2023 Ram 1500 Limited Longhorn Crew Cab 4x4 5'7" Box on 2040-cars

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Ram boss thinks midsize truck could fit in the lineup

The execs at Ram are changing their tune about the possibility of a midsize truck in the US. Nothing is certain yet, but the chances now look a little more favorable. "I think there's opportunity there in the US if you look at what's happened in the mid-size segment here – significant growth last year," Jeep and Ram boss Mike Manley told the Detroit News. "I think that space is big enough, certainly, to have two offerings there." The other product that Manley alludes to is the forthcoming Jeep Wrangler-based pickup that's due in 2017. However, there might not be much customer overlap between the Jeep and those looking for a more traditional Ram-branded model. Manley admitted the most likely candidate for a midsize Ram would be for the company to use an existing Fiat platform, according to the News. One possibility could be rebranding the Fiat Toro pickup, but it's rather small at 20-inches shorter than a Chevrolet Colorado. This greater openness to a midsize Ram is a complete change from the company's position in the past, though. Last spring, the brand's CEO for North America said he couldn't find a strategy to make the model work. FCA boss Sergio Marchionne made the same point in 2014, when he admitted the company showed a Ram 1000 at design clinics, but the response was "lukewarm." Over the past couple years, the midsize truck market has a renaissance of fresh products. The Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon are successes both critically and commercially. The latest Tacoma is on sale, and the new Honda Ridgeline is imminent. We know Nissan has a Frontier successor under development, and there are always rumors of Ford reviving the Ranger in the US. With so much development in the segment, it's easy to see why Ram would want to be at the party. Related Video:

Fiat previews new Toro sport-utility pickup

Fiat is preparing to roll out a new midsize pickup. We've seen spy shots of the prototype running around, but heavily camouflaged as it was, we didn't get much indication of what it would look like – and even less about its name. But now the Italian automaker has given us an indication of both. Previewed in the teaser image above is the forthcoming new Fiat Toro. The vehicle is billed as a "sport-utility pickup," which Fiat touts as a new segment, though there are already plenty of vehicles out there that aim to blur the line between pickup and SUV. Models like the Honda Ridgeline and Chevy Avalanche come to mind, but the Toro is likely to be smaller than either – more like the long-gone Ford Explorer Sport Trac that bridged the gap between the old truck-based Explorer and the Ranger pickup or the Subaru Baja. Whatever it ultimately looks like, the Toro will be limited – at least initially – to the Latin American market. There it's set to be introduced early next year by Fiat Automoveis Brasil, which also offers the Strada pickup car. Whether the Toro ever makes it out into other markets remains to be seen, but we wouldn't hold out too much hope of getting a Ram version this far north as Chrysler doesn't think there's a market for compact or mid-size pickups in America to replace the old Dakota. Related Video:

Chrysler recalling 31k SUVs and vans

Chrysler is issuing recalls covering roughly 31,700 vehicles worldwide due to two separate problems. In both cases the company believes that most of the affected vehicles are either still on, or in transit to, dealer lots.
One recall covers roughly 10,700 Dodge Durango, Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee SRT models from the 2014 model year built between January 16 and April 17, 2014. The SUVs need a software update for the cruise control. It's possible that when the cruise is on and the driver presses on the throttle, the acceleration could last a second after the pedal is released or two seconds for the SRT. Afterward, they return to the speed originally set by the driver.
Chrysler says it isn't aware of any accidents, injuries or even reported incidents of this happening in the real world. Also, in all cases, if the driver presses on the brake, the cruise shuts off. The automaker believes that there are about 6,100 affected SUVs in the US, 950 in Canada, 425 in Mexico and 3,200 outside of North America. The software upgrade will be ready shortly, the company says.