fiat-Chrysler has gradually been stuffing bigger V8s into everything it can, one brand that hasn't received any SRT or Hellcat love is Ram. This, despite showing a Raptor-fighting TRX concept with a detuned engine in the fall of 2016. But according to Allpar, there may be a Ram 1500 coming in the near future with the fabled supercharged V8, and at full power. Interesting theory, but let's take a closer look. The two bits of evidence the site points out are (a) an anonymous inside source saying a vehicle is in development, and (b) a displayed time in Ram press photos. If you look closely, some of the Ram interiors show the time 7:07 on the infotainment display. This corresponds with the Hellcat engine's 707 horsepower. Allpar further speculates that the vehicle will be Rebel-based due to a preponderance of the number in Rebel interiors. This wouldn't be the first time FCA has hinted at a future model's power via infotainment time, either, as it did so with the Challenger Demon. View 6 Photos There are some holes in this theory, though. We went back and looked at the press photos of the interiors, and the 7:07 time shows up on Bighorn Rams, too. And not every single Rebel interior has the time. There's at least one that shows the time 8:29, which appears on various other Ram interior shots. Also, while FCA did manage to make a full-time all-wheel-drive system for the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk to stand up to the Hellcat's ferocious power, we doubt that drivetrain would be used in a Ram, since it's a much different application. The final nail in this theory's coffin might be that the head of Ram Trucks communication told us that the times in the images are a "complete coincidence" and that "this theory is all speculation." All things considered, we think the odds of a Hellcat-powered Ram reaching production soon, particularly an off-road version like Allpar suggests, is pretty iffy. We wouldn't rule out some sort of Hellcat-powered Ram completely. At the very least, putting a Hellcat V8 into a two-wheel-drive Ram for a street truck would make loads of sense. It would be less expensive to develop compared to a Raptor competitor, it wouldn't have any existing competition, and it could capitalize on the history of the Viper-powered Ram SRT-10 from the mid-2000s. And as we've seen, FCA has no problem stuffing absurdly powerful V8s into everything it can, from Charger to Durango to Grand Cherokee. So, don't count on a Hellcat-powered Ram yet.