2025 Ram 1500 Laramie on 2040-cars

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2017 Ram 2500 Laramie 4x4 | Drivers' Notes

The Ram 2500 is a heavy-duty truck that sits square in the middle of Ram's truck hierarchy. Ram considers this the fourth-generation truck, with the first model debuting in 1981. The current truck first hit the streets back in 2009, with a number of updates and facelifts keeping things fresh since then. Despite its age, it still competes strongly with the Chevrolet Silverado 2500 and the Ford F-250 Super Duty. While Ram heavy duty trucks may be known for packing wonderful Cummins inline-six diesel engines, this particular model has a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 under the hood. The Laramie trim sits dead in the middle of the Ram lineup, just below the much-beloved Power Wagon. While it may not pack all the off-road capabilities of the Power Wagon, it has a few more comfort and convenience features that make it better to live with day-to-day. Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder: The first thing that struck me besides the towering ride height of the Ram 2500 Laramie was the firmness of the ride. Despite bouncing around quite a bit on our uneven city road surfaces, I kind of enjoyed the joyful feeling of the stiff suspension. I could see myself growing tired of it, though, after a long day of driving. Still, this truck was pretty fun Í— and surprisingly easy Í— to drive in traffic, which is not something I usually say or feel about pickups. The brake effort when coming up on highway jams was the only thing that really shook my confidence in the Ram. It's a beefy machine, too. It garners attention and a wide berth on the road. My 2-year-old son was instantly impressed with it, of course (though a little sad he couldn't fit in the center console storage bin like he could in the Ford F-150). A friend of mine who'd never before struck me as the pickup type ­(though now that I think about it ...) saw photos I posted on Twitter and commented, "I'd drive that truck, dang." Then, later in our conversation, she summed up in just a few characters the conflicted feelings that this particular pickup had been stirring up in me all night: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. I'm not likely to own a truck, let alone an HD. This Ram, though, did what other pickups haven't in a long time. It provided me with guilty pleasure, instead of just guilt. Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore: What's better than a Ram 1500? How about a 2500. Call it the Power Wagon syndrome: Suddenly I feel like I need a 2500 to do anything.

Ram teases a new way to get off the beaten path

File this under "What do we have here?" The Ram Trucks Twitter account posted a 15-second video teasing... well, we have no idea what it is, but it's coming this month. The word "Hiking" appears twice in the video of two hikers coming to a fork in a dirt road, where a sign reads, "Caution, unpaved trail ahead." After that, we're only told that "Life's more fun off the beaten path. An exciting new way to get there is coming soon!" Now you know what we know. But if you happen to know more, feel free to give us some clues in Comments. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: Ram Trucks via Twitter, World Car Fans RAM Truck Videos

Chrysler banks $507 million in Q2, trims 2013 earnings forecast

Chrysler has some good news and some bad news. First, profits were up 16 percent over the second quarter of 2012, bringing the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based manufacturer $507 million on the back of strong demand for trucks and SUVs (a recurring theme this quarter, particularly in the US). Q2 revenue was up as well, from $16.8 billion in 2012 to $18 billion in 2013. The bad news is that the Pentastar's overall earnings forecast for net income in 2013 has been trimmed from $2.2 billion to between $1.7 and $2.2 billion, according to Automotive News.
In addition to the adjusted net income forecast, Chrysler tweaked its operating profit from $3.8 billion to between $3.3 and $3.8 billion. This has gone largely unexplained by Chrysler, perhaps hoping the news of a three-percent increase in its transaction prices for Q2 will allow it to sweep this adjustment under the rug.
The star of the show for Chrysler has been its US sales, which saw a 10-percent jump, both bettering the industry average of eight percent and improving over the same stretch of 2012. As with the increase in transaction prices, Chrysler has the new Ram pickup and Jeep Grand Cherokee to thank. Perhaps most worrying from this report, though, is that every brand in the automaker's stable saw an increase in sales... except for the Chrysler brand itself.